QuoteProject
Memory was supposed to fill the time, but it made time a hole to be filled. Each second was two hundred yards, to be walked, crawled. You couldn't see the next hour, it was so far in the distance. Tomorrow was over the horizon, and would take an entire day to reach.
Jonathan Safran Foer
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on how memory distorts our perception of time, making it feel elongated and burdensome.

In this quote, Jonathan Safran Foer delves into the experience of memory and time, suggesting that rather than merely filling time with recollections, memories can transform our experience into a daunting journey. Each moment feels vast and heavy, isolating us from the present as we struggle to reach what lies ahead, creating a profound sense of distance from the future and an overwhelming heaviness in the present.

Themes

MemoryTimeJourneyExperiencePerception

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the importance of living in the moment, one might say, 'As Jonathan Safran Foer eloquently puts it, memory can make time feel like an insurmountable journey.'

More from Jonathan Safran Foer

We burned with love for ourselves, all of us, starters of the fire we suffered- our love was the affliction for which only our love was the cure.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
She was not crying Which surprised me very much But I understand now That she had found places For her melancholy That were behind more masks Than only her eyes
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What do babies dream of? She must be dreaming of the before-life, just as I dream of the afterlife.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
A few weeks after the worst day, I started writing lots of letters. I don't know why, but it was one of the only things that made my boots lighter.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What is being awake if not interpreting our dreams, or dreaming if not interpreting our wake?
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
Just how destructive does a culinary preference have to be before we decide to eat something else? If contributing to the suffering of billions of animals that live miserable lives and (quite often) die in horrific ways isn't motivating, what would be? If being the number one contributor to the most serious threat facing the planet (global warming) isn't enough, what is? And if you are tempted to put off these questions of conscience, to say not now, then when?
Jonathan Safran FoerRead

Similar quotes

I sit here drunk now. I am a series of small victories and large defeats and I am as amazed as any other that I have gotten from there to here without committing murder or being murdered; without having ended up in the madhouse. as I drink alone again tonight my soul despite all the past agony thanks all the gods who were not there for me then.
Charles BukowskiRead
He who has not looked on Sorrow will never see Joy.
Khalil GibranRead
I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
Joan DidionRead
It's frightening to wake up one morning and discover that while you were asleep you went out of style.
Erma BombeckRead
Many a life has been injured by the constant expectation of death. It is life we have to do with, not death. The best preparation for the night is to work diligently while the day lasts. The best preparation for death is life.
George MacdonaldRead
I lived through the garbage. I might as well dine on the caviar.
Beverly SillsRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.