Standards are always out of date. That's what makes them standards.
Alan BennettRead
Life is rather like a tin of sardines - we're all of us looking for the key.
Interpretation
Life is complex and often confusing, with everyone seeking solutions to their challenges.
This quote by Alan Bennett uses the analogy of a tin of sardines to illustrate the idea that life can feel cramped and difficult, yet we all share a common quest for understanding and purpose. Just as sardines are packed closely together, people navigate through life, often feeling constrained while searching for the 'key' or answers that will unlock their potential and provide clarity.
In practice
During a motivational speech about finding one's path, this quote can reinforce the idea of seeking clarity in life.
Standards are always out of date. That's what makes them standards.
To begin with, it's true, she read with trepidation and some unease. The sheer endlessness of books outfaced her and she had no idea how to go on; there was no system to her reading, with one book leading to another, and often she had two or three on the go at the same time.
A book is a device to ignite the imagination.
Those who have known the famous are publicly debriefed of their memories, knowing as their own dusk falls that they will only be remembered for remembering someone else.
To read is to withdraw.To make oneself unavailable. One would feel easier about it if the pursuit inself were less...selfish.
The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours
I remember thinking, when I was in my early 30s, that this is the best age to be, and I still believe your 30s are a wonderful time.
What's a man's age? He must hurry more, that's all; Cram in a day, what his youth took a year to hold.
When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year-old girl.
Hearing the sound of your breathing as you sleep,_x000D_ with the dog at your feet, his head resting_x000D_ on a shoe, and the clock's ticking_x000D_ like water dripping in a sink - I know that, even if reincarnation were a fact,_x000D_ given the inherent cruelty of the world_x000D_ where beautiful things and people_x000D_ are blasted apart all the day long,_x000D_ I would never want to come back, knowing_x000D_ I could never be this lucky twice.
One can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days
As I apologized to her a flicker of panic raced through me and then faded away. There wasn't enough life left in me to panic. I'd made a mistake and I was dying. Apparently not even a Speck afterlife was available to me. I'd simply stop being. Apparently I hadn't died correctly. Oops.
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