I asked her to look at me and after a few moments - (pause) - after a few moments she did, but the eyes just slits, because of the glare I bent over her to get them in the shadow and they opened. (Pause. Low) Let me in.
Samuel BeckettRead
We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. But habit is a great deadener.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the inevitability of aging and the numbing effect of routines in life.
Samuel Beckett's quote suggests that while we have the gift of time and the experiences that come with aging, there is a cautionary note about the dangers of falling into habitual ways of living. The 'cries' in the air indicate the vitality of human experiences, yet the repetition of habits can dull our senses and prevent us from truly embracing life.
Themes
AgingHabitExperienceLifeVitality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of embracing life fully.
More from Samuel Beckett
All quotes βNothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.
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I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.
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And what I have, what I am, is enough, was always enough for me, and as far as my dear little sweet little future is concerned I have no qualms, I have a good time coming.
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I love order. It's my dream. A world where all would be silent and still, and each thing in its last place, under the last dust.
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We lose our hair, our teeth! Our bloom, our ideals.
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but one loses, as one grows older, something of the lightness of one's dreams; one begins to take life up in both hands, and to care more for the fruit than the flower, and that is no great loss perhaps.
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