--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This world presses in on us from every…" description: "\"“This world presses in on us from every side; it scatters fistfuls of our dust across the land and takes bits and pieces of us as if to water the earth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/juan-rulfo-11830_bits-and-pieces_this-world-presses-in-on-us-from-every-s_2670696.jpg" --- # This world presses in on us from every side; it scatters… ![“This world presses in on us from every side; it scatters fistfuls of our dust across the land and takes bits and pieces of us as if to water the earth with our blood. What did we do? Why have our souls rotted away?” quote by Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/juan-rulfo-11830_bits-and-pieces_this-world-presses-in-on-us-from-every-s_2670696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/juan-rulfo-11830_bits-and-pieces_this-world-presses-in-on-us-from-every-s_2670696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/juan-rulfo-11830_bits-and-pieces_this-world-presses-in-on-us-from-every-s_2670696.jpg) > ““This world presses in on us from every side; it scatters fistfuls of our dust across the land and takes bits and pieces of us as if to water the earth with our blood. What did we do? Why have our souls rotted away?”” [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels oppressive, scattering our essence and leaving us questioning our purpose and decay. **In simple terms:** Life feels crushing and dispersing. Key Takeaway Seek meaning amid hardship. Themes existence mortality despair Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief support - spiritual reflection - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism literature Questions to Reflect On - What gives you purpose? - How do you reclaim your scattered self? A Different Perspective Hope can counter despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/souls/) ## Related quotes > [Do you not weep? Other sins only speak; murder shrieks out. 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Almost all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/everything-we-think-about-regarding-sustainability-from-energy-to/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [A sound precipitates air, then fire, then water and earth- and that's how the world becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/a-sound-precipitates-air-then-fire-then-water-and-earth-and-that-s/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We put water down into the earth to push up gas, then we say, 'Ooh, we're having a water crisis.' This is foolishness, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/we-put-water-down-into-the-earth-to-push-up-gas-then-we-say-ooh-we-re/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“Water on earth came from space. 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All pure water is holy water, and this earth is a celestial abode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/every-day-is-a-sabbath-to-me-all-pure-water-is-holy-water-and-this/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“We’re made out of the water, the earth, the air of the places that fed our ancestors, quenched their thirst, the basic elements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hart/we-re-made-out-of-the-water-the-earth-the-air-of-the-places-that-fed/) [Erin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hart/) ## More by Juan Rulfo > [“You've been dreaming lies again, Susana.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/you-ve-been-dreaming-lies-again-susana/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“The sky was filled with fat stars, swollen from the long night. The moon had risen briefly and then slipped out of sight. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/the-sky-was-filled-with-fat-stars-swollen-from-the-long-night-the/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“What's taking you so long in the privy, son?" "Nothing, mama." "If you stay in there much longer, a snake will come and bite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/what-s-taking-you-so-long-in-the-privy-son-nothing-mama-if-you-stay/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“I am lying in the same bed where my mother died so long ago; on the same mattress, beneath the same black wool coverlet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/i-am-lying-in-the-same-bed-where-my-mother-died-so-long-ago-on-the/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“We live in a region where everything is given to us, thanks to Providence, but where everything is bitter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/we-live-in-a-region-where-everything-is-given-to-us-thanks-to/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“Vivimos rompiendo nuestro mundo a cada rato...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/vivimos-rompiendo-nuestro-mundo-a-cada-rato/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“Every morning at dawn the village trembles with the rumbling of the wagons. They come in from everywhere, loaded with saltpeter, with corn, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/every-morning-at-dawn-the-village-trembles-with-the-rumbling-of-the/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [No one knows better than I do how far heaven is, but I also know all the shortcuts. The secret is to die, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/no-one-knows-better-than-i-do-how-far-heaven-is-but-i-also-know-all/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [I am talking about misery and all of its implications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/i-am-talking-about-misery-and-all-of-its-implications/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [Because to write, one must truly suffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/because-to-write-one-must-truly-suffer/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [There was no air; only the dead, still night fired by the dog days of August. Not a breath. I had to suck in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/there-was-no-air-only-the-dead-still-night-fired-by-the-dog-days-of/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [Nothing can last forever. There isn't any memory, no matter how intense, that doesn't fade out at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/nothing-can-last-forever-there-isn-t-any-memory-no-matter-how-intense/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [There you'll find the place I love most in the world. The place where I grew thin from dreaming. My village, rising from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/there-you-ll-find-the-place-i-love-most-in-the-world-the-place-where/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“Me mataron los murmullos”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/me-mataron-los-murmullos/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) > [“La muerte no se reparte como si fuera un bien.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-rulfo/la-muerte-no-se-reparte-como-si-fuera-un-bien/) [Juan Rulfo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) [Explore all 21 Juan Rulfo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-rulfo/) ## More Bits and pieces quotes > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [You can't fool an audience with lots of bits and pieces. 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