--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hochman had been right, the past was what…" description: "\"“Hochman had been right, the past was what we carried with us, threaded to the future, and we decided whether to keep it close or let it go. Fate was b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/alice-hoffman-427_destiny_hochman-had-been-right-the-past-was-what_879177.jpg" --- # Hochman had been right, the past was what we carried with… ![“Hochman had been right, the past was what we carried with us, threaded to the future, and we decided whether to keep it close or let it go. Fate was both what we were given and what we made for ourselves.” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/alice-hoffman-427_destiny_hochman-had-been-right-the-past-was-what_879177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/alice-hoffman-427_destiny_hochman-had-been-right-the-past-was-what_879177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/alice-hoffman-427_destiny_hochman-had-been-right-the-past-was-what_879177.jpg) > ““Hochman had been right, the past was what we carried with us, threaded to the future, and we decided whether to keep it close or let it go. Fate was both what we were given and what we made for ourselves.”” [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our past shapes us, linking to the future; we choose to hold or release it, shaping destiny. **In simple terms:** Past influences future; we decide our fate. Key Takeaway Reflect on what you carry forward. Themes memory choice destiny Mood nostalgic hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - career planning - family traditions - creative writing Key Concepts continuity agency self-determination Questions to Reflect On - What past do you cling to? - How does letting go change your future? A Different Perspective Some past experiences may be too painful to release. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [If a prediction is right then it's like you only have one future. Like that future has been decided. 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Instead, we must accept that fate has given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/i-didn-t-know-you-would-be-here-last-night-but-you-were-we-can-t/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [“I had dispensed with a rudder on the principal that fate must be given a chance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/i-had-dispensed-with-a-rudder-on-the-principal-that-fate-must-be/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) > [Don't do anything to stop a woman from flying; let fate take its course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amado-nervo/don-t-do-anything-to-stop-a-woman-from-flying-let-fate-take-its-course/) [Amado Nervo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amado-nervo/) > [Don't waste the breath to save your face, When you have done your best, And even more is asked of you, Let fate decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hunter/don-t-waste-the-breath-to-save-your-face-when-you-have-done-your-best/) [Robert Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hunter/) > [“No wonder everyone is keen to put their feet up and let Fate look after them. It's rather like your granddad. Or a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-potter/no-wonder-everyone-is-keen-to-put-their-feet-up-and-let-fate-look/) [Alexandra Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-potter/) > [To sit back and let fate play its hand out and never influence it is not the way man was meant to operate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glenn/to-sit-back-and-let-fate-play-its-hand-out-and-never-influence-it-is/) [John Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glenn/) > [“When you find that perfect person, you should never let go. Fate could step in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addison-moore/when-you-find-that-perfect-person-you-should-never-let-go-fate-could/) [Addison Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addison-moore/) > [When I first met you, you reached out to shake my hand. When I got to know you you reached out to understand my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-first-met-you-you-reached-out-to-shake-my-hand-when-i-got-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Act now! Let fate decide the outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/act-now-let-fate-decide-the-outcome/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Don't lose out on something that could be forever because you think the timing isn't right. Don't let fate decide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-reed/don-t-lose-out-on-something-that-could-be-forever-because-you-think/) [Nicole Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-reed/) > [If you let fate rule our life you are like dust on the wind. Create the life you most desire through your specific choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/if-you-let-fate-rule-our-life-you-are-like-dust-on-the-wind-create/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [“Life can be unfair and unkind, but sometimes we just have to let go and let fate take over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-de-jong/life-can-be-unfair-and-unkind-but-sometimes-we-just-have-to-let-go/) [Lisa De Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-de-jong/) ## More by Alice Hoffman > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“All of the quarters in his hand were tarnished. He had no idea that the silver in a man’s pockets always turns black if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/all-of-the-quarters-in-his-hand-were-tarnished-he-had-no-idea-that/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [But most important of all, she explained that it was all right to say 'No. I disagree.' that was a gift. I understood it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/but-most-important-of-all-she-explained-that-it-was-all-right-to-say/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“It was after dark when the woods were most filled with magic, when there were fireflies and the mist was rising from the streams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-was-after-dark-when-the-woods-were-most-filled-with-magic-when/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Never look back, that's what she's told herself. Don't think about swans or being alone in the dark. Don't think of storms, or lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-back-that-s-what-she-s-told-herself-don-t-think-about/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [This was what it meant to be human, to know that time moved and all things changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/this-was-what-it-meant-to-be-human-to-know-that-time-moved-and-all/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“She preferred cats to human beings and turned down every offer from the men who fell in love with her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/she-preferred-cats-to-human-beings-and-turned-down-every-offer-from/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [I'm a really eclectic reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-m-a-really-eclectic-reader/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [It's not the lie that's the problem; it's the distance the lie forges between you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-s-not-the-lie-that-s-the-problem-it-s-the-distance-the-lie-forges/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Her vision was going, but she could see him, the way people see clouds-beautiful, racing by, casting shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/her-vision-was-going-but-she-could-see-him-the-way-people-see-clouds/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [That's why there are ten gates to pass through before you reach the garden. If life were easy there would be one gate. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/that-s-why-there-are-ten-gates-to-pass-through-before-you-reach-the/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“...the summer of the gypsy moths when all the trees in their yard were bare, the leaves chewed by caterpillars. You could hear crunching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-summer-of-the-gypsy-moths-when-all-the-trees-in-their-yard-were/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“The best way to die is when you're living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-best-way-to-die-is-when-you-re-living/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Haylin was given a good talking-to by the headmaster and made to write a paper about workers’ rights, which he considered a privilege rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/haylin-was-given-a-good-talking-to-by-the-headmaster-and-made-to/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/my-darling-girl-when-are-you-going-to-realize-that-being-normal-is/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) [Explore all 571 Alice Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hochman had been right, the past was what we carried with us, threaded to the future, and we decided whether to keep it close or let it go. 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