Know what we did, Lucy? You and me? We spent our whole lives yearning. Isn't that the God damndest thing?
Interpretation
The quote reflects on how people can spend their lives in longing and desire, which may ultimately be unfulfilled.
In this quote, Richard Yates expresses a profound realization about the human condition, emphasizing the idea that much of life can be spent in yearning for what we do not have, rather than appreciating what we do have. This sentiment captures the bittersweet nature of existence, where desires often overshadow the present moment, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction and regret. It suggests a reflective examination of life and the futility of longing, inviting readers to consider their own experiences with desire and fulfillment.
In practice
In a speech about pursuing happiness, this quote can illustrate the need to focus on living fully rather than desiring what is out of reach.
She was calm and quiet now with knowing what she had always known, what neither her parents nor Aunt Claire nor Frank nor anyone else had ever had to teach her: that if you wanted something to do something absolutely honest, something true, it always turned out to be a thing that had to be done alone.
He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn’t try to stop for a while, until he realized he was forcing his sobs a little, exaggerating their depth with unnecessary shudders. … The whole point of crying is to quit before you coined it up. The whole point of grief itself was to cut it out while it was still honest, while it still meant something. Because the thing was so easily corrupted
Do you know what the definition of insane is? Yes. It’s the inability to relate to another human being. It’s the inability to love.
It's a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity.
She just happened to feel like it. Wasn’t that after all, the only reason there was? Had she ever had a less selfish, more complicated reason for doing anything in her life?
He knew it was possible for shame to be nursed and doctored like an illness, if you wanted to keep it separate from the rest of your life, but that didn't mean there'd be any way to keep from knowing it was there.
That's the irony in the work: the best stories are the worst things that happen. My best times were somebody else's worst.
It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding.
The trick is to age honestly and gracefully and make it look great, so that everyone looks forward to it.
'Cause I'm just - I want to go to Amsterdam, and I want him to tell me what happens after the book is over, and I just don't want my particular life, and also the sky is depressing me, and there is this old swing set out here that my dad made for me when I was a kid.' 'I must see this old swing set of tears immediately,' he said. 'I'll be over in twenty minutes.'
I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damn short.
I don't envision a very long life for myself. I think my life will run out before my work does. I've designed it that way.
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