And on that evening when we grow older still we'll speak about these two young men as though they were two strangers we met on the train and whom we admire and want to help along. And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the complexities of admiration and envy towards others as we age, highlighting our desire to help and connect, while concealing our feelings of regret.
In this quote, Andr Aciman captures the bittersweet emotions that come with growing older and reflecting on the lives of others. It emphasizes how we often disguise our deeper feelings of regret with admiration, especially when we look back on lost opportunities or unfulfilled dreams. The idea of viewing these young men as 'strangers' suggests a distance created by time and circumstance, yet there remains a longing to support and connect with them, revealing the dual nature of our emotions—both envy for their potential and a hidden sense of loss for what we ourselves may not have achieved.
In practice
This quote could be shared during a reunion to reflect on how we've changed and what we admire in others.
As we walked, I began to wonder what the opposite of molting was and why, unlike the body, which sheds everything, the soul cannot let go but compiles and accumulates, growing annual rings around the things it wants and dreams and remembers
Perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. But then perhaps this is what lovers are.
Keeping your emotions all locked up is something that’s unfair to you. When you clearly know how you feel. You should say it.
A marriage...makes of two fractional lives a whole; it gives to two purposeless lives a work, and doubles the strength of each to perform it; it gives to two questioning natures a reason for living, and something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life.
She was not crying Which surprised me very much But I understand now That she had found places For her melancholy That were behind more masks Than only her eyes
People like you to be something, preferably what they are.
It amazes me that we are all on Twitter and Facebook. By "we" I mean adults. We're adults, right? But emotionally we're a culture of seven-year-olds. Have you ever had that moment when are you updating your status and you realize that every status update is just a variation on a single request: "Would someone please acknowledge me?
My father always told me: 'Give somebody a hand and he'll take an arm.
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