“It was not a madness: rather it was a too clear and naked perception of the darkness beyond this frail existence, lit by a momentary sun no more secure than ourselves: a realization of futility that few can experience and ever again touch the life about them”

H. P. Lovecraft
The Night Ocean

I’ve been (slowly) reading this excellent story. I posted another quote from it recently, but I think this one does a great job of describing that feeling of detachment that dreadful realizations can inspire.

If you haven’t read this story, you’re not alone! But it’s fantastic. Heard about it on a recent episode of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias podcast where they were talking about the ocean in cosmic horror. Didn’t even know about this story until then. It’s about an artist who is taking holiday in a quaint beach town after completing a long and tiring mural commission. And how the ocean slowly drives him mad (question mark?)

I’m enjoying it so far!

“For although dreams are in all of us, few hands may grasp their moth-wings without tearing them.”

H. P. Lovecraft
The Night Ocean