--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But now and then, beneath the outer…" description: "\"“But now and then, beneath the outer numbness, something stirred, like a living pain waiting for the anesthetic to wear away.”\" — Zilpha Keatley Snyder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/zilpha-keatley-snyder-30881_pain_but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbn_1150359.png" --- # But now and then, beneath the outer numbness, something… ![“But now and then, beneath the outer numbness, something stirred, like a living pain waiting for the anesthetic to wear away.” quote by Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/zilpha-keatley-snyder-30881_pain_but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbn_1150359.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/zilpha-keatley-snyder-30881_pain_but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbn_1150359.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/zilpha-keatley-snyder-30881_pain_but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbn_1150359.png) > ““But now and then, beneath the outer numbness, something stirred, like a living pain waiting for the anesthetic to wear away.”” [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beneath numbness, hidden pain waits for the moment it can surface and be felt. **In simple terms:** Hidden pain lies under numbness, waiting to emerge. Key Takeaway Allow yourself to feel suppressed emotions. Themes psychology pain awakening Mood melancholic introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - grief - trauma recovery - creative inspiration Key Concepts repressed emotions inner turmoil Questions to Reflect On - What numbness hides your pain? - How can you safely acknowledge inner pain? A Different Perspective Pain may overwhelm if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Living Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-pain-1920953/) [Numbness Stirred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbness-stirred-3248338/) [Outer Numbness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outer-numbness-3248340/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-waiting-3248341/) [Waiting Anesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-anesthetic-3248339/) ## Related quotes > [Learn to trust the perfect time so you may discover that all the pain found in waiting has an awesome purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/learn-to-trust-the-perfect-time-so-you-may-discover-that-all-the-pain/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [Nothing remains but to hope the end will come to extinguish the unrelenting pain of waiting for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/nothing-remains-but-to-hope-the-end-will-come-to-extinguish-the/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [Before I needed a superman to save me from the pain, now I'm waiting for my prince to show me not all men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/before-i-needed-a-superman-to-save-me-from-the-pain-now-i-m-waiting/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [No matter how it Hurts you still need to expect that in Love there's Pain waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-feelings/no-matter-how-it-hurts-you-still-need-to-expect-that-in-love-there-s/) [My Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/my-feelings/) > [The thing was, if I had found a way to escape- even for just a little while- I knew the pain would be there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/the-thing-was-if-i-had-found-a-way-to-escape-even-for-just-a-little/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Sometimes silence isn't golden sometimes it means your hoping someone will come by and notice your silence covers the pain waiting to be released](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rombalski/sometimes-silence-isn-t-golden-sometimes-it-means-your-hoping-someone/) [Jennifer Rombalski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rombalski/) > [But dying is a pleasure / When living is a pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/but-dying-is-a-pleasure-when-living-is-a-pain/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [If you're someone who is living with joint pain, it's important to go see a doctor and talk about how you can start living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bettis/if-you-re-someone-who-is-living-with-joint-pain-it-s-important-to-go/) [Jerome Bettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bettis/) > [“Accepting the ugly part of life is just part of living. 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Faith was living… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-coel/faith-was-something-other-than-an-intellectual-exercise-there-were-no/) [Margaret Coel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-coel/) > [I just want to see how long I can keep this thing going. The easiest thing is dying. Living is a a pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/i-just-want-to-see-how-long-i-can-keep-this-thing-going-the-easiest/) [Jack Lalanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) ## More by Zilpha Keatley Snyder > [There was that special smell made up of paper, ink, and dust; the busy hush; the endless luxury of thousands of unread books. Best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/there-was-that-special-smell-made-up-of-paper-ink-and-dust-the-busy/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [Eleven is about the best age for almost anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/eleven-is-about-the-best-age-for-almost-anything/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [It's such a wonderful feeling to watch a child discover that reading is a marvelous adventure rather than a chore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/it-s-such-a-wonderful-feeling-to-watch-a-child-discover-that-reading/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [It's such a wonderful feeling to watch a child discover that reading is a marvelous adventure rather than a chore. I know that many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/it-s-such-a-wonderful-feeling-to-watch-a-child-discover-that-reading-2/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [“My dear child...fault is an empty word. It is a coin with only one side. It is not a reason or an excuse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/my-dear-child-fault-is-an-empty-word-it-is-a-coin-with-only-one-side/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [“Trick-or-treating is for candy and demonstrations are for things like Peace and Freedom. It's different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/trick-or-treating-is-for-candy-and-demonstrations-are-for-things-like/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [Know all the Questions, but not the Answers Look for the Different, instead of the Same Never Walk where there's room for Running Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/know-all-the-questions-but-not-the-answers-look-for-the-different/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [If you try to make your circle closed and exclusively yours, it never grows very much. Only a circle that has lots of room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/if-you-try-to-make-your-circle-closed-and-exclusively-yours-it-never/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [“Belonging to a place isn't nearly as necessary as belonging to people you love and who love you and need you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/belonging-to-a-place-isn-t-nearly-as-necessary-as-belonging-to-people/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [Belief in mysteries, any manner of mysteries, is the only lasting luxury in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/belief-in-mysteries-any-manner-of-mysteries-is-the-only-lasting/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [“We all invite our own devils, and we must exorcise our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/we-all-invite-our-own-devils-and-we-must-exorcise-our-own/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [Imagination is a great thing in long dull hours, but it's a real curse in a dark alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/imagination-is-a-great-thing-in-long-dull-hours-but-it-s-a-real-curse/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [The answers aren't important really... What's important is- knowing all the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/the-answers-aren-t-important-really-what-s-important-is-knowing-all/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [“Belief in mysteries—all manner of mysteries—is the only lasting luxury in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/belief-in-mysteries-all-manner-of-mysteries-is-the-only-lasting/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [Eleven would have been the best time. Eleven is just about the best age for almost everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/eleven-would-have-been-the-best-time-eleven-is-just-about-the-best/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) [Explore all 17 Zilpha Keatley Snyder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) ## More Pain quotes > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. 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The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [It hurts wanting the best for someone you love, even if they feel the best isn't you. That's real love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-wanting-the-best-for-someone-you-love-even-if-they-feel-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myself/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“What is there, in the mention of Time To Come, that is so quick to wrench at the heart, to inflict a pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/what-is-there-in-the-mention-of-time-to-come-that-is-so-quick-to/) [Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) [Kirsten Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gilchrist/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) [Browse all 17,919 Pain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But now and then, beneath the outer numbness, something stirred, like a living pain waiting for the anesthetic to wear away.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zilpha Keatley Snyder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbness-something-stirred-like-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbness-something-stirred-like-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/zilpha-keatley-snyder-30881_pain_but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbn_1150359.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/zilpha-keatley-snyder-30881_pain_but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbn_1150359.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/zilpha-keatley-snyder-30881_pain_but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbn_1150359.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But now and then, beneath the outer numbness, something stirred, like a living pain waiting for the…” — Zilpha Keatley Snyder", "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": "Zilpha Keatley Snyder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But now and then, beneath the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbness-something-stirred-like-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/but-now-and-then-beneath-the-outer-numbness-something-stirred-like-a/#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 } } ] } ```