Dreams are shores where the ocean of spirit meets the land of matter. Dreams are beaches where the yet-to-be, the once-were, the will-never-be may walk awhile with the still-are.
We looked at each other for the last time; nothing is as eloquent as nothing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on a poignant silent farewell between two individuals, emphasizing the profound communication that can occur without words.
David Mitchell's quote captures the idea that sometimes the most powerful expressions of emotion occur in silence. The 'last time' signifies a moment of finality in a relationship, suggesting that the absence of words can convey deep feelings of loss or closure more eloquently than verbal communication ever could. It highlights the profound impact of nonverbal cues in human connections, illuminating the complexities of relationships and farewells.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a heartfelt speech at a farewell party, one might say, 'As we part ways, I remember our last moments together. Sometimes, the truth lies in silence.'
More from David Mitchell
All quotes →The Revelation of Sonmi 451 To be is to be perceived, and so to know thyself is only possible through the eyes of the other. The nature of our immortal lives is in the consequences of our words and deeds, that go on and are pushing themselves throughout all time. - Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
…and there, in the background, the sky’s sediment had sunk to a place where all the woe of the words ‘I am’ dissolved into blue peace. He said it. ‘The ocean.
How vulgar, this hankering after immortality, how vain, how false. Composers are merely scribblers of cave paintings. One writes music because winter is eternal and because, if one didn't, the wolves and blizzards would be at one's throat all the sooner.
. . .my dreams are the single unpredictable factor in my zoned days and nights. Nobody allots them, or censors them. Dreams are all I have ever truly owned.
My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
Similar quotes
Marriage must fight constantly against a monster which devours everything: routine.
When a Cat adopts you, and I am not superstitious at all I don't mean only Black cats there is nothing to be done about it except to put up with it and wait until the wind changes.
Grief can be a slow ache that never seems to stop rising, yet as we grieve, those we love mysteriously become more and more a part of who we are.
Anxiety is love's greatest killer, because it is like the stranglehold of the drowning.
Band-Aids don't fix bullet holes. You say sorry just for show. You live like that, you live with ghosts.
We have begun to slam doors, and to throw things. I throw my purse, an ashtray, a package of chocolate chips, which breaks on impact. We are picking up chocolate chips for days. Jon throws a glass of milk, the milk, not the glass: he knows his own strength, as I do not. He throws a box of Cheerios, unopened. The things I throw miss, although they are worse things. The things he throws hit, but are harmless. I begin to see how the line is crossed, between histrionics and murder.