--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We’re all the same under our skin, aren’t…" description: "\"“We’re all the same under our skin, aren’t we? We’re all wanting things we don’t understand. Things we can’t even name. The yearning so deep, like pini..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/megan-abbott-9549_desire_we-re-all-the-same-under-our-skin-aren-t_654383.png" --- # We’re all the same under our skin, aren’t we? We’re all… ![“We’re all the same under our skin, aren’t we? We’re all wanting things we don’t understand. Things we can’t even name. The yearning so deep, like pinions over our hearts.” quote by Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/megan-abbott-9549_desire_we-re-all-the-same-under-our-skin-aren-t_654383.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/megan-abbott-9549_desire_we-re-all-the-same-under-our-skin-aren-t_654383.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/megan-abbott-9549_desire_we-re-all-the-same-under-our-skin-aren-t_654383.png) > ““We’re all the same under our skin, aren’t we? We’re all wanting things we don’t understand. Things we can’t even name. The yearning so deep, like pinions over our hearts.”” [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We share a common humanity, yearning for unnamed desires that drive us emotionally. **In simple terms:** All people share deep, unnamed desires. Key Takeaway Recognize shared humanity and listen to inner longings. Themes humanity desire empathy Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative writing - therapy - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology existential yearning Questions to Reflect On - What unnamed desire drives you? - How can you express deep longings? A Different Perspective Desires may be vague, making them hard to articulate or fulfill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Yearning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearning/) ## Related quotes > [Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please. Rules, laws - always for other fellow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/must-be-a-yearning-deep-in-human-heart-to-stop-other-people-from/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Must be yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/must-be-yearning-deep-in-human-heart-to-stop-other-people-from-doing/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The mind is still haunted with its old unconscious ways; it broods on lost authorities; and the yearning, the deep and hollowing yearning for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-jaynes/the-mind-is-still-haunted-with-its-old-unconscious-ways-it-broods-on/) [Julian Jaynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-jaynes/) > [Tears of water, Streaming down my face, Showing of blood, Getting rid of the pain. Yearning for your voice, And wanting your touch, Knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicesociety/tears-of-water-streaming-down-my-face-showing-of-blood-getting-rid-of/) Vicesociety > [“One day incentives may catch up with inflation, but it will never catch up with our aspirations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/one-day-incentives-may-catch-up-with-inflation-but-it-will-never/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“A feeling struck me one fine day that people call ‘love’, Before that my life was empty, all I had was loneliness and sorrow……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehek-bassi/a-feeling-struck-me-one-fine-day-that-people-call-love-before-that-my/) [Mehek Bassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehek-bassi/) > [“To call it yearning would be like calling the ocean water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-nelson/to-call-it-yearning-would-be-like-calling-the-ocean-water/) [R.A. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-nelson/) > [I’m scared I’m going to spend the rest of my life in a state of yearning, regardless of where I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-m-scared-i-m-going-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-in-a-state-of/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [ “\[She was\] a creature full of eager, passionate longings for all that was beautiful and glad; thirsty for all knowledge; with an ear straining… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-was-a-creature-full-of-eager-passionate-longings-for-all-that-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Desire makes life happen. Makes it matter. Makes everything worth it. Desire is life. Hunger to see the next sunrise or sunset, to touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/desire-makes-life-happen-makes-it-matter-makes-everything-worth-it/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“As the days went by, the evolution of LIKE into LOVE was accelerated. White Fang himself began to grow aware of it, though in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/as-the-days-went-by-the-evolution-of-like-into-love-was-accelerated/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) ## More by Megan Abbott > [“She said I'd better not make her unhappy because I oughta know that she's never unhappy alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/she-said-i-d-better-not-make-her-unhappy-because-i-oughta-know-that/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [Reading Dorothy B. Hughes's novel 'In a Lonely Place' for the first time is like finding the long-lost final piece to an enormous puzzle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/reading-dorothy-b-hughes-s-novel-in-a-lonely-place-for-the-first-time/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [“Bobby pins crunching under my feet, I walk through, surveying the damaged girlness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/bobby-pins-crunching-under-my-feet-i-walk-through-surveying-the/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [If it hadn't been what it was, it would've been beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/if-it-hadn-t-been-what-it-was-it-would-ve-been-beautiful/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [I'm always surprised at the negative response to the women in my books who are openly ambitious or experience aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/i-m-always-surprised-at-the-negative-response-to-the-women-in-my/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [I will read anything at all by Kate Atkinson, Daniel Woodrell, and William Kennedy, who are all fearless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/i-will-read-anything-at-all-by-kate-atkinson-daniel-woodrell-and/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [“But she became Gabby’s friend in that way that can happen, because the girl with the cool boots always finds the girl with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/but-she-became-gabby-s-friend-in-that-way-that-can-happen-because-the/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [“Where’d that world go, that world when you’re a kid, and now I can’t remember noticing anything, not the smell of the leaves or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/where-d-that-world-go-that-world-when-you-re-a-kid-and-now-i-can-t/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [“This girl, this girl, and he a man with a business and a secretary and a house with a furnace and bills and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/this-girl-this-girl-and-he-a-man-with-a-business-and-a-secretary-and/) [megan abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [The speed of the TV stuff vs. the self-imposed pace of novel writing has been a big adjustment, and going back and forth often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/the-speed-of-the-tv-stuff-vs-the-self-imposed-pace-of-novel-writing/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [“I think she might cry. In her way, she is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/i-think-she-might-cry-in-her-way-she-is/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [The more I did it-the more it owned me. It made things matter. It put a spine into my spineless life and that spine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/the-more-i-did-it-the-more-it-owned-me-it-made-things-matter-it-put-a/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [“Here he is, the man who knows things and who should want to help me. But it is so hard to bring up things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/here-he-is-the-man-who-knows-things-and-who-should-want-to-help-me/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [On 'The Deuce,' the writers' room gets like group therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/on-the-deuce-the-writers-room-gets-like-group-therapy/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [Because they do burn leaves here, the older folks do, and I remember now that I love it and always have. The way fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/because-they-do-burn-leaves-here-the-older-folks-do-and-i-remember/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) [Explore all 72 Megan Abbott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We’re all the same under our skin, aren’t we? We’re all wanting things we don’t understand. Things we can’t even name. 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