--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe a hundred years ago our people…" description: "\"Maybe a hundred years ago our people should have run away from this place, I said... And then run from the next place and the next place and the place ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/alice-hoffman-427_hundred_maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-sho_627794.jpg" --- # Maybe a hundred years ago our people should have run away… ![“Maybe a hundred years ago our people should have run away from this place, I said... And then run from the next place and the next place and the place after that? You run once, what makes you think you won't have to run all the rest of your life?... We love moment to moment... Everything changes…” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/alice-hoffman-427_hundred_maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-sho_627794.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/alice-hoffman-427_hundred_maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-sho_627794.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/alice-hoffman-427_hundred_maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-sho_627794.jpg) > “Maybe a hundred years ago our people should have run away from this place, I said... And then run from the next place and the next place and the place after that? You run once, what makes you think you won't have to run all the rest of your life?... We love moment to moment... Everything changes. One minute we are part of the river, and the next we are joined with the sea.” [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. The quote reflects on perpetual displacement and the fleeting nature of belonging, suggesting life is a series of endless escapes and constant change. **In simple terms:** Life feels like endless running and shifting places. Key Takeaway Embrace impermanence and find stability within. Themes change displacement impermanence identity acceptance Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type philosophical literary inspirational When to use this quote - migration - refugee experience - personal growth - relationship dynamics - career transitions Key Concepts existentialism fluid identity transience Questions to Reflect On - How do you find grounding amid constant change? - What does “moment to moment” mean to you? A Different Perspective Constant movement can cause fatigue and loss of rootedness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-mom/) [Make you think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-you-think/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Place Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-run-2012933/) [Rest of your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-of-your-life/) [River Joined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river-joined-5065652/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Run away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/run-away/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-away/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Said Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-run-450358/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [I think I'm always running away from somewhere, and to me, theatre's always felt like a good place to run away to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abi-morgan/i-think-i-m-always-running-away-from-somewhere-and-to-me-theatre-s/) [Abi Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abi-morgan/) > [So there's no you and me? And we can't live this way forever? You said you'd run away, You said you'd run away with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megannn-leee/so-there-s-no-you-and-me-and-we-can-t-live-this-way-forever-you-said/) [Megannn Leee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megannn-leee/) > [The Dorset coast, where I spent my childhood, is a gorgeous place to run. I love to explore and revisit places like the cliffs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/the-dorset-coast-where-i-spent-my-childhood-is-a-gorgeous-place-to/) [Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/) > [You always have a place to run to, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelita-lim/you-always-have-a-place-to-run-to-always/) [Angelita Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelita-lim/) > [You said you knew the perfect place to run to. A place that was empty of people, and buildings, and far, far away. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/you-said-you-knew-the-perfect-place-to-run-to-a-place-that-was-empty/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [There is always a place to run to during distress... That is God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-always-a-place-to-run-to-during-distress-that-is-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You always have a place to run to, always. The place is GOD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armor-of-god/you-always-have-a-place-to-run-to-always-the-place-is-god/) [Armor of God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armor-of-god/) > [“No matter where we go we take ourselves and our damage, with us. So is home the place we run to, or is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-morgan/no-matter-where-we-go-we-take-ourselves-and-our-damage-with-us-so-is/) [Dexter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-morgan/) > [“We live somewhere between today and tomorrow, in a place where we run from the mistakes of our yesterdays.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/we-live-somewhere-between-today-and-tomorrow-in-a-place-where-we-run/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [My coach said I ran like a girl, I said if he could run a little faster he could too](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-hamm/my-coach-said-i-ran-like-a-girl-i-said-if-he-could-run-a-little/) [Mia Hamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-hamm/) > [“And I do. I do wonder, I think about it all the time. What it would be like to kill myself. Because I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/and-i-do-i-do-wonder-i-think-about-it-all-the-time-what-it-would-be/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Dare you to make a run for it.’ He said nothing. He was not here to run. It was a strange feeling to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/dare-you-to-make-a-run-for-it-he-said-nothing-he-was-not-here-to-run/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [“Do you know a man better than me?” I asked her. “Yes,” she replied. “Great,” I said, “then run to him. Run to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/do-you-know-a-man-better-than-me-i-asked-her-yes-she-replied-great-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [My whole obligation was to West Indies cricket. As I have always said, 'I have never made a run for me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garfield-sobers/my-whole-obligation-was-to-west-indies-cricket-as-i-have-always-said/) [Garfield Sobers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garfield-sobers/) > [“My mother always said - "Never run after a man or a bus - there is always another one coming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-kiros/my-mother-always-said-never-run-after-a-man-or-a-bus-there-is-always/) [Tessa Kiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-kiros/) ## 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 Hundred quotes > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [“Most of the time they buy what other people buy. They move in great schools, like bluefish, all identical. There is safety in numbers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/most-of-the-time-they-buy-what-other-people-buy-they-move-in-great/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Even a liar tells a hundred truths to one lie; he has to, to make the lie good for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/even-a-liar-tells-a-hundred-truths-to-one-lie-he-has-to-to-make-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [We must, however, note that what are usually called the high religions made their appearance within about twenty-five hundred years - most of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/we-must-however-note-that-what-are-usually-called-the-high-religions/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Every time I bestow a vacant office I make a hundred discontented persons and one ingrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-xiv/every-time-i-bestow-a-vacant-office-i-make-a-hundred-discontented/) [Louis XIV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-xiv/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Tradition does not mean a dead town; it does not mean that the living are dead but that the dead are alive. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/tradition-does-not-mean-a-dead-town-it-does-not-mean-that-the-living/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I am hands-on in any project that I am associated with. I just don't want to put my face or name and lend it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-am-hands-on-in-any-project-that-i-am-associated-with-i-just-don-t/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [The story being told in 'Star Wars' is a classic one. Every few hundred years, the story is retold because we have a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/the-story-being-told-in-star-wars-is-a-classic-one-every-few-hundred/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) [Browse all 3,414 Hundred quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Maybe a hundred years ago our people should have run away from this place, I said... And then run from the next place and the next place and the place after that? You run once, what makes you think you won't have to run all the rest of your life?... We love moment to moment... Everything changes. One minute we are part of the river, and the next we are joined with the sea.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Hoffman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-should-have-run-away-from-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hundred" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-should-have-run-away-from-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/alice-hoffman-427_hundred_maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-sho_627794.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/alice-hoffman-427_hundred_maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-sho_627794.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/alice-hoffman-427_hundred_maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-sho_627794.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Maybe a hundred years ago our people should have run away from this place, I said... And then run from the…” — Alice Hoffman", "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": "Alice Hoffman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Maybe a hundred years ago our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-should-have-run-away-from-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/maybe-a-hundred-years-ago-our-people-should-have-run-away-from-this/#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 } } ] } ```