--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I ran after that voice through the…" description: "\"And I ran after that voice through the streets so as not to lose sight of the splendid wreath of bodies gliding over the city, and I realized with angu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/milan-kundera-120_anguish_and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-s_290747.jpg" --- # And I ran after that voice through the streets so as not… ![“And I ran after that voice through the streets so as not to lose sight of the splendid wreath of bodies gliding over the city, and I realized with anguish in my heart that they were flying like birds and I was falling like a stone, that they had wings and I would never have any.” quote by Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/milan-kundera-120_anguish_and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-s_290747.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/milan-kundera-120_anguish_and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-s_290747.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/milan-kundera-120_anguish_and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-s_290747.jpg) > “And I ran after that voice through the streets so as not to lose sight of the splendid wreath of bodies gliding over the city, and I realized with anguish in my heart that they were flying like birds and I was falling like a stone, that they had wings and I would never have any.” [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He feels alienated, watching others soar while he feels grounded, highlighting envy and longing for freedom. **In simple terms:** He feels envy watching others succeed. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and address feelings of inadequacy. Themes envy longing alienation Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career stagnation - creative block - social comparison Key Concepts existentialism freedom human condition Questions to Reflect On - What does “flying” symbolize for you? - How can you find your own wings? A Different Perspective Comparing to others can breed resentment and paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Gliding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gliding/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Splendid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Wreaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wreaths/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not the religious-conspiracy-theorist go-to guy, particularly. But I think it's really kind of silly to try to equate birds falling out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cameron/i-m-not-the-religious-conspiracy-theorist-go-to-guy-particularly-but/) [Kirk Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cameron/) > [... where do they go when they die? We hear of the elephant graveyards, where the elephants go to die, but how much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/where-do-they-go-when-they-die-we-hear-of-the-elephant-graveyards/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [“Falling for him would be like cliff diving. It would be either the most exhilarating thing that ever happened to me or the stupidest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-houck/falling-for-him-would-be-like-cliff-diving-it-would-be-either-the/) [Colleen Houck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-houck/) > [“You may fall down in life, Lift yourself up and be strong. To stand up, you should know what falling down is like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/you-may-fall-down-in-life-lift-yourself-up-and-be-strong-to-stand-up/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [“They left like you knew they would. They went away and you fell like a stone. All the way to the bottom of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/they-left-like-you-knew-they-would-they-went-away-and-you-fell-like-a/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I am hanging in the balance of a perfect finished plan, like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-am-hanging-in-the-balance-of-a-perfect-finished-plan-like-every/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Falling for you was like rereading my favorite book”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-curtis/falling-for-you-was-like-rereading-my-favorite-book/) [Emily Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-curtis/) > [If people are saying that somehow their connection is going to be detrimental to their health, of course they are going to reject that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dalio/if-people-are-saying-that-somehow-their-connection-is-going-to-be/) [Paul Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dalio/) > [“Falling into her was like falling into a star, the heat so intense he was consumed in the blink of an eye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-strom/falling-into-her-was-like-falling-into-a-star-the-heat-so-intense-he/) Abigail Strom > [You get into your late fifties, people start falling like flies all around you. I don't take life for granted any more. I'm really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/you-get-into-your-late-fifties-people-start-falling-like-flies-all/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [I have this weird obsession with kids and old people falling. Like, funny falls. It is awful, but it's the thing that makes me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malin-akerman/i-have-this-weird-obsession-with-kids-and-old-people-falling-like/) [Malin Akerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malin-akerman/) > [“So we've pulled the chute, and we're drifting, riding the sky. It's just you and me. You can hear me now that we're falling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-park/so-we-ve-pulled-the-chute-and-we-re-drifting-riding-the-sky-it-s-just/) [Jessica Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-park/) > [Falling for him would be like cliff diving. It would be either the most exhilarating thing that ever happened to me or the stupidest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/falling-for-him-would-be-like-cliff-diving-it-would-be-either-the-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Struggles are required in order to survive in life, because in order to stand up, you gotta know what falling down is like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/struggles-are-required-in-order-to-survive-in-life-because-in-order/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All night I streched my arms across him, rivers of blood, the dark woods, singing with all my skin and bone ''Please keep him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/all-night-i-streched-my-arms-across-him-rivers-of-blood-the-dark/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) ## More by Milan Kundera > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“From that time on they both looked forward to sleeping together. I might even say that the goal of their lovemaking was not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/from-that-time-on-they-both-looked-forward-to-sleeping-together-i/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Children, Never look Back!" and this meant that we must never allow the future to be weighed down by memory . for children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/children-never-look-back-and-this-meant-that-we-must-never-allow-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Our lives may be separate, but they run in the same direction, like parallel lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/our-lives-may-be-separate-but-they-run-in-the-same-direction-like/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Having a child is to show an absolute accord with mankind. If I have a child, it's as though I'm saying: I was born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/having-a-child-is-to-show-an-absolute-accord-with-mankind-if-i-have-a/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Love is a battle," said Marie-Claude, still smiling. "And I plan to go on fighting. To the end." Love is a battle?" said Franz.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/love-is-a-battle-said-marie-claude-still-smiling-and-i-plan-to-go-on/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“He remained annoyed with himself until he realized that not knowing what he wanted was actually quite natural. We can never know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/he-remained-annoyed-with-himself-until-he-realized-that-not-knowing/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [When we ignore the body, we are more easily victimized by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/when-we-ignore-the-body-we-are-more-easily-victimized-by-it/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Do stories, apart from happening, being, have something to say? For all my skepticism, some trace of irrational superstition did survive in me, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/do-stories-apart-from-happening-being-have-something-to-say-for-all/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Os extremos delimitam a fronteira para além da qual a vida termina, e a paixão pelo extremismo, tanto em arte como em política, é…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/os-extremos-delimitam-a-fronteira-para-al-m-da-qual-a-vida-termina-e/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Explore all 952 Milan Kundera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More Anguish quotes > [“He put his forehead against hers. “Alannah, my heart is yours.” He said softly. “And yet, I must hand it over to someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-morin/he-put-his-forehead-against-hers-alannah-my-heart-is-yours-he-said/) [B.C. Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-morin/) > [Knowledge gives a wider choice and more anguish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/knowledge-gives-a-wider-choice-and-more-anguish/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Our religion is itself profoundly sad - a religion of universal anguish, and one which, because of its very catholicity, grants full liberty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/our-religion-is-itself-profoundly-sad-a-religion-of-universal-anguish/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/being-human-we-would-expel-from-our-lives-physical-pain-and-mental/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works. Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [I saw my parents as gods whose every wish must be obeyed or I would suffer the penalty of anguish and guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-wood/i-saw-my-parents-as-gods-whose-every-wish-must-be-obeyed-or-i-would/) [Natalie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-wood/) > [Every last cast is actually a first cast. The first cast and first chance to catch the next fish. The next time you anguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/every-last-cast-is-actually-a-first-cast-the-first-cast-and-first/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-there-are-many-words-and/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [So silently, peacefully, without hurry, without any tension, without any anguish, move into yourself instantly. It is urgent. Unless meditation becomes urgent to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/so-silently-peacefully-without-hurry-without-any-tension-without-any/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/it-breaks-my-heart-to-think-about-a-family-weeping-over-the-loss-of-a/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) [Browse all 570 Anguish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And I ran after that voice through the streets so as not to lose sight of the splendid wreath of bodies gliding over the city, and I realized with anguish in my heart that they were flying like birds and I was falling like a stone, that they had wings and I would never have any.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Milan Kundera" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-streets-so-as-not-to-lose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anguish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-streets-so-as-not-to-lose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/milan-kundera-120_anguish_and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-s_290747.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/milan-kundera-120_anguish_and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-s_290747.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/milan-kundera-120_anguish_and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-s_290747.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And I ran after that voice through the streets so as not to lose sight of the splendid wreath of bodies…” — Milan Kundera", "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": "Milan Kundera", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And I ran after that voice...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-streets-so-as-not-to-lose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/and-i-ran-after-that-voice-through-the-streets-so-as-not-to-lose/#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 } } ] } ```