Analysis goes a step farther still, and assures us that…
““Analysis goes a step farther still, and assures us that those impressions of the individual mind to which, for each one of us, experience dwindles down, are in perpetual flight; that each of them is limited by time, and that as time is infinitely divisible, each of them is infinitely divisible also; all that is actual in it being a single moment, gone while we try to apprehend it, of which it may ever be more truly said that it has ceased to be than that it is. To such a tremulous wisp constantly reforming itself on the stream, to a single sharp impression, with a sense in it, a relic more or less fleeting, of such moments gone by, what is real in our life fines itself down.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Moments are fleeting; our perception of them is constantly changing, making it hard to grasp a stable reality.
In simple terms: Moments pass quickly, perception shifts.
Key Takeaway
Accept impermanence.
Themes
impermanence
perception
time
reality
Mood
contemplative
melancholic
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- mindfulness practice
- creative writing
- psychology research
- art criticism
Key Concepts
philosophy
phenomenology
ephemerality
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you stay present with changing thoughts?
- What does “real” mean to you?
A Different Perspective
Our tendency to cling to fixed ideas can cause suffering.