--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nomi asked, “When did you know? When did…" description: "\"“Nomi asked, “When did you know? When did you know that Lila was the one, and nobody else?” “People always ask themselves that question,” he said as he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/anat-talshir-44978_children_nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-yo_736979.jpg" --- # Nomi asked, “When did you know? When did you know that… ![“Nomi asked, “When did you know? When did you know that Lila was the one, and nobody else?” “People always ask themselves that question,” he said as he watched a small child fascinated by the poodle. “Still,” Nomi persisted, as if Elias was in possession of some secret formula. “It was all in the…” quote by Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/anat-talshir-44978_children_nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-yo_736979.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/anat-talshir-44978_children_nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-yo_736979.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/anat-talshir-44978_children_nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-yo_736979.jpg) > ““Nomi asked, “When did you know? When did you know that Lila was the one, and nobody else?” “People always ask themselves that question,” he said as he watched a small child fascinated by the poodle. “Still,” Nomi persisted, as if Elias was in possession of some secret formula. “It was all in the breathing,” he said. “What do you mean?” “When I realized she was in every breath I took,” he said. Nomi tried to understand what he was saying: How many breaths did a person take during the course of a day, maybe a hundred thousand? And she was there in every one? “When you find it, you just know. It’s as simple as that child running after the dog.” Nomi gazed at him without comprehending. “When you forget yourself,” he explained. “When your own wishes shrink. Forgetting yourself is a wonderful feeling, and with Lila, I forgot myself all the time. “Once,” he said, continuing, “we were meeting in Ein Karem. This is when we were already in our fifties. Lila arrived by taxi, and at a traffic light we found ourselves next to each other. When I saw her, I don’t know what happened to me. It was like my chest was bursting, I had to say it. I leaned out my window and said to the driver, ‘Tell her that I love her.’ He did. She blushed like a girl. Then the driver called back to me: ‘She loves the way you love her.’ “With her, I saw everything I did in a wonderful light that was sweet and bright: going to the market, filling the tank with gas, sitting in a movie theater. Whenever we came out of the long narrow hallway they always make you exit cinemas from, I would think that with her I’m forgiving; I always want the heroes of the film to fall in love and overcome their challenges and continue their love story. With her I was prepared to be taken anywhere and everywhere.”” [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love can be felt in every breath, making self‑forgetting a joyful surrender. **In simple terms:** Love fills each breath, making you forget yourself. Key Takeaway Let love expand your awareness. Themes love self‑transcendence awakening romance Mood romantic introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - first love - long‑term partnership - creative inspiration - spiritual practice - daily mindfulness Key Concepts Breath as metaphor mindful presence self‑loss Questions to Reflect On - How does love change your perception of daily life? - When does self‑forgetting become unhealthy? A Different Perspective Idealizing love may overlook practical realities and personal boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fall in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-in-love/) [Forgetting Yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting-yourself-218429/) [Lila Forgot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lila-forgot-5761377/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-story/) [Movie theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie-theater/) [Nomi Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nomi-asked-5761378/) [Nomi Gazed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nomi-gazed-5761376/) [Nomi Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nomi-tried-5761379/) [Said Nomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-nomi-5761375/) [Traffic light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traffic-light/) [Wonderful feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful-feeling/) ## Related quotes > [Listening means forgetting yourself completely - only then can you listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/listening-means-forgetting-yourself-completely-only-then-can-you/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I think acting is about forgetting yourself in order to give the best of yourself. It's passing through you more than you're creating it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-binoche/i-think-acting-is-about-forgetting-yourself-in-order-to-give-the-best/) [Juliette Binoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-binoche/) > [As you go on forgetting yourself materially, just in the same proportion do spiritual peace and spiritual powers flow in towards you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-go-on-forgetting-yourself-materially-just-in-the-same/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And I loved the mountains, loved 'em like my own life. Nothing in the world could compare to a huge sky miles from any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchanan/and-i-loved-the-mountains-loved-em-like-my-own-life-nothing-in-the/) [James Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchanan/) > [It's only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-s-only-by-forgetting-yourself-that-you-draw-near-to-god/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“What's the best part of acting? It's the indescribable feeling of being someone you are and someone your not, all at the same time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coppernoll/what-s-the-best-part-of-acting-it-s-the-indescribable-feeling-of/) [Chris Coppernoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coppernoll/) > [The real betrayal is forgetting yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-betrayal-is-forgetting-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Amuse yourself, torment your desires. Drink when you're thirsty -- that would be very much too simple! If you didn't harbour a temptation eternally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/amuse-yourself-torment-your-desires-drink-when-you-re-thirsty-that/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Anat Talshir > [“Hadassah Hospital. She worked on Herschlag in his bed, a towel around his neck, while Nomi held a mirror, a tiny compact, for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/hadassah-hospital-she-worked-on-herschlag-in-his-bed-a-towel-around/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [“What is it about tea that attracts you?” she asked. “Its taste evokes memories,” he said. “The feeling of something familiar that you’ve already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/what-is-it-about-tea-that-attracts-you-she-asked-its-taste-evokes/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [“her eyes brimming with”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/her-eyes-brimming-with/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [“It doesn't matter how old you are," Lila said. "What matters is how you live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/it-doesn-t-matter-how-old-you-are-lila-said-what-matters-is-how-you/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [“When big things happen," he hold her, "time flows differently. For instance, who says the world was created in six days? Maybe a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/when-big-things-happen-he-hold-her-time-flows-differently-for/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [“When nobody wants you, you make yourself disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/when-nobody-wants-you-you-make-yourself-disappear/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [“He was charming, but he did not slather his charm around in great quantities. He merely drizzled it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/he-was-charming-but-he-did-not-slather-his-charm-around-in-great/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) > [“In the passing months, the base for their impossible love story had been built on the knowledge that beneath them was earth and above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/in-the-passing-months-the-base-for-their-impossible-love-story-had/) [Anat Talshir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) [Explore all 9 Anat Talshir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nomi asked, “When did you know? When did you know that Lila was the one, and nobody else?” “People always ask themselves that question,” he said as he watched a small child fascinated by the poodle. “Still,” Nomi persisted, as if Elias was in possession of some secret formula. “It was all in the breathing,” he said. “What do you mean?” “When I realized she was in every breath I took,” he said. Nomi tried to understand what he was saying: How many breaths did a person take during the course of a day, maybe a hundred thousand? And she was there in every one? “When you find it, you just know. It’s as simple as that child running after the dog.” Nomi gazed at him without comprehending. “When you forget yourself,” he explained. “When your own wishes shrink. Forgetting yourself is a wonderful feeling, and with Lila, I forgot myself all the time. “Once,” he said, continuing, “we were meeting in Ein Karem. This is when we were already in our fifties. Lila arrived by taxi, and at a traffic light we found ourselves next to each other. When I saw her, I don’t know what happened to me. It was like my chest was bursting, I had to say it. I leaned out my window and said to the driver, ‘Tell her that I love her.’ He did. She blushed like a girl. Then the driver called back to me: ‘She loves the way you love her.’ “With her, I saw everything I did in a wonderful light that was sweet and bright: going to the market, filling the tank with gas, sitting in a movie theater. Whenever we came out of the long narrow hallway they always make you exit cinemas from, I would think that with her I’m forgiving; I always want the heroes of the film to fall in love and overcome their challenges and continue their love story. With her I was prepared to be taken anywhere and everywhere.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anat Talshir" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-you-know-that-lila-was-the-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-you-know-that-lila-was-the-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/anat-talshir-44978_children_nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-yo_736979.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/anat-talshir-44978_children_nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-yo_736979.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/anat-talshir-44978_children_nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-yo_736979.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nomi asked, “When did you know? When did you know that Lila was the one, and nobody else?” “People always…” — Anat Talshir", "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": "Anat Talshir", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anat-talshir/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Nomi asked, “When did you know?...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-you-know-that-lila-was-the-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anat-talshir/nomi-asked-when-did-you-know-when-did-you-know-that-lila-was-the-one/#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 } } ] } ```