We aren't the things we collect, acquire, read. We are, for as long as we are here, only love. The things we loved. The people we loved. And these, I think these really do live on.
Gabrielle ZevinRead
On, there are so many lives. How we wish we could live them concurrently instead of one by one by one. We could select the best pieces of each, stringing them together like a strand of pearls. But that's not how it works. A human life is a beautiful mess.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is complex and multifaceted, and we often wish we could experience all its possibilities at once.
In this quote, Gabrielle Zevin reflects on the intricacies of human life, expressing a desire to live multiple lives simultaneously and to pick the best experiences from each. However, she acknowledges the reality that life unfolds in a linear fashion, often chaotic and unpredictable, yet ultimately beautiful in its messiness.
Themes
LifeExperienceBeautyComplexityMessiness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the complexities of life during a philosophy class.
More from Gabrielle Zevin
All quotes →As many have discovered, it is entirely possible (although not particularly desirable) to love two people with all your heart. It is entirely possible to long for two lives, to feel that one life can't come close to containing it all.
Gabrielle ZevinRead
It’s difficult to ever go back to the same places or people. You turn away, even for a moment, and when you turn back around, everything’s changed.
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I wish I could tell you to always follow your heart, but I think it is bad advice. You have a heart, yes, it is true, but also a brain and also a soul. I've come to believe that we love with our brains as much as our hearts. Real Love is not just instinct, but intent...... From year to year, you may not always be the same Jane. This is perfectly normal. A Jane is many Janes in a lifetime.
Gabrielle ZevinRead
There is no difference in quality between a life lived forward and a life lived backwards, she thinks. She had come to love this backward life. It was, after all, the only life she had.
Gabrielle ZevinRead
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