--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a sense that things - words…" description: "\"“There was a sense that things - words, feelings, laughs - were forever brawling inside her to be the first one out. Now, beside me, I sensed... emptin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/jerry-spinelli-1413_emptiness_there-was-a-sense-that-things-words-feel_1503881.png" --- # There was a sense that things - words, feelings, laughs… ![“There was a sense that things - words, feelings, laughs - were forever brawling inside her to be the first one out. Now, beside me, I sensed... emptiness. Emptiness in such a person is not nothing, is not small. It is enormous." -Cammie” quote by Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/jerry-spinelli-1413_emptiness_there-was-a-sense-that-things-words-feel_1503881.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/jerry-spinelli-1413_emptiness_there-was-a-sense-that-things-words-feel_1503881.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/541/jerry-spinelli-1413_emptiness_there-was-a-sense-that-things-words-feel_1503881.png) > ““There was a sense that things - words, feelings, laughs - were forever brawling inside her to be the first one out. Now, beside me, I sensed... emptiness. Emptiness in such a person is not nothing, is not small. It is enormous." -Cammie”” [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character feels an intense inner conflict, leading to a profound sense of emptiness that is vast, not insignificant. **In simple terms:** Inner turmoil can feel huge, not empty. Key Takeaway Recognize and address deep inner conflict. Themes identity conflict emptiness selfdiscovery Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - mental health counseling - creative writing - relationship dynamics Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What inner conflicts are you ignoring? - How can you transform emptiness into purpose? A Different Perspective Emptiness may mask unresolved issues needing attention. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Emptiness Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-emptiness-1490452/) [Emptiness Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-person-5520842/) [Sensed Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensed-emptiness-5210063/) [Words Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-feelings-811186/) ## Related quotes > [“Though she could not see his shadowed eyes clearly, she sensed an emptiness in there that matched the controlled composure of his other features.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caragh-m-o-brien/though-she-could-not-see-his-shadowed-eyes-clearly-she-sensed-an/) [Caragh M. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caragh-m-o-brien/) > [The capacity of the mind is broad and huge, like the vast sky. Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/the-capacity-of-the-mind-is-broad-and-huge-like-the-vast-sky-do-not/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [“I lie stretched out, inert; all I see is emptiness, all I live on is emptiness, all I move in is emptiness. I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/i-lie-stretched-out-inert-all-i-see-is-emptiness-all-i-live-on-is/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [Form is emptiness, emptiness is form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/form-is-emptiness-emptiness-is-form/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [To be here, all you have to do is let go of who you think you are. That's all! And then you realize, "I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/to-be-here-all-you-have-to-do-is-let-go-of-who-you-think-you-are-that/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [“Emptiness is emptiness. San Francisco or Delhi. Wherever you go, the emptiness surrounds you. Silence will follow you wherever you go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-l-poonja-2/emptiness-is-emptiness-san-francisco-or-delhi-wherever-you-go-the/) [H.W.L. Poonja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-l-poonja-2/) > [There won't be emptiness. Emptiness is just another idea, another illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-won-t-be-emptiness-emptiness-is-just-another-idea-another/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I wonder how many people wake up each day to face or hide from emptiness. 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We call it emptiness - but we move our mind into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-t-just-sit-in-emptiness-even-the-enlightened-don-t-sit-in/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Better to work for one's self alone. The public is so stupid. Who reads? And what do they read? And what do they admire?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/better-to-work-for-one-s-self-alone-the-public-is-so-stupid-who-reads/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Form is emptiness, emptiness is form" states the Heart Sutra, one of the best known ancient Buddhist texts. The essence of all things is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/form-is-emptiness-emptiness-is-form-states-the-heart-sutra-one-of-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Physicists tell us that the solidity of matter is an illusion. Even seemingly solid matter, including your physical body, is nearly 100 percent empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/physicists-tell-us-that-the-solidity-of-matter-is-an-illusion-even/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Emptiness The true nature of reality transcends all the notions we could ever have of what it might be. This is also the ultimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khenpo-ts-ltrim-gyamtso-rinpoche/emptiness-the-true-nature-of-reality-transcends-all-the-notions-we/) [Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khenpo-ts-ltrim-gyamtso-rinpoche/) ## More by Jerry Spinelli > [“He still heard his mother's voice--"Davey"--rise like whisper-dust from unseen corners in the house, but it was no longer the only voice he heard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/he-still-heard-his-mother-s-voice-davey-rise-like-whisper-dust-from/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [“That was fifteen years ago. Fifteen Valentine's Days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/that-was-fifteen-years-ago-fifteen-valentine-s-days/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [“History sits on our shoulders, while reading opens our hearts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/history-sits-on-our-shoulders-while-reading-opens-our-hearts/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [Nobody has the time, the time cannot be owned. The time is free to everyone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/nobody-has-the-time-the-time-cannot-be-owned-the-time-is-free-to/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [You’ll know her more by your questions than by her answers. Keep looking at her long enough. 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They just go right on, piling on top of one another like a big sandwich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/but-feelings-they-don-t-care-about-telling-they-just-go-right-on/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [“chewed time like a wad of bubble gum and stretched it across the darkness all the way to dawn, when the light at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/chewed-time-like-a-wad-of-bubble-gum-and-stretched-it-across-the/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [He was the Grand Marshall of our Everyday Parade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/he-was-the-grand-marshall-of-our-everyday-parade/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [“When the sun is a bike ride away, I will hear it. It will sound like wind in treetops. I will awaken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/when-the-sun-is-a-bike-ride-away-i-will-hear-it-it-will-sound-like/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [“I had to get out. Move. I ran through neighborhoods, other lives, other worlds. Solipsism. A man on his lawn mower. Green and yellow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/i-had-to-get-out-move-i-ran-through-neighborhoods-other-lives-other/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [He tapped my chest. 'Happy is here.' He tapped his own chest. 'Here.' I looked down past my chin. 'Inside?' 'Inside.' It was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/he-tapped-my-chest-happy-is-here-he-tapped-his-own-chest-here-i/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/she-was-elusive-she-was-today-she-was-tomorrow-she-was-the-faintest/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) [Explore all 244 Jerry Spinelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. 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What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. 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Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was a sense that things - words, feelings, laughs - were forever brawling inside her to be the first one out. Now, beside me, I sensed... emptiness. Emptiness in such a person is not nothing, is not small. 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