Life Lessons From The Dirty Old Man Himself: Charles Bukowski
I’m in the midst of finishing Letters of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski. His writing style is definitely not for everyone. He’s crass and explicit, but I appreciate his genuine approach to writing and his straightforward manner. Below are some Bukowski quotes that I connected with. Some are pulled and taken out of the context that he originally wrote them, but they’re profound and worth sharing.
“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire”― Charles Bukowski
Great thought from Bukowski here. It’s how we deal with adversity that matters. Also, it reminds me of the book The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday. Embrace the bumps in the road; they’re the greatest teachers and give you character.
“We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.” ― Charles Bukowski
An all-time favorite quote! This life is a circus and we have no business creating more strife. Even with all of the things the human race shares, we still can’t find a way to love one another. In my opinion, Bukowski seemed to live along the peripheral of society, but maybe he was living the life of the common man and was in the thick of it all. Regardless, this quote rings true and is almost a cry to humanity to think broader and show each other some empathy!
“My ambition is handicapped by laziness” ― Charles Bukowski
Maybe this won’t resonate with many, but this line resonates with me. For all my hopes and dreams, I still struggle because of my lack of consistent motivation. But as James Clear talks about in his book Atomic Habits, the difference between professionals and everyone else is that they will push through the monotony day in and day out. With that statement in mind, I’m not sure Bukowski or myself would classify as professionals.
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” ― Charles Bukowski
Simple truths. I don’t know where I’d find myself on the spectrum of stupidity, to intelligence but I do know that there are many things in life that don’t have simple answers, that people try to simplify. I don’t pretend to have all the answers because it’s not feasible to have them. I caution against the so-called or self-proclaimed experts. Bukowski is great at pointing out the ironies of life.
“An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.” ― Charles Bukowski
If you don’t read this quote carefully, it might seem to contradict what I said about the last quote, but alas, it doesn’t. Many intellectuals want to use complicated or difficult to understand language to drive the point home that they’re smarter than you. Art, on the other hand, speaks a variety of languages and none at all. A single painting or sculpture can share a perspective on many issues and make it crystal clear what the artist is trying to convey.
“Find what you love and let it kill you.” ― Charles Bukowski
The million-dollar question for many of us is, what do we love? But I’d argue that many of us have a general idea or a gut feeling about what we value above all else. The real question is can you give yourself entirely to that passion? We continually put illusory obstacles in the paths of our dreams so that we may say, “It wasn’t meant to be.”
“There’s a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I’m too tough for him, I say, stay in there, I’m not going to let anybody see you.” ― Charles Bukowski
The only one of Bukowski’s quotes where I feel he lied. If you’ve read his stuff, then you realize that between the crudeness and drinking there’s truth and beauty. Bukowski let us see that little bluebird.
