--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Something aches at the very core of me…" description: "\"Something aches at the very core of me, something ancient and deep and stronger than words: the filament that joins each of us to the root of existence..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/lauren-oliver-109_ache_something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-s_1183649.jpg" --- # Something aches at the very core of me, something ancient… ![“Something aches at the very core of me, something ancient and deep and stronger than words: the filament that joins each of us to the root of existence, that ancient thing unfurling and resisting and grappling, desperately, for a foothold, a way to stay here, breathe, keep going.” quote by Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/lauren-oliver-109_ache_something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-s_1183649.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/lauren-oliver-109_ache_something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-s_1183649.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/lauren-oliver-109_ache_something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-s_1183649.jpg) > “Something aches at the very core of me, something ancient and deep and stronger than words: the filament that joins each of us to the root of existence, that ancient thing unfurling and resisting and grappling, desperately, for a foothold, a way to stay here, breathe, keep going.” [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A deep, ancient longing connects us to existence, urging us to find purpose and keep moving forward despite existential dread. **In simple terms:** We feel a primal urge to belong and persist. Key Takeaway Seek meaning and stay present. Themes existence purpose resilience Mood thoughtful somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief coping - creative writing - spiritual practice - mental health Key Concepts philosophy existentialism humanity Questions to Reflect On - What gives you a sense of rootedness? - How can you transform existential anxiety into motivation? A Different Perspective The feeling may be overwhelming and paralyzing for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) ## Related quotes > [“Somewhere deeper in the city a motor is running, a distant, earthy growl, like an animal panting. in a few hours the bright blush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/somewhere-deeper-in-the-city-a-motor-is-running-a-distant-earthy/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Something in me was unfurling fast, and it was wonderful or terrible, depending on how you looked at it. Maybe both.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-pag-n/something-in-me-was-unfurling-fast-and-it-was-wonderful-or-terrible/) [Camille Pagán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-pag-n/) > [“The unfurling of the animal is like a pure wake that is related to no boat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-unfurling-of-the-animal-is-like-a-pure-wake-that-is-related-to-no/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Something was unfurling within me from behind the fear of societal expectation. Something true and deep. A part of my soul I'd always known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-boyd/something-was-unfurling-within-me-from-behind-the-fear-of-societal/) [Natasha Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-boyd/) > [“My unfurling began with stillness. Instead of sprinting from terror or trying to karate chop the emptiness away, I set out a welcome mat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-bensen/my-unfurling-began-with-stillness-instead-of-sprinting-from-terror-or/) Clara Bensen > [When I grappled, I never even trained for a grappling match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-nelson/when-i-grappled-i-never-even-trained-for-a-grappling-match/) [Roy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-nelson/) > [We are living in an era in which billions of people are grappling to promote communication, tolerance, and understanding over the more destructive forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/we-are-living-in-an-era-in-which-billions-of-people-are-grappling-to/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [I love judo. I love grappling. I love jiu-jitsu.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennady-golovkin/i-love-judo-i-love-grappling-i-love-jiu-jitsu/) [Gennady Golovkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennady-golovkin/) > [I'm trained in mixed martial arts. I started when I was 14 and did my first competition at 18. It was a grappling competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-sweeney/i-m-trained-in-mixed-martial-arts-i-started-when-i-was-14-and-did-my/) [Sydney Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-sweeney/) > [At different points in my life, I had grappled with the idea of going into the priesthood - in high school or law school.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgreevey/at-different-points-in-my-life-i-had-grappled-with-the-idea-of-going/) [James McGreevey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgreevey/) > [You don't learn to write by going through a series of preset writing exercises. You learn to write by grappling with a real subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/you-don-t-learn-to-write-by-going-through-a-series-of-preset-writing/) [Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/) > [The receptive attitude enables one mind to fix itself to another as by spiritual grappling-irons. When you see that every word you utter us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-receptive-attitude-enables-one-mind-to-fix-itself-to-another-as/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“When we are grappling with misery and our heart is in a knot, we may well do better to snap back to a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-we-are-grappling-with-misery-and-our-heart-is-in-a-knot-we-may/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“You're a wrestler, right, Jake?" Dad asked, passing Jake more saag. My parents were in an Indian food phase. The evening's entree consisted of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-fantaskey/you-re-a-wrestler-right-jake-dad-asked-passing-jake-more-saag-my/) [Beth Fantaskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-fantaskey/) > [Being explosive on the feet is different than grappling, with the squeezing and pushing and pulling. It's different on your muscles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/being-explosive-on-the-feet-is-different-than-grappling-with-the/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) ## More by Lauren Oliver > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [This is what happens when you try to help people. You get screwed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/this-is-what-happens-when-you-try-to-help-people-you-get-screwed/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“At least when I'm sleeping I can dream myself back to Alex, can dream myself into a different world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/at-least-when-i-m-sleeping-i-can-dream-myself-back-to-alex-can-dream/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange word: stinging, somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/mistake-mistake-mistake-a-strange-word-stinging-somehow/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Julian is somewhere among those lights, in that blur of people and buildings. I wonder whether he's scared. I wonder whether he's thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/julian-is-somewhere-among-those-lights-in-that-blur-of-people-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [A room full of words that are nearly the truth but not quite, each note fluttering off the steam of its rose like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/a-room-full-of-words-that-are-nearly-the-truth-but-not-quite-each/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“She’s the kind of person who makes you feel drunk just by being around her, like suddenly the world’s edges are dulled and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/she-s-the-kind-of-person-who-makes-you-feel-drunk-just-by-being/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Stop!” His voice rings out sharply, hard as a slap. He releases me and I stumble backward. “Alex is dead, do you hear me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/stop-his-voice-rings-out-sharply-hard-as-a-slap-he-releases-me-and-i/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You can't judge a book by its steel-toed combat boots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-steel-toed-combat-boots/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) [Explore all 1,181 Lauren Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## More Ache quotes > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-lives-with-the-stress-of-an-overwhelmed-schedule-will/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [as we acquire new aches and new pains, our health care is, of necessity, being supplied by internists, cardiologists, dermatologists, podiatrists, urologists, periodontists, gynecologists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/as-we-acquire-new-aches-and-new-pains-our-health-care-is-of-necessity/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [Jamie enjoyed solitude, but loneliness was a constant ache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/jamie-enjoyed-solitude-but-loneliness-was-a-constant-ache/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/staring-at-her-face-she-began-to-fancy-her-outer-layer-had-begun-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-landay/an-emotion-is-a-thought-yes-an-idea-but-it-is-also-a-sensation-an/) [William Landay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-landay/) > [He that sleeps feels not the tooth-ache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-sleeps-feels-not-the-tooth-ache/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I will live this day as if it is my last. …I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, Yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-live-this-day-as-if-it-is-my-last-i-will-waste-not-a-moment/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) Browse all 489 Ache quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Something aches at the very core of me, something ancient and deep and stronger than words: the filament that joins each of us to the root of existence, that ancient thing unfurling and resisting and grappling, desperately, for a foothold, a way to stay here, breathe, keep going.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lauren Oliver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-something-ancient-and-deep-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ache" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-something-ancient-and-deep-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/lauren-oliver-109_ache_something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-s_1183649.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/lauren-oliver-109_ache_something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-s_1183649.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/lauren-oliver-109_ache_something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-s_1183649.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Something aches at the very core of me, something ancient and deep and stronger than words: the filament…” — Lauren Oliver", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lauren Oliver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Something aches at the very core...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-something-ancient-and-deep-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/something-aches-at-the-very-core-of-me-something-ancient-and-deep-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```