--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anyway, these ideas or feelings or…" description: "\"“Anyway, these ideas or feelings or ramblings had their satisfactions. They turned the pain of others into memories of one’s own. They turned pain, whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/roberto-bola-o-725_freedom_anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-rambli_575023.jpg" --- # Anyway, these ideas or feelings or ramblings had their… ![“Anyway, these ideas or feelings or ramblings had their satisfactions. They turned the pain of others into memories of one’s own. They turned pain, which is natural, enduring, and eternally triumphant, into personal memory, which is human, brief, and eternally elusive. They turned a brutal story of…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/roberto-bola-o-725_freedom_anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-rambli_575023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/roberto-bola-o-725_freedom_anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-rambli_575023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/roberto-bola-o-725_freedom_anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-rambli_575023.jpg) > ““Anyway, these ideas or feelings or ramblings had their satisfactions. They turned the pain of others into memories of one’s own. They turned pain, which is natural, enduring, and eternally triumphant, into personal memory, which is human, brief, and eternally elusive. They turned a brutal story of injustice and abuse, an incoherent howl with no beginning or end, into a neatly structured story in which suicide was always held out as a possibility. They turned flight into freedom, even if freedom meant no more than the perpetuation of flight. They turned chaos into order, even if it was at the cost of what is commonly known as sanity.”” [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People transform suffering into narratives, giving meaning, order, and sometimes escape, though at the cost of sanity. **In simple terms:** Pain is turned into stories that give meaning. Key Takeaway Find meaning in hardship. Themes suffering storytelling memory psychology order Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - activism - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative construction memory processing coping mechanisms sanity trade‑off Questions to Reflect On - What narratives do you create from pain? - When does order become harmful? A Different Perspective Stories may oversimplify complex trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Meant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-meant-785505/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-memories-236176/) [Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity/) [Sanity-insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity-insanity-163295/) [Satisfactions Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfactions-turned-4738560/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Turned Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turned-chaos-4107808/) ## Related quotes > [“...sanity involves a certain measure of impersonation, not simply for the benefit of husband and servants but for the sake, first and foremost, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/sanity-involves-a-certain-measure-of-impersonation-not-simply-for-the/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“He wondered if sanity had completely forsaken him in a land where nightmares and reality existed side-by-side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-purdy/he-wondered-if-sanity-had-completely-forsaken-him-in-a-land-where/) [Kevin Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-purdy/) > [“Sometimes you have to go a little crazy before you can find sanity. I think I'm close.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tawny-lara/sometimes-you-have-to-go-a-little-crazy-before-you-can-find-sanity-i/) [Tawny Lara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tawny-lara/) > [So that the Universe felt love, by which, as somebelieve, the world has many times been turned to chaos. And at that moment this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/so-that-the-universe-felt-love-by-which-as-somebelieve-the-world-has/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“We are the road that winds down a sound mind, then slips into the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/we-are-the-road-that-winds-down-a-sound-mind-then-slips-into-the-sea/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“Society is what decides who's sane and who isn't, so you got to measure up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/society-is-what-decides-who-s-sane-and-who-isn-t-so-you-got-to/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“Later than usual one summer morning in 1984, Zoyd Wheeler drifted awake in sunlight through a creeping fig that hung in the window, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/later-than-usual-one-summer-morning-in-1984-zoyd-wheeler-drifted/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“I know there is a thin silver line between the sane and the insane, and even in that realm of madness, there are degrees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-cantrell/i-know-there-is-a-thin-silver-line-between-the-sane-and-the-insane/) [Julie Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-cantrell/) > [“There is nothing sane, merciful, heroic, devout, redemptive, wise, holy, loving, peaceful, joyous, righteous, gracious, remotely spiritual, or worthy of praise where mass murder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/there-is-nothing-sane-merciful-heroic-devout-redemptive-wise-holy/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [What triggers pain? Memories. What can heal pain? Time. How can you forget pain? Move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-triggers-pain-memories-what-can-heal-pain-time-how-can-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just when I'm finally over you, when you're no longer on my mind. When I'm finally happy, you come back and bring all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-when-i-m-finally-over-you-when-you-re-no-longer-on-my-mind-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Time can only heal the pain not memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ngetich/time-can-only-heal-the-pain-not-memories/) [Patrick Ngetich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ngetich/) > [Lord get my pain So I can forgive the people Who hurts me And help to forget the pain of memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/lord-get-my-pain-so-i-can-forgive-the-people-who-hurts-me-and-help-to/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [The vertical lines that run down his forearms are the most disturbing, thick and jagged as if someone took a razor to his skin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/the-vertical-lines-that-run-down-his-forearms-are-the-most-disturbing/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [“Why do I take a blade and slash my arms? Why do I drink myself into a stupor? Why do I swallow bottles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/why-do-i-take-a-blade-and-slash-my-arms-why-do-i-drink-myself-into-a/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) ## More by Roberto Bolaño > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Brief like beauty, Absolute beauty, That which contains all the world's majesty and misery And which is only visible to those who love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/brief-like-beauty-absolute-beauty-that-which-contains-all-the-world-s/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I try to find the books that I lost or forgot more than 30 years ago on another continent, with the hope and dedication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-try-to-find-the-books-that-i-lost-or-forgot-more-than-30-years-ago/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“In a word, and bluntly: as they walked around Sankt Pauli, it came to Pelletier and Espinoza that the search for Archimboldi could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/in-a-word-and-bluntly-as-they-walked-around-sankt-pauli-it-came-to/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [We're artists too, but we do a good job hiding it, don't we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-re-artists-too-but-we-do-a-good-job-hiding-it-don-t-we/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Nothing good ever comes of love. What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolaño quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [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/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [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/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) [Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anyway, these ideas or feelings or ramblings had their satisfactions. They turned the pain of others into memories of one’s own. They turned pain, which is natural, enduring, and eternally triumphant, into personal memory, which is human, brief, and eternally elusive. They turned a brutal story of injustice and abuse, an incoherent howl with no beginning or end, into a neatly structured story in which suicide was always held out as a possibility. They turned flight into freedom, even if freedom meant no more than the perpetuation of flight. They turned chaos into order, even if it was at the cost of what is commonly known as sanity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roberto Bolaño" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-ramblings-had-their-satisfactions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Freedom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-ramblings-had-their-satisfactions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/roberto-bola-o-725_freedom_anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-rambli_575023.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/roberto-bola-o-725_freedom_anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-rambli_575023.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/roberto-bola-o-725_freedom_anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-rambli_575023.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anyway, these ideas or feelings or ramblings had their satisfactions. They turned the pain of others into…” — Roberto Bolaño", "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": "Roberto Bolaño", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Anyway, these ideas or feelings or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-ramblings-had-their-satisfactions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/anyway-these-ideas-or-feelings-or-ramblings-had-their-satisfactions/#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 } } ] } ```