--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I realized I still had my eyes shut. I…" description: "\"“I realized I still had my eyes shut. I had shut them when I put my face to the screen, like I was scared to look outside. Now I had to open them. I lo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b04/ken-kesey-1034_first-time_i-realized-i-still-had-my-eyes-shut-i-ha_1514474.jpg" --- # I realized I still had my eyes shut. I had shut them when… ![“I realized I still had my eyes shut. I had shut them when I put my face to the screen, like I was scared to look outside. Now I had to open them. I looked out the window and saw for the first time how the hospital was out in the country. The moon was low in the sky over the pastureland; the face…” quote by Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b04/ken-kesey-1034_first-time_i-realized-i-still-had-my-eyes-shut-i-ha_1514474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b04/ken-kesey-1034_first-time_i-realized-i-still-had-my-eyes-shut-i-ha_1514474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b04/ken-kesey-1034_first-time_i-realized-i-still-had-my-eyes-shut-i-ha_1514474.jpg) > ““I realized I still had my eyes shut. I had shut them when I put my face to the screen, like I was scared to look outside. Now I had to open them. I looked out the window and saw for the first time how the hospital was out in the country. The moon was low in the sky over the pastureland; the face of it was scarred and scuffed where it had just torn up out of the snarl of scrub oak and madrone trees on the horizon. The stars up close to the moon were pale; they got brighter and braver the farther they got out of the circle of light ruled by the giant moon. I was off on a hunt with Papa and the uncles and I lay rolled in blankets Grandma had woven, lying off a piece from where the men hunkered around the fire as they passed a quart jar of cactus liquor in a silent circle. I watched that big Oregon prairie moon above me put all the stars around it to shame. I kept awake watching, to see if the moon ever got dimmer or the stars got brighter, till the dew commenced to drift onto my cheeks and I had to pull a blanket over my head.”” [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes an awakening to the vastness of nature, contrasting the confinement of a hospital with the expansive night sky. **In simple terms:** Seeing beyond confinement to nature. Key Takeaway Seek moments of awe beyond routine. Themes awakening nature perspective freedom Mood contemplative nostalgic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - hospital stay - nighttime reflection - stargazing - personal growth Key Concepts existential reflection sensory detail Questions to Reflect On - What does the moon symbolize for you? - How can you find wonder in restrictive environments? A Different Perspective The vivid description may romanticize hardship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Close Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-moon-5041975/) [Eyes Shut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-shut/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Kept Awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-awake-523414/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Prairie Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prairie-moon-5582312/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Watching Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-moon-1154994/) ## Related quotes > [“I realized I still had my eyes shut. 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Gallons of coffee kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-olitski/i-worked-like-a-crazyman-i-worked-day-and-night-often-days-and-nights/) [Jules Olitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-olitski/) > [If anything kept me awake at night it would be worrying that there wouldn't be enough time to have a nap the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/if-anything-kept-me-awake-at-night-it-would-be-worrying-that-there/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [Every roommate kept awake by every sigh and scream we make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/three-days-grace/every-roommate-kept-awake-by-every-sigh-and-scream-we-make/) [Three Days Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/three-days-grace/) > [“Missing her kept him awake more than coffee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/missing-her-kept-him-awake-more-than-coffee/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [How long the night seems to one kept awake by pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-joseph-saurin/how-long-the-night-seems-to-one-kept-awake-by-pain/) [Bernard-Joseph Saurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-joseph-saurin/) ## More by Ken Kesey > [“Time overlaps itself. 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I wasn't even really me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/that-ain-t-me-that-ain-t-my-face-it-wasn-t-even-me-when-i-was-trying/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [But if the strength ain't real, I recall thinking the very last thing that day, before I finally passed out, then the weakness sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/but-if-the-strength-ain-t-real-i-recall-thinking-the-very-last-thing/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“They think they know the book by its cover, but the book knows what it is. 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For the first time in my life, I’ve found something worth fighting for, someone more important than me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelle-bliss/i-won-t-break-your-heart-for-the-first-time-in-my-life-i-ve-found/) [Chelle Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelle-bliss/) > [Life is like a parachute jump: you have to get it right the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-is-like-a-parachute-jump-you-have-to-get-it-right-the-first-time/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [When my kids were in the school play for the first time, I decided I had to make the costumes from scratch and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-alexander/when-my-kids-were-in-the-school-play-for-the-first-time-i-decided-i/) [Sarah Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-alexander/) > [“I will run every mile, i will save every line, i will say i reached the top and i will fall back down standing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mennah-al-refaey/i-will-run-every-mile-i-will-save-every-line-i-will-say-i-reached-the/) [Mennah al refaey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mennah-al-refaey/) > [“Or maybe your magic isn't that destructive after all. 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The moon was low in the sky over the pastureland; the face of it was scarred and scuffed where it had just torn up out of the snarl of scrub oak and madrone trees on the horizon. The stars up close to the moon were pale; they got brighter and braver the farther they got out of the circle of light ruled by the giant moon. I was off on a hunt with Papa and the uncles and I lay rolled in blankets Grandma had woven, lying off a piece from where the men hunkered around the fire as they passed a quart jar of cactus liquor in a silent circle. I watched that big Oregon prairie moon above me put all the stars around it to shame. 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