We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
OvidRead
We're left with so little to go on. Only the present is full enough to seem complete, and even that is an optical illusion. The moment is bleeding off the page. We live on the precipice of our perceptions. At the edge of every living instant, the world shears away like a cliff of ice into the sea of what is forgotten.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the transient nature of time and perception, emphasizing how the present moment is often deceptive.
Ivan Vladislavic's quote delves into the complexity of human perception and the fleeting nature of time. It suggests that while we may believe the present is substantial and fulfilling, it is actually an illusion, as each moment slips away into the vast sea of forgotten experiences. The imagery of a cliff of ice alludes to the precariousness of our existence, highlighting the idea that our understanding of reality is shaped by perceptions that can easily shift and disappear.
Themes
TimePerceptionIllusionPresentMemory
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about the importance of living in the moment.
Similar quotes
Like our bodies and like our desires, the machines we have devised are possessed of a heart which is slowly reduced to embers.
W. G. SebaldRead
Religion is poison because it asks us to give up our most precious faculty, which is that of reason, and to believe things without evidence. It then asks us to respect this, which it calls faith.
Christopher HitchensRead
If gold rusts, what then can iron do?
Geoffrey ChaucerRead
Never to get lost is not to live, not to know how to get lost brings you to destruction.
Rebecca SolnitRead
As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.
Herman MelvilleRead