--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh God, how did he get to be sixty? How…" description: "\"“Oh God, how did he get to be sixty? How quickly the years had passed! His whole life had passed before he realized it, before he began. He hadn’t live..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/alaa-al-aswany-24214_happy-times_oh-god-how-did-he-get-to-be-sixty-how-qu_1828500.jpg" --- # Oh God, how did he get to be sixty? How quickly the years… ![“Oh God, how did he get to be sixty? How quickly the years had passed! His whole life had passed before he realized it, before he began. He hadn’t lived. What had he done in his life? What had he achieved? Could he measure his happy times? How much? How many? Several days, a few months at best? It…” quote by Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/alaa-al-aswany-24214_happy-times_oh-god-how-did-he-get-to-be-sixty-how-qu_1828500.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/alaa-al-aswany-24214_happy-times_oh-god-how-did-he-get-to-be-sixty-how-qu_1828500.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/alaa-al-aswany-24214_happy-times_oh-god-how-did-he-get-to-be-sixty-how-qu_1828500.jpg) > ““Oh God, how did he get to be sixty? How quickly the years had passed! His whole life had passed before he realized it, before he began. He hadn’t lived. What had he done in his life? What had he achieved? Could he measure his happy times? How much? How many? Several days, a few months at best? It was not fair to advance in years without realizing the value of time, not fair that no one drew our attention to the time that was slipping through our fingers by the moment. It was a clever trick: to realize the value of life only just before it ended.”” [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life passes unnoticed when we ignore time’s value, urging reflection before it’s too late. **In simple terms:** Time slips by unnoticed. Key Takeaway Live intentionally, value each moment. Themes mortality reflection meaning Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal milestones - health check‑ups - legacy projects Key Concepts existentialism time perception Questions to Reflect On - What does a meaningful life look like? - How can we measure happiness? A Different Perspective Awareness alone may not change habits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happy times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-times/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Achieved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-achieved-257715/) [Life Passed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-passed-654720/) [Oh god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oh-god/) [Passed Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passed-life-1164095/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Value Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-life/) [Value of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-of-life/) [Value of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-of-time/) [Whole life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-life/) [Years Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-realizing-2255492/) ## Related quotes > [We foolish mortals sometimes live through years not realizing how short life is, and that TODAY is your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/we-foolish-mortals-sometimes-live-through-years-not-realizing-how/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [No, if there's any ultimate redemption, it would be because I passed though your life without scarring you, and did not diminish who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/no-if-there-s-any-ultimate-redemption-it-would-be-because-i-passed/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I had passed on from life, from the world of struggles and hardship and big fat women with annoying laughs, and entered a glorious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/i-had-passed-on-from-life-from-the-world-of-struggles-and-hardship/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [The days passed, as they do, and life went on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brooks/the-days-passed-as-they-do-and-life-went-on/) [Kevin Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brooks/) > [“Life was nothing more than a board game, and only those who realized they were the overlooking players, instead of the pieces on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasun-ether/life-was-nothing-more-than-a-board-game-and-only-those-who-realized/) [Jasun Ether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasun-ether/) > [Sometimes, you go - you achieve a few things in life. I have achieved more career success than I ever experienced or that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/sometimes-you-go-you-achieve-a-few-things-in-life-i-have-achieved/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [The ballet. I saw in the fugitive beauty of a dancer's gesture a symbol of life. It was achieved at the cost of unending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-ballet-i-saw-in-the-fugitive-beauty-of-a-dancer-s-gesture-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I can proudly say that for 80 per cent of my life, I achieved what I wanted to. There were very few setbacks. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mumtaz/i-can-proudly-say-that-for-80-per-cent-of-my-life-i-achieved-what-i/) [Mumtaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mumtaz/) > [The only thing in life achieved without effort is failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-in-life-achieved-without-effort-is-failure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be proud of something in life that you achieved; don't see negativity in all that you do, there's always something there that's worthwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-proud-of-something-in-life-that-you-achieved-don-t-see-negativity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anything you want for your life, if someone else has done, become, or achieved it, use that as evidence that so can you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/anything-you-want-for-your-life-if-someone-else-has-done-become-or/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [It does not matter who came to your life first, what matter's is what are u leaving for?, what are your expectations?, what impact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-ogali/it-does-not-matter-who-came-to-your-life-first-what-matter-s-is-what/) [Justice Ogali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-ogali/) > [I totally enjoy what I'm doing and bringing joy into people's lives. To me, and if I can bring one second of joy into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-totally-enjoy-what-i-m-doing-and-bringing-joy-into-people-s-lives/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [All the legal action I've taken against newspapers has had a massively positive effect on my life and achieved exactly what I wanted, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sienna-miller/all-the-legal-action-i-ve-taken-against-newspapers-has-had-a/) [Sienna Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sienna-miller/) > [By the time you have no difficulties in your life, you have achieved Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brown/by-the-time-you-have-no-difficulties-in-your-life-you-have-achieved/) [Charles Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brown/) ## More by Alaa Al Aswany > [Illiteracy does not impede the practice of democracy, as witnessed by the success of democracy in India despite the high illiteracy rate. One doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/illiteracy-does-not-impede-the-practice-of-democracy-as-witnessed-by/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“...he was one of the great intellectuals of the 1940s who completed their higher studies in the West and returned to their country to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/he-was-one-of-the-great-intellectuals-of-the-1940s-who-completed/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“She represents the beauty of the common people in all its vulgarity and provocativeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/she-represents-the-beauty-of-the-common-people-in-all-its-vulgarity/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [Egyptians are like camels: they can put up with beatings, humiliation and starvation for a long time but when they rebel they do so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/egyptians-are-like-camels-they-can-put-up-with-beatings-humiliation/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“I lived through beautiful times, Busayna. It was a different age. Cairo was like Europe. It was clean and smart and the people were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/i-lived-through-beautiful-times-busayna-it-was-a-different-age-cairo/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [If you can't find good in your own country, you won't find it anywhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/if-you-can-t-find-good-in-your-own-country-you-won-t-find-it-anywhere/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“If you can’t find good in your own country, you won’t find it anywhere else.” The words slipped out from Zaki Bey, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/if-you-can-t-find-good-in-your-own-country-you-won-t-find-it-anywhere-2/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“Sheikh Bilal had taken him aside the day before the wedding and spoken to him of marriage and his wife’s rights in the Law,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/sheikh-bilal-had-taken-him-aside-the-day-before-the-wedding-and/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“...oh that short hair, a la garcon that evokes unfamiliar, boyish kinds of sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/oh-that-short-hair-a-la-garcon-that-evokes-unfamiliar-boyish-kinds-of/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [I am according to my slave's expectations of me: if good, then good, and if bad, then bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/i-am-according-to-my-slave-s-expectations-of-me-if-good-then-good-and/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“He had worked out long ago that police officers evaluated a citizen on the basis of three factors—his appearance, his occupation, and the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/he-had-worked-out-long-ago-that-police-officers-evaluated-a-citizen/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“The concept of the benevolent dictator, just like the concepts of the noble thief or the honest whore, is no more than a meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/the-concept-of-the-benevolent-dictator-just-like-the-concepts-of-the/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“She had lost her compassion for people and a thick crust of indifference had formed around her feelings - that disgust that afflicts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/she-had-lost-her-compassion-for-people-and-a-thick-crust-of/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“Later he would ponder the relation between our extreme desire for something and our ability to realize it- was what we wanted inevitably brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/later-he-would-ponder-the-relation-between-our-extreme-desire-for/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“Education, medical treatment, and work are the natural rights of every citizen in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/education-medical-treatment-and-work-are-the-natural-rights-of-every/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) [Explore all 24 Alaa Al Aswany quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) ## More Happy times quotes > [“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can make a promise to you right now. Your hand’s going to be in mine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/we-don-t-know-what-s-going-to-happen-but-i-can-make-a-promise-to-you/) [Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/) > [“As she looks through the photos, she says quietly, “We had a lot of happy times together. I hope you remember some of them.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-porpora/as-she-looks-through-the-photos-she-says-quietly-we-had-a-lot-of/) [Kenny Porpora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-porpora/) > [... Nessun maggior dolore Che ricordarsi del tempo felice Nella miseria. (There is no greater pain than to remember a happy time when one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/nessun-maggior-dolore-che-ricordarsi-del-tempo-felice-nella-miseria/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“I really wanted to show that it wasn’t all bad in my family. I tried so hard to think of happy times we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/i-really-wanted-to-show-that-it-wasn-t-all-bad-in-my-family-i-tried/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“The song was the late Ishihara Yujiro’s “Rusty Knife,” and Sakaguchi’s singing was so bad that it gave the lyric a strange new pathos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryu-murakami/the-song-was-the-late-ishihara-yujiro-s-rusty-knife-and-sakaguchi-s/) [Ryū Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryu-murakami/) > [“Depression years come back to me now as the happy times, even though we were all struggling. We were happy and didn't know it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/depression-years-come-back-to-me-now-as-the-happy-times-even-though/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [“I was in the winter of my life- and the men I met along the road were my only summer. At night I fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-was-in-the-winter-of-my-life-and-the-men-i-met-along-the-road-were/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [My chest tightens: seeing him so upset breaks my own heart. 'Don't you ever wish you could make that bit go away?" I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-potter/my-chest-tightens-seeing-him-so-upset-breaks-my-own-heart-don-t-you/) [Alexandra Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-potter/) > [Pursuing happiness, and I did, and I still do, is not at all the same as being happy--which I think is fleeting, dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pursuing-happiness-and-i-did-and-i-still-do-is-not-at-all-the-same-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Happiness is about what happens to you; and, to an extent, it's dependent on your circumstances, your behaviors, and your attitudes. But the joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/happiness-is-about-what-happens-to-you-and-to-an-extent-it-s/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [Is childhood ever long enough, or a happy time, or even a beautiful summer day? All of these carry the seeds of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/is-childhood-ever-long-enough-or-a-happy-time-or-even-a-beautiful/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) > [“A library is many things. It’s a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It’s a place to go if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/a-library-is-many-things-it-s-a-place-to-go-to-get-in-out-of-the-rain-2/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [When you are happy time appears shorter, when you are sad time appears longer. And in meditation we transcend time!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/when-you-are-happy-time-appears-shorter-when-you-are-sad-time-appears/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [“They were happy times, although we did not know it then. We never know happiness until it is gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-arnopp/they-were-happy-times-although-we-did-not-know-it-then-we-never-know/) [Judith Arnopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-arnopp/) > [Childhood is only the beautiful and happy time in contemplation and retrospect: to the child it is full of deep sorrows, the meaning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/childhood-is-only-the-beautiful-and-happy-time-in-contemplation-and/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Browse all 99 Happy times quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-times/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh God, how did he get to be sixty? How quickly the years had passed! His whole life had passed before he realized it, before he began. He hadn’t lived. What had he done in his life? What had he achieved? Could he measure his happy times? How much? How many? 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