--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then instead of hurrying he was standing…" description: "\"“Then instead of hurrying he was standing still, he was very tired and sweating under the heavy coat, and looking up he saw a white shining fan, spread..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cc/anna-kavan-8510_full-moon_then-instead-of-hurrying-he-was-standing_884028.jpg" --- # Then instead of hurrying he was standing still, he was… ![“Then instead of hurrying he was standing still, he was very tired and sweating under the heavy coat, and looking up he saw a white shining fan, spreading over the sky, like light from a door slowly opening, and he knew the moon was coming out of the clouds. Then he looked over the sea and there…” quote by Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cc/anna-kavan-8510_full-moon_then-instead-of-hurrying-he-was-standing_884028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cc/anna-kavan-8510_full-moon_then-instead-of-hurrying-he-was-standing_884028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cc/anna-kavan-8510_full-moon_then-instead-of-hurrying-he-was-standing_884028.jpg) > ““Then instead of hurrying he was standing still, he was very tired and sweating under the heavy coat, and looking up he saw a white shining fan, spreading over the sky, like light from a door slowly opening, and he knew the moon was coming out of the clouds. Then he looked over the sea and there were islands it seemed, and then a great migration of birds thickened the air and he was in a rushing of wings, the wings beat so dark and fast round him he felt dizzy like falling and the moon disappeared. And then it was clear again, brilliant moonlight, and there, ahead, bright as day, were all the small islands, Cape Promise, and the bay of Mairangi, wide, still, unbelievably peaceful under the full moon. And then he did know where he was going.”” [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A weary traveler experiences a vivid, dream‑like vision of moonlit islands and migrating birds, leading to a sudden clarity about his destination. **In simple terms:** A tired man sees a moonlit scene that gives him direction. Key Takeaway Embrace moments of stillness for insight. Themes dream journey clarity nature transcendence Mood tranquil wonderful reflective Type literary poetic inspirational When to use this quote - long travel - nighttime reflection - creative inspiration - spiritual pilgrimage Key Concepts surrealism perception inner guidance Questions to Reflect On - What does the moon symbolize for you? - How can stillness reveal hidden paths? A Different Perspective The vision may be a fleeting illusion rather than reliable guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clouds Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-looked-930352/) [Full moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full-moon/) [Great Migration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-migration/) [Knew Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-moon-1081623/) [Looked Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked-sea-1081622/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Moon Disappeared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon-disappeared-807389/) [Peaceful Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peaceful-moon-778953/) ## Related quotes > [“Peaceful moon. I consist only of bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/peaceful-moon-i-consist-only-of-bones/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“They wouldn't be so cocky if they knew what me and the moon have going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/they-wouldn-t-be-so-cocky-if-they-knew-what-me-and-the-moon-have-going/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“In sleep, my sister and I found a common breath. In dreams, we knew the moon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lansens/in-sleep-my-sister-and-i-found-a-common-breath-in-dreams-we-knew-the/) [Lori Lansens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lansens/) > [“Keishin turned to face her, brushing a damp lock of silver-white hair away from his eyes. 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Of all the times you looked out to sea, you never stepped in. Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/load-up-the-flares-and-fire-away-search-without-rescue-of-all-the/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [“He spent the morning at the beach. He had no idea which one, just some open stretch of coastline reaching out to the sea.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-burrows/he-spent-the-morning-at-the-beach-he-had-no-idea-which-one-just-some/) [Steve Burrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-burrows/) > [I suddenly stopped and looked out at the sea and thought, my God, how beautiful this is ... for 26 years I had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-ayer/i-suddenly-stopped-and-looked-out-at-the-sea-and-thought-my-god-how/) [A.J. Ayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-ayer/) ## More by Anna Kavan > [At last I feel identified with the mountains, clean, cold, hard, detached.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/at-last-i-feel-identified-with-the-mountains-clean-cold-hard-detached/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“There is, I believe, a kind of telepathy between the condemned: a sort of intuitive recognition which can even make itself felt through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/there-is-i-believe-a-kind-of-telepathy-between-the-condemned-a-sort/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [I had a friend, a lover. Or did I dream it? 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And her heart dilated; she felt the great black dome in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/she-looked-and-saw-the-black-domed-sky-arching-over-her-head-and-her/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“An intolerable pain pierced him. He was totally lost without her...estranged from his life utterly, and from the world. This was the world into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/an-intolerable-pain-pierced-him-he-was-totally-lost-without-her/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“Her albino hair illuminated my dreams, shining brighter than moonlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/her-albino-hair-illuminated-my-dreams-shining-brighter-than-moonlight/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“Everything was so quiet, as if the silence was listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/everything-was-so-quiet-as-if-the-silence-was-listening/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“In a polished surface of metal I happen to notice my reflected face; it wears a pale, beaten lonely look, eyes looking out at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/in-a-polished-surface-of-metal-i-happen-to-notice-my-reflected-face/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [Because of my fear that the daytime world would become real, I had to establish reality in another place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/because-of-my-fear-that-the-daytime-world-would-become-real-i-had-to/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“All at once I feel desperate, outraged. Why am I alone doomed to spend nights of torment, with an unseen jailer, when all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/all-at-once-i-feel-desperate-outraged-why-am-i-alone-doomed-to-spend/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“He sees her looking at him with interest, and is encouraged to go on. 'I wouldn't be here with you now. This wouldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/he-sees-her-looking-at-him-with-interest-and-is-encouraged-to-go-on-i/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“But to whom can one appeal when one does not even know where to find the judge? How can one ever hope to prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/but-to-whom-can-one-appeal-when-one-does-not-even-know-where-to-find/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“But the mysterious and private heart never ceases to beat. Indestructible and immortal, the heart beats on, independent, and beating for me alone…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/but-the-mysterious-and-private-heart-never-ceases-to-beat/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) [Explore all 80 Anna Kavan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) ## More Full moon quotes > [As hard as I try to live with some degree of faith in my life, I just can't believe that the full moon can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/as-hard-as-i-try-to-live-with-some-degree-of-faith-in-my-life-i-just/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [Well. We’ll just have to hope that this wasn’t a loup-garou, I guess.” “If it was a louper, you’d know,” Bob said wisely. “In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/well-we-ll-just-have-to-hope-that-this-wasn-t-a-loup-garou-i-guess-if/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-lawrence-knowles/the-night-walked-down-the-sky-with-the-moon-in-her-hand/) [Frederic Lawrence Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-lawrence-knowles/) > [“The moon grows black before your eyes; soon there will be darkness—ay, darkness in the hour of the full moon. Ye have asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/the-moon-grows-black-before-your-eyes-soon-there-will-be-darkness-ay/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [Now that I think about it, maybe he is a werewolf. I can picture him lunging over the moors in hot pursuit of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/now-that-i-think-about-it-maybe-he-is-a-werewolf-i-can-picture-him/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [“I looked up its history, and, surprisingly, it has quite a history. You know how in Europe they make you study a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-van-vogt-2/i-looked-up-its-history-and-surprisingly-it-has-quite-a-history-you/) [A.E. van Vogt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-van-vogt-2/) > [“Look at all the resources around you before you make a decision. Look for ways to make your environment work for you. The solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-sutherland/look-at-all-the-resources-around-you-before-you-make-a-decision-look/) [C.D. SUTHERLAND](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-sutherland/) > [“Oh my sweet muse tell me what do I do on such romantic full-moon nights! You inflame my passion, and the moon serenades my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/oh-my-sweet-muse-tell-me-what-do-i-do-on-such-romantic-full-moon/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [You have some severe mental problem I need to be aware of, don’t you? 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Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [With passions stilled and one's nature firm, all destinies are in harmony; When the full moon of contemplation is reached you will be pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wu-cheng-en/with-passions-stilled-and-one-s-nature-firm-all-destinies-are-in/) [Wu Cheng'en](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wu-cheng-en/) > [“might spook Harald and cause him to flee. She had to visit in person. This would be even more risky. Morlunde was a town,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/might-spook-harald-and-cause-him-to-flee-she-had-to-visit-in-person/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) [Browse all 317 Full moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full-moon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Then instead of hurrying he was standing still, he was very tired and sweating under the heavy coat, and looking up he saw a white shining fan, spreading over the sky, like light from a door slowly opening, and he knew the moon was coming out of the clouds. Then he looked over the sea and there were islands it seemed, and then a great migration of birds thickened the air and he was in a rushing of wings, the wings beat so dark and fast round him he felt dizzy like falling and the moon disappeared. 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