--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes when i am alone out there, or…" description: "\"“Sometimes when i am alone out there, or even here in my house, it seems almost possible that i might lose myself: there in that silence where there is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/thomas-f-monteleone-82598_emptiness_sometimes-when-i-am-alone-out-there-or-e_2417743.jpg" --- # Sometimes when i am alone out there, or even here in my… ![“Sometimes when i am alone out there, or even here in my house, it seems almost possible that i might lose myself: there in that silence where there is no need of words or discourse. i have heard it said that there are men who have lost their minds to it, reason drained away into the dissolving…” quote by Thomas F. Monteleone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/thomas-f-monteleone-82598_emptiness_sometimes-when-i-am-alone-out-there-or-e_2417743.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/thomas-f-monteleone-82598_emptiness_sometimes-when-i-am-alone-out-there-or-e_2417743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/thomas-f-monteleone-82598_emptiness_sometimes-when-i-am-alone-out-there-or-e_2417743.jpg) > ““Sometimes when i am alone out there, or even here in my house, it seems almost possible that i might lose myself: there in that silence where there is no need of words or discourse. i have heard it said that there are men who have lost their minds to it, reason drained away into the dissolving space of sea and sky. And indeed while there are times when this place is full of life, a raucous cavalcade, even then there is a sense of emptiness, as if some ancient silence lingers in the fabric of this place, something alien, and unknowable.”” Thomas F. Monteleone ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes solitary moments where silence can feel both alive and empty, evoking a sense of losing oneself in the vast, unknowable space. **In simple terms:** Solitude can feel both vibrant and void, risking loss of self. Key Takeaway Embrace silence while staying grounded. Themes solitude silence existence mind nature Mood melancholic contemplative Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - meditation - writing retreats - lonely travel - night watches - contemplative walks Key Concepts Transcendence void self‑loss Questions to Reflect On - What does the “ancient silence” represent for you? - How do you balance immersion with self‑preservation? A Different Perspective Silence can become overwhelming, leading to disorientation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sea and sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea-and-sky/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [“overhead the birds are calling, their cries seeming to feel the air. As i watch, they rise.. flinging their bodies against the sky, intent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-f-monteleone/overhead-the-birds-are-calling-their-cries-seeming-to-feel-the-air-as/) Thomas F. Monteleone > [We win with facts that are well expressed and frequently communicated; we lose with silence and indifference to the broader social context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-edelman/we-win-with-facts-that-are-well-expressed-and-frequently-communicated/) [Richard Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-edelman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“After Christian's death he'd just existed. He felt nothing, just a sense of emptiness. In some ways he welcomed that hollowness inside of him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-macgillivray/after-christian-s-death-he-d-just-existed-he-felt-nothing-just-a/) Deborah MacGillivray > [For a long time - and this particular time with greater force than usual - summer has been a season that gives me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/for-a-long-time-and-this-particular-time-with-greater-force-than/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [“Master Nathaniel looked at him. The fixed stare, the slightly-open mouth, the rigid motionless body, fettered by a misery too profound for restlessness —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-mirrlees/master-nathaniel-looked-at-him-the-fixed-stare-the-slightly-open/) [Hope Mirrlees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-mirrlees/) > [“But what I did sense was an emptiness like a black hole inside of him, and there was no predicting what might emerge from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryu-murakami/but-what-i-did-sense-was-an-emptiness-like-a-black-hole-inside-of-him/) [Ryū Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryu-murakami/) > [“It is the religious sense – a “radical engagement of the self with life” – that alone enables us to fulfil the promise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-giussani/it-is-the-religious-sense-a-radical-engagement-of-the-self-with-life/) [Luigi Giussani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-giussani/) > [“He realized what had been disturbing him about her. With other women whom he had been with in similar situations, he had experienced a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/he-realized-what-had-been-disturbing-him-about-her-with-other-women/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Part of the inner world of everyone is this sense of emptiness, unease, incompleteness, and I believe that this in itself is a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/part-of-the-inner-world-of-everyone-is-this-sense-of-emptiness-unease/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“My pen lies idle, its ink long since dried up, leaving me with nothing but blank pages and a hollow sense of emptiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/my-pen-lies-idle-its-ink-long-since-dried-up-leaving-me-with-nothing/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [There is a sense of emptiness when you finish any film because you're empty and you can't give anything more to it anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsh/there-is-a-sense-of-emptiness-when-you-finish-any-film-because-you-re/) [James Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsh/) > [Certainly it was no design of the atoms to place themselves in a particular order, nor did they decide what motions each should have.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/certainly-it-was-no-design-of-the-atoms-to-place-themselves-in-a/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [“The Future is an illusion because, at the most fundamental level, Choice is an illusion. I am a believer in the theory, popular among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-gough/the-future-is-an-illusion-because-at-the-most-fundamental-level/) [Julian Gough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-gough/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) ## More by Thomas F. Monteleone > [“overhead the birds are calling, their cries seeming to feel the air. As i watch, they rise.. flinging their bodies against the sky, intent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-f-monteleone/overhead-the-birds-are-calling-their-cries-seeming-to-feel-the-air-as/) Thomas F. Monteleone > [“He was going to hell in the old hand basket, and he decided that maybe he would take someone with him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-f-monteleone/he-was-going-to-hell-in-the-old-hand-basket-and-he-decided-that-maybe/) Thomas F. Monteleone Explore all 3 Thomas F. Monteleone quotes ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes when i am alone out there, or even here in my house, it seems almost possible that i might lose myself: there in that silence where there is no need of words or discourse. i have heard it said that there are men who have lost their minds to it, reason drained away into the dissolving space of sea and sky. 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