Skip to content
quotesby

One of the highpoints of my weekend in Berlin was the Atonal-Festival, and we weren't there for very long, it was just a lot of people shrieking really, banging instruments in a rather random fashion... But a young woman there did seem to show some kind of vague sexual interest in me, and like twenty years ago I should've been most gratified by this and probably tried to do something about it. But of course when you've deteriorated to the point that I've deteriorated to, you become a little uneasy. And I wondered, like, is she a dedicated sociologist who is prepared to stop at nothing to support some half-baked theory she has, or is she smashed out of her head, or is she just plain mad. And I rather suspect that she was smashed out of her head, because trying to get off with me is roughly equivalent to eating all of your meals out of wastebins.

John Peel#53

SelfAgingAttentionConnectionSelf worthSocial

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker feels uneasy about unexpected attention due to aging and self-depreciation.
In plain terms
I feel weird when people notice me because I think I am not worth it.
What can you take from it?
Self-perception can hinder connection even when attention is given.

Where it applies

  • receiving unwanted attention
  • dealing with aging
  • festival encounters

Putting it to work

  • work on self-worth
  • accept compliments
  • trust your intuition

Questions to consider

  • How do you handle unexpected attention?
  • What roles self-esteem play in connection?

Another view

Dismissing interest based on self-judgment can prevent genuine human connection.

More from John Peel

  1. My day started off particularly well with a phonecall from Richard in Germany who told me, he says 'Do you want any wine? My father owns a vineyard.' Owns a vi…

    Permalink to quote #52
  2. (some comments John made on Jamaican pre-releases on recycled vinyl):

    Permalink to quote #54
  3. And Kay wrote to me from Bielefeld, where he or she is stationed. He or she or uncommited, I don't know.

    Permalink to quote #51

Related quotes

  1. The problem with the loneliness I suffer is that the company of others has never been a cure for it.

    Joseph HellerJoseph Heller quote #47
  2. Whenever a man's friends begin to compliment him about looking young, he may be sure that they think he is growing old.

    Washington IrvingWashington Irving quote #1
  3. Less than the dust beneath thy chariot wheel, Less than the rust that never stained thy sword,

    Laurence HopeLaurence Hope quote #1