It suggests that pain and isolation can be transformed into art.

In the age of hyperconnectivity, loneliness is epidemic. But Bukowski’s line speaks to a specific kind of modern loneliness:

Imagine a graph. On the Y-axis is emotional pain. On the X-axis is time spent alone. For the first few days, the line shoots up. You check your phone. You feel the phantom buzz of a notification. You panic. This is the "Suffering Stage." This is where most people run for the bar, the Tinder date, or the office water cooler.