When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else…
““When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age.In middle age I was assured greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked. Four hoarse blasts of a ships's whistle still raise the hair on my neck and set my feet to tapping. The sound of a jet, an engine warming up, even the clopping of shod hooves on pavement brings on the ancient shudder, the dry mouth and vacant eye, the hot palms and the churn of stomach high up under the rib cage. In other words, once a bum always a bum. I fear this disease incurable. I set this matter down not to instruct others but to inform myself…A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we not take a trip; a trip takes us.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The speaker reflects on lifelong restlessness that persists despite age, concluding that journeys shape us more than plans.
In simple terms: Restlessness remains no matter how old you get; journeys happen to you.
Key Takeaway
Embrace the unpredictable nature of life’s journeys.
Themes
restlessness
age
journey
Mood
reflective
melancholic
Type
personal
philosophical
When to use this quote
- travel
- career change
- personal growth
- midlife crisis
Key Concepts
existentialism
human condition
acceptance
Questions to Reflect On
- What journeys have taken you unexpectedly?
- How do you find peace with uncontrollable restlessness?
A Different Perspective
Plans cannot control the inherent unpredictability of life.