--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now listen to me, please: On a winter…" description: "\"“Now listen to me, please: On a winter day, when you were a lycée student, it was snowing, and you were lost in thought. You could hear God inside you,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/orhan-pamuk-500_close-your-eyes_now-listen-to-me-please-on-a-winter-day_1498258.jpg" --- # Now listen to me, please: On a winter day, when you were a… ![“Now listen to me, please: On a winter day, when you were a lycée student, it was snowing, and you were lost in thought. You could hear God inside you, and you were trying to forget him. You could see that the world was one, but you thought that if you could close your eyes to this vision, you…” quote by Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/orhan-pamuk-500_close-your-eyes_now-listen-to-me-please-on-a-winter-day_1498258.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/orhan-pamuk-500_close-your-eyes_now-listen-to-me-please-on-a-winter-day_1498258.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/orhan-pamuk-500_close-your-eyes_now-listen-to-me-please-on-a-winter-day_1498258.jpg) > ““Now listen to me, please: On a winter day, when you were a lycée student, it was snowing, and you were lost in thought. You could hear God inside you, and you were trying to forget him. You could see that the world was one, but you thought that if you could close your eyes to this vision, you could be more unhappy and also more intelligent. And you were right. Only people who are very intelligent and very unhappy can write good poems. So you heroically undertook to endure the pains of faithlessness, just to be able to write good poems. But you didn’t realize then that when you lost that voice inside you, you’d end up all alone in the empty universe.”” [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense introspection links brilliance and suffering, suggesting that deep unhappiness fuels artistic creation. **In simple terms:** Pain and intelligence can inspire great poetry. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort to unlock creative depth. Themes art intelligence unhappiness Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing poetry - philosophical contemplation - loneliness Key Concepts existential search creative paradox Questions to Reflect On - Can suffering be a sustainable source of art? - Is happiness compatible with brilliance? A Different Perspective Creative output may suffer if pain becomes overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Trying to forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-to-forget/) ## Related quotes > [I must return to the mountains-to Yosemite. I am told that the winter storms there will not be easily borne, but I am bewitched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-must-return-to-the-mountains-to-yosemite-i-am-told-that-the-winter/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“I thought: We are not close enough. I though: He will not hear it. I thought: He will hear it and be out so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-thought-we-are-not-close-enough-i-though-he-will-not-hear-it-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [21 years old and I still forget that other people can hear me hum. When I was a kid I thought only I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/21-years-old-and-i-still-forget-that-other-people-can-hear-me-hum/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you call yourself Free? It is your ruling thought that I would hear, and not that you have escaped from a yoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/do-you-call-yourself-free-it-is-your-ruling-thought-that-i-would-hear/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but safety first!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-thought-i-d-hear-myself-say-it-but-safety-first/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He thought he could hear the hum of the universe as he sat there. The airwaves of God, maybe, that kept the whole lunatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/he-thought-he-could-hear-the-hum-of-the-universe-as-he-sat-there-the/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [Existence itself is nothing if not an amazement. Good poems restore amazement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/existence-itself-is-nothing-if-not-an-amazement-good-poems-restore/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/well-the-great-thing-for-me-about-poetry-is-that-in-good-poems-the/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [To write good poems is the secret of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/to-write-good-poems-is-the-secret-of-brevity/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely and deeply. Good poems are the best teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-to-read-widely-and-deeply-good/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [It's good to have poems that begin with tea and end with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/it-s-good-to-have-poems-that-begin-with-tea-and-end-with-god/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Good acts are like good poems. One may easily get their drift, but they are not rationally understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/good-acts-are-like-good-poems-one-may-easily-get-their-drift-but-they/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Good poems ask us to have complex minds and hearts. Even simple-of-surface poems want that. Perhaps those are the ones that want it most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/good-poems-ask-us-to-have-complex-minds-and-hearts-even-simple-of/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Poverty is very good in poems but very bad in the house; very good in maxims and sermons but very bad in practical life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/poverty-is-very-good-in-poems-but-very-bad-in-the-house-very-good-in/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [A good poem is a tautology. It expands one word by adding a number which clarify it, thus making a new word which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-gray/a-good-poem-is-a-tautology-it-expands-one-word-by-adding-a-number/) [Alasdair Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-gray/) ## More by Orhan Pamuk > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I need the pain of loneliness to make my imagination work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-the-pain-of-loneliness-to-make-my-imagination-work/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I really don't want to portray the Islamists as simply evil, the way it's often done in the west.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-really-don-t-want-to-portray-the-islamists-as-simply-evil-the-way/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I am proud to be a Turk, and to write in Turkish about Turkey - and to have been translated into about 40 languages.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-am-proud-to-be-a-turk-and-to-write-in-turkish-about-turkey-and-to/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't want to be a tree; I want to be its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-tree-i-want-to-be-its-meaning/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“...love is deep attention, deep compassion...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/love-is-deep-attention-deep-compassion/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/books-which-we-mistake-for-consolation-only-add-depth-to-our-sorrow/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“If you think you are better than Stork, then by all means, get hold of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/if-you-think-you-are-better-than-stork-then-by-all-means-get-hold-of/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I need a moment of time for myself every day, like a child playing with his things. When I travel, I routinely find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-a-moment-of-time-for-myself-every-day-like-a-child-playing/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [Love is a sacred silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/love-is-a-sacred-silence/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“Creíamos saber mucho, pero no sabíamos nada. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/cre-amos-saber-mucho-pero-no-sab-amos-nada/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“- Za nas je otkucaj sata, baš kao žuvor šadrvana u dvorištu džamije, odjek zakoračenja u ono što je u nama, a ne zvuk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/za-nas-je-otkucaj-sata-ba-kao-uvor-adrvana-u-dvori-tu-d-amije-odjek/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“A writer is someone who spends years patiently trying to discover the second being inside him, and the world that makes him who he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/a-writer-is-someone-who-spends-years-patiently-trying-to-discover-the/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“Near Taksim he suddenly found himself inside a crowd of people leaving a movie theater. They were staring straight ahead, as if in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/near-taksim-he-suddenly-found-himself-inside-a-crowd-of-people/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) [Explore all 402 Orhan Pamuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More Close your eyes quotes > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [“Here, in the garden at night, it is another world, strange and yet friendly and familiar, never frightening. There is such quietness, such sweetness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/here-in-the-garden-at-night-it-is-another-world-strange-and-yet/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [Sit down, hold your back up, close your eyes and think about nothing' - that's not on the table for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-povitsky/sit-down-hold-your-back-up-close-your-eyes-and-think-about-nothing/) [Esther Povitsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-povitsky/) > [“With a quiet pause, he let his hand come to rest just below the triangle of blond curls that concealed her most tender flesh.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-anne-warren/with-a-quiet-pause-he-let-his-hand-come-to-rest-just-below-the/) [Tracy Anne Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-anne-warren/) > [“Instead they dream of furniture Of buying a new hat Of owning matching silverware Could you imagine that? Yes there are places in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-clayton/instead-they-dream-of-furniture-of-buying-a-new-hat-of-owning/) [Dallas Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-clayton/) > [“Imagine, Bishop, that you have a beloved cat, but that your cat is not with you. If you close your eyes and further imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-cat-but-that-your-cat-is-not/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [Just close your eyes, the sun is going down, you'll be alright, no one can hurt you now, come morning light, you and I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/just-close-your-eyes-the-sun-is-going-down-you-ll-be-alright-no-one/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I can't be with you today, but if you close your eyes and think; I'll be beside you in the kitchen wearing your shirt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharlene05/i-can-t-be-with-you-today-but-if-you-close-your-eyes-and-think-i-ll/) Sharlene05 > [When you put a halo on concepts - gender roles, religion, nationality or pride - or you put a halo on any topic -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/when-you-put-a-halo-on-concepts-gender-roles-religion-nationality-or/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [No matter what you do I'll be there for you And every time you close your eyes I will be by your side 'Cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/no-matter-what-you-do-i-ll-be-there-for-you-and-every-time-you-close/) ProudLesbian > [“When you're scared, when you close your eyes ... just know there is nothing left to fear!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/when-you-re-scared-when-you-close-your-eyes-just-know-there-is/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“Try a little experiment. 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