No one's ever dared come out and say it before, but there's not a man among us that doesn't think it, that doesn't feel just as you do about her and the whole business - feel it somewhere down deep in his scared little soul.
Ken KeseyRead
But I remember one thing:_x000D_ _x000D_ it wasn't me that started acting deaf;_x000D_ _x000D_ it was people that first started acting like_x000D_ _x000D_ I was too dumb to hear or see or say anything at all
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the disconnect between individuals and the misunderstandings that can arise in communication.
In this quote, Ken Kesey conveys a feeling of frustration regarding interpersonal communication. He reflects on how people's actions can create barriers, leading to a situation where he feels unheard and invalidated. This emphasizes the importance of mutual understanding and attention in relationships, suggesting that often it's not a lack of perception on one side, but rather a failure of the other to acknowledge and engage meaningfully.
Themes
CommunicationUnderstandingRelationshipsDisconnectPerception
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on effective communication, you might use this quote to emphasize the importance of actively listening to others.
More from Ken Kesey
All quotes →His whole body shakes with the strain as he tries to lift something he knows he can't lift, something everybody knows he can't lift. But, for just a second, when we hear the cement grind at our feet, we think, by golly, he might do it.
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The job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.
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If this glorious birth to death hassle is the only hassle we are ever to have ..if our grand exhilarating fight of life is such a tragically short little scrap anyway,compared to the eons of rounds before and after-then why should one want to relinquish even a few precious seconds of it?
Ken KeseyRead
He was in his chair in the corner, resting a second before he came out for the next round -- in a long line of next rounds. The thing he was fighting, you couldn't whip it for good. All you could do was keep on whipping it, till you couldn't come out anymore and somebody else had to take your place.
Ken KeseyRead
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