--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And as the wind gusted against those…" description: "\"“And as the wind gusted against those windows, I saw how, in an instant, I lost my shelter. This truth had hardly escaped me until then, far from it, b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/sonali-deraniyagala-41885_change_and-as-the-wind-gusted-against-those-win_2715827.jpg" --- # And as the wind gusted against those windows, I saw how… ![“And as the wind gusted against those windows, I saw how, in an instant, I lost my shelter. This truth had hardly escaped me until then, far from it, but the clarity of that moment was overwhelming. And I am still shaking. They would indeed be aghast to see the mess I am now. This is not me, this…” quote by Sonali Deraniyagala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/sonali-deraniyagala-41885_change_and-as-the-wind-gusted-against-those-win_2715827.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/sonali-deraniyagala-41885_change_and-as-the-wind-gusted-against-those-win_2715827.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/sonali-deraniyagala-41885_change_and-as-the-wind-gusted-against-those-win_2715827.jpg) > ““And as the wind gusted against those windows, I saw how, in an instant, I lost my shelter. This truth had hardly escaped me until then, far from it, but the clarity of that moment was overwhelming. And I am still shaking. They would indeed be aghast to see the mess I am now. This is not me, this is now who I was with them.”” [Sonali Deraniyagala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-deraniyagala/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sudden loss of safety and identity can hit with crushing clarity, leaving one shaken and feeling alienated from their former self. **In simple terms:** Loss of safety feels overwhelming and alienating. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the shock and seek support. Themes loss identity shock grief Mood anguished reflective Type personal emotional When to use this quote - post‑traumatic adjustment - seeking therapy - rebuilding routine - narrative processing Key Concepts existential crisis trauma self-concept Questions to Reflect On - How can you ground yourself after sudden loss? - What steps help rebuild a sense of self? A Different Perspective The intensity of grief may obscure paths to recovery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Isa let her sewing drop. The great hooded chairs had become enormous. And Giles too. And Isa too against the window. 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Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/can-you-forgive-me-in-a-world-that-i-seldom-understand-there-are/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“I am in the unthinkable situation that people cannot bear to contemplate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-deraniyagala/i-am-in-the-unthinkable-situation-that-people-cannot-bear-to/) [Sonali Deraniyagala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-deraniyagala/) > [“In daylight we pick up our tinned rations and hike off, every artery and nerve of us, into the rest of our commemorative lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gallagher/in-daylight-we-pick-up-our-tinned-rations-and-hike-off-every-artery/) [Tess Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gallagher/) > [“I have more than once tried to analyse this apparently deliberate form of self-torture that seems common to so many people in face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-maxwell/i-have-more-than-once-tried-to-analyse-this-apparently-deliberate/) [Gavin Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-maxwell/) > [Mourning your first love is as important as meeting your first love. It's the whole cycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-anderson/mourning-your-first-love-is-as-important-as-meeting-your-first-love/) Jane Anderson > [Remember this-all the sighing, mourning, sobbing, and complaining in the world, does not so undeniably evidence a man to be humble, as his overlooking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/remember-this-all-the-sighing-mourning-sobbing-and-complaining-in-the/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [You do not see the river of mourning because it lacks one tear of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/you-do-not-see-the-river-of-mourning-because-it-lacks-one-tear-of/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [“It's wrong to give so much time over to mourning, she tells herself. Mourning and brooding. There's nothing to be accomplished by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-wrong-to-give-so-much-time-over-to-mourning-she-tells-herself/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-than-those-who-most-rejoice-at-it-a/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“I did not know the work of mourning Is like carrying a bag of cement Up a mountain at night The mountaintop is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-did-not-know-the-work-of-mourning-is-like-carrying-a-bag-of-cement/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) ## More by Sonali Deraniyagala > [“I would plead into the darkness, where are they, bring them back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-deraniyagala/i-would-plead-into-the-darkness-where-are-they-bring-them-back/) [Sonali Deraniyagala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-deraniyagala/) > [“I am in the unthinkable situation that people cannot bear to contemplate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-deraniyagala/i-am-in-the-unthinkable-situation-that-people-cannot-bear-to/) [Sonali Deraniyagala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-deraniyagala/) > [“the reality of being here eludes me, I can’t focus, I am dazed. And I want to stay this way. 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But until then how do l tame my pain?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-deraniyagala/i-will-kill-myself-soon-but-until-then-how-do-l-tame-my-pain/) [Sonali Deraniyagala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-deraniyagala/) [Explore all 10 Sonali Deraniyagala quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-deraniyagala/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. 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On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And as the wind gusted against those windows, I saw how, in an instant, I lost my shelter. 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