I read something different into that Bukowski quote. Specifically, I read it as a warning against voluntarily putting your destiny and satisfaction in the hand

I read something different into that Bukowski quote. Specifically, I read it as a warning against voluntarily putting your destiny and satisfaction in the hands of other humans or organizations; it is a call to independence of thought and action. Your SO’s situation is an unfortunate roll of the dice. Any of us could get hit by a bus tomorrow. But these seem orthogonal to Bukowski’s point.