--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was one of things that surprised me…" description: "\"That was one of things that surprised me so much when I was writing the poems. The contrasts between the haves and have-nots is so complicated. It's fi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/adrian-matejka-37147_choices_that-was-one-of-things-that-surprised-me_1656507.jpg" --- # That was one of things that surprised me so much when I… ![“That was one of things that surprised me so much when I was writing the poems. The contrasts between the haves and have-nots is so complicated. It's financial of course, but it's also the lifestyle choices. The more money people have the further away from each other they often want to be. So while…” quote by Adrian Matejka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/adrian-matejka-37147_choices_that-was-one-of-things-that-surprised-me_1656507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/adrian-matejka-37147_choices_that-was-one-of-things-that-surprised-me_1656507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/adrian-matejka-37147_choices_that-was-one-of-things-that-surprised-me_1656507.jpg) > “That was one of things that surprised me so much when I was writing the poems. The contrasts between the haves and have-nots is so complicated. It's financial of course, but it's also the lifestyle choices. The more money people have the further away from each other they often want to be. So while I loved not being hungry and having new gear, etc. I missed the sounds of my neighbors and the kind of generosity people who are struggling together often show.” [Adrian Matejka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-matejka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wealth creates social distance, reducing shared experiences and mutual generosity among people. **In simple terms:** Money separates people and reduces community. Key Takeaway Seek connection beyond material status. Themes wealth community social class generosity isolation Mood reflective melancholic Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - urban living - neighborhoods - creative communities - social gatherings - economic inequality Key Concepts socioeconomic disparity human connection shared experience Questions to Reflect On - How does wealth affect your sense of community? - What simple actions can rebuild neighborly generosity? A Different Perspective Even with wealth, emotional needs for belonging persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Complicated Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated-financial-711006/) [Contrast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrast/) [Contrasts Haves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrasts-haves-711004/) [Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial/) [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Generosity People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity-people-575894/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Lifestyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle/) [Lifestyle choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle-choices/) [Money People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-people/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poems Contrasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-contrasts-711005/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My grandmother was extremely smart when it came to money, but she also worried a lot about not having enough. So it's with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-singletary/my-grandmother-was-extremely-smart-when-it-came-to-money-but-she-also/) [Michelle Singletary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-singletary/) > [Writing is an act of generosity toward other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/writing-is-an-act-of-generosity-toward-other-people/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [I respect generosity in people, and I respect it in companies too, I don't look at it as philanthropy; I see it as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/i-respect-generosity-in-people-and-i-respect-it-in-companies-too-i/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [I attribute that to the generosity of people that are in the entertainment business because they are all struggling. 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I don't know if it's the multiple concussions or the lifestyle choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hall/mental-illness-is-real-and-i-got-them-i-don-t-know-if-it-s-the/) [Scott Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hall/) > [In business, your positive thoughts and lifestyle choices lead to your personal success and your career success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gitomer/in-business-your-positive-thoughts-and-lifestyle-choices-lead-to-your/) [Jeffrey Gitomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-gitomer/) > [Healthy food and lifestyle choices are the foundations of weight loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-rosenthal/healthy-food-and-lifestyle-choices-are-the-foundations-of-weight-loss/) [Joshua Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-rosenthal/) ## More by Adrian Matejka > [You should check out William Shatner's album The Transformed Man. It will alter the way you hear poetry forever. 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I never thought I would type that I learned how to emote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-matejka/one-of-the-things-i-took-from-the-show-was-emotional-possibility-i/) [Adrian Matejka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-matejka/) > [The 1990s were also when a bunch of the soft-shoe language for race, gender, and class became paramount. Because before that I wasn't thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-matejka/the-1990s-were-also-when-a-bunch-of-the-soft-shoe-language-for-race/) [Adrian Matejka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-matejka/) > [I visited the Museum of Modern Art last spring and spent time with David Alfaro Siqueiros's painting, 'Echo of a Scream (1937).' 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When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That was one of things that surprised me so much when I was writing the poems. 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