---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing happened today. And if anything…"
description: "\"Nothing happened today. And if anything did, I’d rather not talk about it, because I didn’t understand it.\" — Roberto Bolano"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/roberto-bola-o-725_today_nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-d_1925858.jpg"
---

#  Nothing happened today. And if anything did, I’d rather…

![“Nothing happened today. And if anything did, I’d rather not talk about it, because I didn’t understand it.” quote by Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/roberto-bola-o-725_today_nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-d_1925858.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/roberto-bola-o-725_today_nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-d_1925858.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/roberto-bola-o-725_today_nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-d_1925858.jpg)

> “Nothing happened today. And if anything did, I’d rather not talk about it, because I didn’t understand it.”

[Roberto Bolano](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.

When confusion reigns, silence protects; ignorance can be preferable to misunderstanding.

**In simple terms:** Silence shields from confusion.

Key Takeaway

Embrace uncertainty, but seek clarity when needed.

Themes

communication confusion ignorance self‑protection literature

Mood

melancholic introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- creative writing
- media consumption
- academic study

Key Concepts

post‑modernism existentialism narrative ambiguity

Questions to Reflect On

- What truths are you avoiding?
- When is silence a better response than speaking?

A Different Perspective

Isolation can hinder growth; silence may be a coping mechanism.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Did Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-talk-730734/) [Didn Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-understand/) [Happened Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-today-683884/) [Talk Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-didn-1102222/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-did-444367/)

## Related quotes

> [May posterity show mercy when it look back upon the work we do today. We did what we could with what we had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/may-posterity-show-mercy-when-it-look-back-upon-the-work-we-do-today/)

[Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/)

> [Nothing important happened today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iii/nothing-important-happened-today/)

[George III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iii/)

> [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [I changed my life today. What did you do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/i-changed-my-life-today-what-did-you-do/)

[Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/)

> [Everything I do today is because of what I did when I was 14.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-comaneci/everything-i-do-today-is-because-of-what-i-did-when-i-was-14/)

[Nadia Comaneci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-comaneci/)

> [Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-we-did-what-we-had-to-do-they-counted-on-america-to-be-passive/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [Give thanks today for those who did you wrong...they unknowingly made you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-thanks-today-for-those-who-did-you-wrong-they-unknowingly-made/)

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

> [“Did you have one of those days today, like a nail in the foot? Did the pterodactyl corpse dropped by the ghost of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/did-you-have-one-of-those-days-today-like-a-nail-in-the-foot-did-the/)

[Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/)

> [<3 Baby, I love you more today than I did yesterday.. But not as much as tomorrow.. <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilly/3-baby-i-love-you-more-today-than-i-did-yesterday-but-not-as-much-as/)

[Tilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilly/)

> [You look great today. How did I know? Because you look great everyday!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/you-look-great-today-how-did-i-know-because-you-look-great-everyday/)

[Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/)

> [Honey, what is it? It it about today? I did one line. One lousy line, and that's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gia-carangi/honey-what-is-it-it-it-about-today-i-did-one-line-one-lousy-line-and/)

[Gia Carangi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gia-carangi/)

> [“Did we make love today, Slate?” “We fucked baby. That is what you and I do. We fuck. And today we did it damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-smith/did-we-make-love-today-slate-we-fucked-baby-that-is-what-you-and-i-do/)

[Andrea Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-smith/)

> [I don't think we have very good records about what they were thinking except, as I pointed out earlier today, that they did invent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/i-don-t-think-we-have-very-good-records-about-what-they-were-thinking/)

[David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/)

> [“Today, did I do my best and forget the rest?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-horton/today-did-i-do-my-best-and-forget-the-rest/)

[Tony Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-horton/)

> [Nothing has happened today except kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/nothing-has-happened-today-except-kindness/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

## More by Roberto Bolano

> [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 Bolano quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/)

## More Today quotes

> [Today I didn't even have to even use my A.K ! I got to say it was a good day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/today-i-didn-t-even-have-to-even-use-my-a-k-i-got-to-say-it-was-a/)

[Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/)

> [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [Not reassuring when weathermen say 'Today will be terrible but don't worry it won't be as terrible as tomorrow or Friday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/not-reassuring-when-weathermen-say-today-will-be-terrible-but-don-t/)

[Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/)

> [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/)

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

> [There is plenty of time for Republicans to have a Macaca moment. But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/)

[Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/)

> [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/)

[Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/)

> [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/)

[Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/)

> [The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/)

[Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/)

> [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/)

[Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/)

> [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/)

[James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/)

> [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/)

[Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

[Browse all 18,581 Today quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Nothing happened today. And if anything did, I’d rather not talk about it, because I didn’t understand it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Roberto Bolano"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-did-i-d-rather-not-talk-about/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Today"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-did-i-d-rather-not-talk-about/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/roberto-bola-o-725_today_nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-d_1925858.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/roberto-bola-o-725_today_nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-d_1925858.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/roberto-bola-o-725_today_nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-d_1925858.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Nothing happened today. And if anything did, I’d rather not talk about it, because I didn’t understand it.” — Roberto Bolano",
                "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 Bolano",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Nothing happened today. And if anything...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-did-i-d-rather-not-talk-about/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-happened-today-and-if-anything-did-i-d-rather-not-talk-about/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```