--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: wisdom is like a bottomless pond. You…" description: "\"wisdom is like a bottomless pond. You throw stones in and they sink into darkness and dissolve. Her eyes looking back do not reflect anything. I think ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/amy-tan-730_body_wisdom-is-like-a-bottomless-pond-you-thr_501919.jpg" --- # wisdom is like a bottomless pond. You throw stones in and… ![“wisdom is like a bottomless pond. You throw stones in and they sink into darkness and dissolve. Her eyes looking back do not reflect anything. I think this to myself even though I love my daughter. She and I have shared the same body. There is a part of her mind that is a part of mine. But when…” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/amy-tan-730_body_wisdom-is-like-a-bottomless-pond-you-thr_501919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/amy-tan-730_body_wisdom-is-like-a-bottomless-pond-you-thr_501919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/amy-tan-730_body_wisdom-is-like-a-bottomless-pond-you-thr_501919.jpg) > “wisdom is like a bottomless pond. You throw stones in and they sink into darkness and dissolve. Her eyes looking back do not reflect anything. I think this to myself even though I love my daughter. She and I have shared the same body. There is a part of her mind that is a part of mine. But when she was born she sprang from me like a slippery fish, and has been swimming away ever since. All her life, I have watched her as though from another shore.” [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mother‑daughter bond is deep yet complex, feeling both shared identity and separation as the child grows independent. **In simple terms:** Mother and daughter share a deep, evolving connection. Key Takeaway Embrace both closeness and change. Themes family identity separation growth Mood intimate melancholic Type reflective emotional When to use this quote - parenting - counseling - personal reflection Key Concepts Psychological interdependence generational trauma Questions to Reflect On - In what ways do you feel both connected and apart from loved ones? - How does shared identity shape personal growth? A Different Perspective The metaphor of a slippery fish may oversimplify nuanced emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-back/) [Love my daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-my-daughter/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [I love my daughter. She and I have shared my body. There is a part of her mind that is a part of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-love-my-daughter-she-and-i-have-shared-my-body-there-is-a-part-of/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I did my 40 years in Washington, 40-plus, and it's time to pause and reflect and think about what I've seen and done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/i-did-my-40-years-in-washington-40-plus-and-it-s-time-to-pause-and/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [How many solutions are found to family problems if we take time to reflect? If we think of a husband or wife and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/how-many-solutions-are-found-to-family-problems-if-we-take-time-to/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [In order to reflect, think and plan, you must quiet yourself. You can't see your reflection in churning waters. Water must be still to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hantze-susman/in-order-to-reflect-think-and-plan-you-must-quiet-yourself-you-can-t/) Karen Hantze Susman > [The time I spent on the bench helped me to reflect and think. It encouraged me to keep fighting and work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-de-gea/the-time-i-spent-on-the-bench-helped-me-to-reflect-and-think-it/) [David de Gea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-de-gea/) > [I've never seen anything like that (reaction) before. It gives you something to reflect on and to think about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bettis/i-ve-never-seen-anything-like-that-reaction-before-it-gives-you/) [Jerome Bettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bettis/) > [The cancer battle, it helped me put a lot of things in perspective and gave me time to reflect and think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-jacobs/the-cancer-battle-it-helped-me-put-a-lot-of-things-in-perspective-and/) [Daniel Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-jacobs/) > [It seems to be the special peculiarity of human beings that they reflect: they think about thinking and know that they know. This, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-seems-to-be-the-special-peculiarity-of-human-beings-that-they/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [A psychiatrist does not want you to wake up. He tells you to dream some more, to find the pond and pour more tears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-psychiatrist-does-not-want-you-to-wake-up-he-tells-you-to-dream/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [You can never be an artist if your work comes without effort. That is the problem with modernink from a bottle. You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/you-can-never-be-an-artist-if-your-work-comes-without-effort-that-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Losing the future is the best thing that ever happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/losing-the-future-is-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-me/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [I knew I was going to love my daughter, but I had no idea how much I would love her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-sisto/i-knew-i-was-going-to-love-my-daughter-but-i-had-no-idea-how-much-i/) [Jeremy Sisto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-sisto/) > [My daughter squealed again and both Bubba and I winced. It’s not an attractive sound, that. It’s high-pitched and it enters your ear canals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/my-daughter-squealed-again-and-both-bubba-and-i-winced-it-s-not-an/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More by Amy Tan > [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/so-sad-this-is-the-saddest-part-when-you-lose-someone-you-love-that/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“bad, how likely is it to come”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/bad-how-likely-is-it-to-come/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. 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Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-hid-my-deepest-feelings-so-well-i-forgot-where-i-placed-them/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Lebih baik jadi orang yang TIDAK TERLUPAKAN daripada orang yang MEMBOSANKAN -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/lebih-baik-jadi-orang-yang-tidak-terlupakan-daripada-orang-yang/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/after-all-bao-bomu-says-what-is-the-past-but-what-we-choose-to/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-all-become-different-readers-in-how-we-respond-to-books-why-we/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-was-no-longer-scared-i-could-see-what-was-inside-me/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-am-ashamed-she-is-ashamed-because-she-is-my-daughter-and-i-am-proud/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) [Explore all 383 Amy Tan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. 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My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "wisdom is like a bottomless pond. You throw stones in and they sink into darkness and dissolve. Her eyes looking back do not reflect anything. I think this to myself even though I love my daughter. She and I have shared the same body. 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