QuoteProject
Time is our element, not a mistaken invader.
John Updike
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Time is a natural part of our existence and should be embraced rather than feared.

John Updike's quote suggests that time is a fundamental aspect of our lives, something intrinsic to our existence rather than an external force that disrupts us. By perceiving time as an integral element, we can understand its value and significance, ultimately leading to a more fulfilling life where we appreciate each moment.

Themes

TimeExistencePhilosophyAppreciationValue

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about embracing life's challenges, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of viewing time positively.

More from John Updike

If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John UpdikeRead
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of. _x000D_ _x000D_ Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings.
John UpdikeRead
Museums and bookstores should feel, I think, like vacant lots - places where the demands on us are our own demands, where the spirit can find exercise in unsupervised play.
John UpdikeRead
But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.
John UpdikeRead
The reader knows the writer better than he knows himself; but the writer's physical presence is light from a star that has moved on.
John UpdikeRead
To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures - if not happiness - its hopeful pursuit.
John UpdikeRead

Similar quotes

The deceit, the lie of the devil consists of this, that he wishes to make man believe that he can live without God's Word. Thus he dangles before man's fantasy a kingdom of faith, of power, and of peace, into which only he can enter who consents to the temptations; and conceals from men that he, as the devil, is the most unfortunate and unhappy of beings, since he is finally and eternally rejected by God.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
Above literature?' said the Queen. 'Who is above literature? You might as well say one was above humanity.
Alan BennettRead
Renunciation - non-resistance - non-destructiveness - are the ideals to be attained through less and less worldliness, less and less resistance, less and less destructiveness. Keep the ideal in view and work towards it. None can live in the world without resistance, without destruction, without desire. The world has not come to that state yet when the ideal can be realised in society.
Swami VivekanandaRead
He who aims at making an entire and perfect oblation of himself, in addition to his will, must offer his understanding, which is a further and the highest degree of obedience.
Saint IgnatiusRead
On their sofas of spice and feathers, the concubines also slept fretfully. In those days the Earth was still flat, and people dreamed often of falling over edges.
Tom RobbinsRead
Any man who has once proclaimed violence as his method is inevitably forced to take the lie as his principle.
Aleksandr SolzhenitsynRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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