--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the last several years my life had begun…" description: "\"“the last several years my life had begun to feel shapeless, like underwear with the elastic gone, the days down around my ankles.”\" — Abigail Thomas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/abigail-thomas-28792_life_the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun_2352542.jpg" --- # the last several years my life had begun to feel… ![“the last several years my life had begun to feel shapeless, like underwear with the elastic gone, the days down around my ankles.” quote by Abigail Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/abigail-thomas-28792_life_the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun_2352542.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/abigail-thomas-28792_life_the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun_2352542.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/abigail-thomas-28792_life_the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun_2352542.jpg) > ““the last several years my life had begun to feel shapeless, like underwear with the elastic gone, the days down around my ankles.”” [Abigail Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling of losing direction and structure, like losing elasticity in clothing, leading to a sense of listlessness. **In simple terms:** Life feels directionless and unstructured. Key Takeaway Regain structure and purpose. Themes identity purpose stagnation Mood reflective melancholic Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - career transition - personal growth - mental health - daily routine Key Concepts existentialism self‑care Questions to Reflect On - What can you do to restore elasticity to your days? - How does structure affect your sense of self? A Different Perspective May be temporary; external factors can also cause shapelessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. —BRUCE LEE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-jurek/empty-your-mind-be-formless-shapeless-like-water-bruce-lee/) [Scott Jurek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-jurek/) > [“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. Be water, my friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/empty-your-mind-be-formless-shapeless-like-water-be-water-my-friend/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/empty-your-mind-be-formless-shapeless-like-water/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“There is nothing like calamity for refreshing the moment. 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S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) ## More by Abigail Thomas > [“The past is in the wastebasket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/the-past-is-in-the-wastebasket/) [Abigail Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-thomas/) > [“Forget career, forget the future, forget existential worries, just get yourselves a couple of dogs, and everything will be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/forget-career-forget-the-future-forget-existential-worries-just-get/) [Abigail Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-thomas/) > [“There are those people who can eat one piece of chocolate, one piece of cake, drink one glass of wine. There are even people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/there-are-those-people-who-can-eat-one-piece-of-chocolate-one-piece/) [Abigail Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-thomas/) > [“There is nothing like calamity for refreshing the moment. 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By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the last several years my life had begun to feel shapeless, like underwear with the elastic gone, the days down around my ankles.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abigail Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun-to-feel-shapeless-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun-to-feel-shapeless-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/abigail-thomas-28792_life_the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun_2352542.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/abigail-thomas-28792_life_the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun_2352542.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/abigail-thomas-28792_life_the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun_2352542.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the last several years my life had begun to feel shapeless, like underwear with the elastic gone, the days…” — Abigail Thomas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abigail Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-thomas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the last several years my life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun-to-feel-shapeless-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/the-last-several-years-my-life-had-begun-to-feel-shapeless-like/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```