black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Everything else happened – why not the things that could have?

Jonathan Safran Foer

She said, “Do you have more things that you need, or more that you don’t need?” I said, “It depends on what it means to need.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Deep Myself Need Philosophy
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

Day Distance Fill Memories Reach Time Walk Yourself
Everything that’s born has to die, which means our lives are like skyscrapers. The smoke rises at different speeds, but they’re all on fire, and we’re all trapped.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Born Death Fire Live Ourselves Rise Smoking
I looked at everyone and wondered where they came from, and who they missed, and what they were sorry for.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Missing Myself Sorry Wonder
I imagine a line, a white line, painted on the sand and on the ocean, from me to you.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Imagination Myself Ocean Yourself
We are lying to ourselves and to each other. Lying about what? I don’t care if we’re lying. I am a bad person. I don’t care. I don’t care what you are.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Bad Each Other Lying Yourself
In the morning, when the nothing vase casts a something shadow, like the memory of someone you’ve lost, what can you say about that?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Lost Memories Morning Shadow Yourself
It can be challenge enough to have to eat with myself.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Challenge Eat Myself
Sometimes I imagined stitching all of our little touches together. How many hundreds of thousands of fingers brushing against each other does it take to make love? Why does anyone ever make love?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Imagination Love Time Togetherness Touch
Cruelty depends on an understanding of cruelty, and the ability to choose against it. Or to choose to ignore it.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Ability Choice Cruelty Ignorance Understand
We are not long-term beings. Not heroes of romances in many volumes. For one gesture, for one word alone, we shall make the effort. We openly admit: our creations will be temporary. We shall have this as our aim: a gesture.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Admit Effort Goal Human Open Romance Temporary Time Volume
There’s nothing wrong with not understanding yourself.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Understand Wrong Yourself
Not responding is a response – we are equally responsible for what we don’t do.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Deep Equality Respond Silence
I felt shame for living in a nation of unprecedented prosperity-a nation that spends a smaller percentage of income on food than any other civilization has in human history-but in the name of affordability treats the animals it eats with cruelty so extreme it would be illegal if inflicted on a dog.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Animal Civilization Dog Feeling Illegal Name Nation Prosperity Shame Treat
I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Life Live Myself One Liner Regret
Part of living your life is an awareness of the opportunities that can be missed and an awareness that time moves in one direction.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Aware Direction Life Live Miss Move Oneself Opportunity

Everything else happened – why not the things that could have?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Everything else happened – why not the things that could have?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Jonathan Safran Foer Quotes