---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I thought about nothing and…"
description: "\"Sometimes I thought about nothing and sometimes I thought about my life. At least I made a living. What kind of living? A living. It wasn't easy. I fou..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/nicole-krauss-920_easy_sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-so_2721188.png"
---

#  Sometimes I thought about nothing and sometimes I thought…

![“Sometimes I thought about nothing and sometimes I thought about my life. At least I made a living. What kind of living? A living. It wasn't easy. I found out how little is unbearable.” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/nicole-krauss-920_easy_sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-so_2721188.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/nicole-krauss-920_easy_sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-so_2721188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/nicole-krauss-920_easy_sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-so_2721188.png)

> “Sometimes I thought about nothing and sometimes I thought about my life. At least I made a living. What kind of living? A living. It wasn't easy. I found out how little is unbearable.”

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Contemplation of emptiness versus purpose reveals life's inherent difficulty and the need for meaning.

**In simple terms:** Thinking reveals life’s challenges.

Key Takeaway

Seek purpose amid emptiness.

Themes

existential introspection purpose

Mood

thoughtful melancholic

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- therapy
- personal growth

Key Concepts

meaning-making psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What gives your life meaning?
- How do you balance thought and action?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on emptiness can cause stagnation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Living Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-wasn-1330664/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-life-358328/) [Thought Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-thought/) [Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable/)

## Related quotes

> [Nothing remains beautiful and interesting except thought, because the thought is the life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/nothing-remains-beautiful-and-interesting-except-thought-because-the/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Just when you thought that you thought it all out, life demonstrates that you need to think less and do more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-when-you-thought-that-you-thought-it-all-out-life-demonstrates/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Life might be cheap on Terra ... but living wasn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-dietz/life-might-be-cheap-on-terra-but-living-wasn-t/)

[William C. Dietz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-dietz/)

> [I recall the hard work that my family went through just to continue to live the lifestyle that we were living, which wasn't by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamaru-usman/i-recall-the-hard-work-that-my-family-went-through-just-to-continue/)

[Kamaru Usman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamaru-usman/)

> [“No substitute for the living, perhaps, but I wasn’t given a choice. I could take solace in their presence or I could fall down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/no-substitute-for-the-living-perhaps-but-i-wasn-t-given-a-choice-i/)

[Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/)

> [I went through a lot of my life not being mindful of how I was living it. I wasn't mindful environmentally, or whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-savage/i-went-through-a-lot-of-my-life-not-being-mindful-of-how-i-was-living/)

[Roz Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-savage/)

> [“At the beginning, the author's writing was like a selfie: a disposable plea for attention that was all about him and his life. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/at-the-beginning-the-author-s-writing-was-like-a-selfie-a-disposable/)

[Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/)

> [Living wasn't easy for you, was it? You couldn't enter your own life, but you could be someone else. You weren't you then; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/living-wasn-t-easy-for-you-was-it-you-couldn-t-enter-your-own-life/)

[Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/)

> [“Life was living me. I wasn’t living life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lolah-lace/life-was-living-me-i-wasn-t-living-life/)

[Lolah Lace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lolah-lace/)

> [I always felt that making a living wasn't the easiest thing in the world, and I decided I was going straight ahead and try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-day/i-always-felt-that-making-a-living-wasn-t-the-easiest-thing-in-the/)

[Doris Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-day/)

> [Once you've done that, push the thought of no thought away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/once-you-ve-done-that-push-the-thought-of-no-thought-away/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“She thought no one could see her. I thought she was beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/she-thought-no-one-could-see-her-i-thought-she-was-beautiful/)

[Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/)

> [Is action merely the incidental product of thought, or is thought the consequential product of action?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/is-action-merely-the-incidental-product-of-thought-or-is-thought-the/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [“If you worked hard for it, if you didn't give up, even when you found your way and you thought you had everything, life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/if-you-worked-hard-for-it-if-you-didn-t-give-up-even-when-you-found/)

[Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/)

## More by Nicole Krauss

> [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [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/)

> [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [She was gone, and all that was left was the space where you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-was-gone-and-all-that-was-left-was-the-space-where-you-d-grown/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“The first language humans had was gestures. There was nothing primitive about this language that flowed from people’s hands, nothing we say now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-first-language-humans-had-was-gestures-there-was-nothing/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting-to-overly-guide-the-reader/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [Mom?" I said. She turned. "Can I talk to you about something?" "Of course, darling. Come here." I took a few steps into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/mom-i-said-she-turned-can-i-talk-to-you-about-something-of-course/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [Obviously I've been reading Kafka for a long long time, since I was really young, and even before I ever read him I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/obviously-i-ve-been-reading-kafka-for-a-long-long-time-since-i-was/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“She's kept her love for him as alive as the summer they first met. In order to do this, she's turned life away. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-s-kept-her-love-for-him-as-alive-as-the-summer-they-first-met-in/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [Sometimes no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-no-length-of-string-is-long-enough-to-say-the-thing-that/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“Doesn’t part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/doesn-t-part-of-the-awe-that-fills-us-when-we-confront-the-unknown/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“I knew how to raise my own child, what did he think it was, a game of Scrabble or Monopoly, there are no rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-knew-how-to-raise-my-own-child-what-did-he-think-it-was-a-game-of/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

[Explore all 323 Nicole Krauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

## More Easy quotes

> [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/)

[Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/)

[Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [People think that the Club World Cup is an easy competition, but it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keylor-navas/people-think-that-the-club-world-cup-is-an-easy-competition-but-it-s/)

[Keylor Navas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keylor-navas/)

> [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/)

[Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/)

> [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/)

[Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/)

> [Sometimes life can suck and not be fair ,but we have to deal with it,because we feel we cant do anything but,we can.We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-life-can-suck-and-not-be-fair-but-we-have-to-deal-with-it/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/)

[Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/)

> [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/)

[Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/)

> [I don't know why, but I'm an easy target. And I don't do anything to dispel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-mcginley/i-don-t-know-why-but-i-m-an-easy-target-and-i-don-t-do-anything-to/)

[Ted McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-mcginley/)

> [I know that I'm going to have to work hard, keep working hard, and not because of this victory think, "I'm back." I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-clijsters/i-know-that-i-m-going-to-have-to-work-hard-keep-working-hard-and-not/)

[Kim Clijsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-clijsters/)

> [It's easy to make mistakes. It's living with the consequences of them that's the hardest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/it-s-easy-to-make-mistakes-it-s-living-with-the-consequences-of-them/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/)

[J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/)

[Browse all 14,306 Easy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Sometimes I thought about nothing and sometimes I thought about my life. At least I made a living. What kind of living? A living. It wasn't easy. I found out how little is unbearable.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nicole Krauss"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-sometimes-i-thought-about-my/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Easy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-sometimes-i-thought-about-my/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/nicole-krauss-920_easy_sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-so_2721188.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/nicole-krauss-920_easy_sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-so_2721188.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/nicole-krauss-920_easy_sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-so_2721188.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sometimes I thought about nothing and sometimes I thought about my life. At least I made a living. What kind…” — Nicole Krauss",
                "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": "Nicole Krauss",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Sometimes I thought about nothing and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-sometimes-i-thought-about-my/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-i-thought-about-nothing-and-sometimes-i-thought-about-my/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
