--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was lonely because he could imagine…" description: "\"“He was lonely because he could imagine himself as anything but himself and as anywhere but where he was. His competitiveness and self-centeredness cut..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/wendell-berry-236_connection_he-was-lonely-because-he-could-imagine-h_2539618.jpg" --- # He was lonely because he could imagine himself as anything… ![“He was lonely because he could imagine himself as anything but himself and as anywhere but where he was. His competitiveness and self-centeredness cut him off from any thought of shared life. He wanted to have more because he thought that having more would make him able to live more, and he was…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/wendell-berry-236_connection_he-was-lonely-because-he-could-imagine-h_2539618.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/wendell-berry-236_connection_he-was-lonely-because-he-could-imagine-h_2539618.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/wendell-berry-236_connection_he-was-lonely-because-he-could-imagine-h_2539618.jpg) > ““He was lonely because he could imagine himself as anything but himself and as anywhere but where he was. His competitiveness and self-centeredness cut him off from any thought of shared life. He wanted to have more because he thought that having more would make him able to live more, and he was lonely because he never thought of the sources, the places, where he was going to get what he wanted to have, or of what his having it might cost others. It was loneliness that sometimes even he felt; you could see it. A self-praiser has got to accept a big loneliness in order to accept a little credit.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loneliness stems from self‑absorption and the belief that more possessions bring fulfillment, ignoring communal sources and costs. **In simple terms:** Loneliness comes from selfishness and materialism. Key Takeaway Cultivate community and humility over accumulation. Themes loneliness materialism community Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - volunteering - minimalist living - mindful consumption Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does true wealth mean to you? - How can you share your resources without feeling loss? A Different Perspective Focusing on personal gain can deepen isolation, especially when neglecting others' needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Connection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connection/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Self absorbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-absorbed/) ## Related quotes > [“and then realize it’s not Peter I miss, but the idea of what I once thought we shared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/and-then-realize-it-s-not-peter-i-miss-but-the-idea-of-what-i-once/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“I have thought of you much, and have shared with you in thought much that has been elevating, stirring, and gay, so much so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-have-thought-of-you-much-and-have-shared-with-you-in-thought-much/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The world in books seemed so much more alive to me than anything outside. I could see things I'd never seen before. Books and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-world-in-books-seemed-so-much-more-alive-to-me-than-anything-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [They left no books , Memorial to their lonely thought In grey parishes: rather they wrote On men's hearts and in the minds Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/they-left-no-books-memorial-to-their-lonely-thought-in-grey-parishes/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [One mighty deed can change the course of things; a lonely thought becomes omnipotent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/one-mighty-deed-can-change-the-course-of-things-a-lonely-thought/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [Lonely. I always thought loneliness meant alone, without people. It means something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/lonely-i-always-thought-loneliness-meant-alone-without-people-it/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [New scientific ideas never spring from a communal body, however organized, but rather from the head of an individually inspired researcher who struggles with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-planck/new-scientific-ideas-never-spring-from-a-communal-body-however/) [Max Planck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-planck/) > [“ I did not know I was lonely , she thought, until I was no longer alone. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/i-did-not-know-i-was-lonely-she-thought-until-i-was-no-longer-alone/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [There were times when i felt in a slump or lonely but i never thought of giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandara-park/there-were-times-when-i-felt-in-a-slump-or-lonely-but-i-never-thought/) Sandara Park > [“When something bothered me, I didn’t talk with anyone about it. I thought it over all by myself, came to a conclusion, and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-something-bothered-me-i-didn-t-talk-with-anyone-about-it-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [U broke my heart,u left me so cold lonely,i thought u were my only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustapher-shabil/u-broke-my-heart-u-left-me-so-cold-lonely-i-thought-u-were-my-only/) Mustapher Shabil > [“The loneliness she felt before Frank walked her home from Wang's cleaners began to dissolve and in its place a shiver of freedom, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/the-loneliness-she-felt-before-frank-walked-her-home-from-wang-s/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“For a long while- for many years, in fact- he had not thought of how it was before he came to the farm. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/for-a-long-while-for-many-years-in-fact-he-had-not-thought-of-how-it/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others -- poor young clerks who loitered in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/at-the-enchanted-metropolitan-twilight-i-felt-a-haunting-loneliness/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I lay there with my mind running amuck, on the brink of madness. And somehow, gradually, early Sunday morning, I became calm. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/i-lay-there-with-my-mind-running-amuck-on-the-brink-of-madness-and/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. 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Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Connection quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [I believe that we have a huge problem with the water in America. We don't want to make that connection that these chemicals, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-brockovich/i-believe-that-we-have-a-huge-problem-with-the-water-in-america-we/) [Erin Brockovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-brockovich/) > [There's overwhelming evidence... circumstantial and otherwise, to suggest a connection between Iraq and al Qaeda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/there-s-overwhelming-evidence-circumstantial-and-otherwise-to-suggest/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [When I discovered drama, I felt a connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-fearon/when-i-discovered-drama-i-felt-a-connection/) [Ray Fearon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-fearon/) > [“Your passion is your connection to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/your-passion-is-your-connection-to-god/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [Religion is no longer a connection point for most people. Our communities were built on coming together in physical locations once a week or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-mckelvey/religion-is-no-longer-a-connection-point-for-most-people-our/) [Miguel McKelvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-mckelvey/) > [“A man becomes creative, whether he is an artist or a scientist, when he finds a new unity in the variety of nature. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-man-becomes-creative-whether-he-is-an-artist-or-a-scientist-when-he/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [“If you cannot wait for time to unearth roots, you must dig.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelou-keramati/if-you-cannot-wait-for-time-to-unearth-roots-you-must-dig/) Nelou Keramati > [“As a species, we are hardwired for connection. We are our best selves when we are sharing and communicating with others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-henry/as-a-species-we-are-hardwired-for-connection-we-are-our-best-selves/) [Tyler Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-henry/) > [“If you feel you don’t know the right people, turn to the next person you see on the street and introduce yourself—that connection could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-davis-jr/if-you-feel-you-don-t-know-the-right-people-turn-to-the-next-person/) [Raoul Davis Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-davis-jr/) > [I'm uninterested in superheroes. I am only interested in real stories, real people, real connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-m-uninterested-in-superheroes-i-am-only-interested-in-real-stories/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [There's a spectrum of those moments of connection and the moments we fail to connect, going from super-large successes to failures. Success would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/there-s-a-spectrum-of-those-moments-of-connection-and-the-moments-we/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [I think my work comes out of both an intense desire for connection and what it means to feel isolated. 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