--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live in all we seek. The hidden shows…" description: "\"We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the people, events, and things of the day..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/annie-dillard-509_captives_we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows_22208.jpg" --- # We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain… ![“We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the people, events, and things of the day - to which we as sophisticated children have long since become oblivious. What a hideout: Holiness lies spread and borne over the surface of time…” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/annie-dillard-509_captives_we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows_22208.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/annie-dillard-509_captives_we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows_22208.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/annie-dillard-509_captives_we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows_22208.jpg) > “We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the people, events, and things of the day - to which we as sophisticated children have long since become oblivious. What a hideout: Holiness lies spread and borne over the surface of time and stuff like color.” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## 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 suggests that profound truth and sacredness are hidden in everyday reality, unnoticed because we consider them obvious. **In simple terms:** Sacredness is hidden in the mundane. Key Takeaway Look beyond the obvious for deeper meaning. Themes perception spirituality mundanityitymindfulness hidden truth Mood contemplative reverent curious Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - daily routine - creative work - teaching - personal reflection Key Concepts awareness presence interpretation Practical Applications - mindfulness practice - creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How does familiarity blind us to deeper meaning? - What everyday details could be considered sacred? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Captives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captives/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Hidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hidden/) [Hideout Holiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hideout-holiness-400702/) [Holiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiness/) [Holiness Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiness-lies-400703/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Oblivious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivious/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Plain sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plain-sight/) [Seek Hidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-hidden-400701/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight/) [Sophisticated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophisticated/) [Spread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spread/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) ## Related quotes > [What a hideout: Holiness lies spread and borne over the surface of time and stuff like color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-a-hideout-holiness-lies-spread-and-borne-over-the-surface-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The value of many men and books rests solely on their faculty for compelling all to seek out the most hidden and intimate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-value-of-many-men-and-books-rests-solely-on-their-faculty-for-2/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The path to holiness lies through questioning everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/the-path-to-holiness-lies-through-questioning-everything/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [The universe is illusion merely, not one speck of it real, and we are not only its victims, falling always into or smashed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-universe-is-illusion-merely-not-one-speck-of-it-real-and-we-are/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I breathed the air of history all unaware, and walked oblivious through its littered layers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-breathed-the-air-of-history-all-unaware-and-walked-oblivious/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It's about waking up. A child wakes up over and over again, and notices that she's living. She dreams along, loving the exuberant life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-s-about-waking-up-a-child-wakes-up-over-and-over-again-and-notices/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [This is an occupation known as painting, which calls for imagination, and skill of hand, in order to discover things not seen, hiding themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cennino-cennini/this-is-an-occupation-known-as-painting-which-calls-for-imagination/) [Cennino Cennini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cennino-cennini/) > [There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care. All the secrets in the world worth knowing are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/there-is-no-immortality-that-is-not-built-on-friendship-and-work-done/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [The most dangerous and successful conspiracies take place in public, in plain sight, under the clear, bright light of day -- usually with TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/the-most-dangerous-and-successful-conspiracies-take-place-in-public/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I loved being around live rocking music, but I never knew what to do with myself socially at a show or club. I discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-howes/i-loved-being-around-live-rocking-music-but-i-never-knew-what-to-do/) [Larry Howes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-howes/) > [That's what a good crime novelist - any good novelist - should do with you: play with your perceptions while showing you everything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/that-s-what-a-good-crime-novelist-any-good-novelist-should-do-with/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [That's another one of Sandor's rules for hiding in plain sight: always appear to be weaker than I actually am. Never push it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-lore/that-s-another-one-of-sandor-s-rules-for-hiding-in-plain-sight-always/) [Pittacus Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-lore/) > [There's a wide range of sales ability: there are many gradations between novices, experts, and masters. There are even sales grandmasters. If you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/there-s-a-wide-range-of-sales-ability-there-are-many-gradations/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“There are many secret doors around us, in plain sight. We just don't take the time to find and open them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-ross/there-are-many-secret-doors-around-us-in-plain-sight-we-just-don-t/) [Rebecca Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-ross/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“I often think of the set pieces of liturgy as certain words which people have successfully addressed to God without their getting killed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-often-think-of-the-set-pieces-of-liturgy-as-certain-words-which/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Captives quotes > [The creative writer is usually captive to his next book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/the-creative-writer-is-usually-captive-to-his-next-book/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [People without an internalized symbolic system can all too easily become captives of the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/people-without-an-internalized-symbolic-system-can-all-too-easily/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [My favorite job is being a father. I have four girls now. They're a captive audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-willis/my-favorite-job-is-being-a-father-i-have-four-girls-now-they-re-a/) [Bruce Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-willis/) > [Of all the jaw-droppingly beautiful women who've become genuine movie stars, none has had a longer film career (62 years), has been filmed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-osborne/of-all-the-jaw-droppingly-beautiful-women-who-ve-become-genuine-movie/) [Robert Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-osborne/) > [Make me a captive Lord, then I shall be truly free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/make-me-a-captive-lord-then-i-shall-be-truly-free/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [As long as we're dependent on those fossil fuels, we're dependent on the Middle East. If we are not victims, we're certainly captives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-mchugh/as-long-as-we-re-dependent-on-those-fossil-fuels-we-re-dependent-on/) [John M. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-mchugh/) > [Jah come to break downpression, rule equality, wipe away transgression, set the captives free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/jah-come-to-break-downpression-rule-equality-wipe-away-transgression/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [“Though the captives' resistance was dangerous, through such acts, dignity was preserved, and through dignity, life itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hillenbrand/though-the-captives-resistance-was-dangerous-through-such-acts/) [Laura Hillenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hillenbrand/) > [The state is captive to vested interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanusi-lamido-sanusi/the-state-is-captive-to-vested-interests/) [Sanusi Lamido Sanusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanusi-lamido-sanusi/) > [“...you go back to liberate the captives and sadly realize, some want to remain tied down in the cave...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/you-go-back-to-liberate-the-captives-and-sadly-realize-some-want-to/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“So, very soon our captives will meet their small countrywoman again. How grateful they must be to have a pleasant ride, with us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-rodda/so-very-soon-our-captives-will-meet-their-small-countrywoman-again/) [Emily Rodda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-rodda/) > [The cry for freedom is a sign of suppression. It will not cease to ring as long as man feels himself captive. As diverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/the-cry-for-freedom-is-a-sign-of-suppression-it-will-not-cease-to/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [Words have to murder reality before they can hold it captive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/words-have-to-murder-reality-before-they-can-hold-it-captive/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [It would drive the photographers crazy because I would giggle and tell jokes. I was gregarious, and looking back, I realize I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/it-would-drive-the-photographers-crazy-because-i-would-giggle-and/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage, The linnet born within the cage, That never knew the summer woods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-envy-not-in-any-moods-the-captive-void-of-noble-rage-the-linnet/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) [Browse all 176 Captives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the people, events, and things of the day - to which we as sophisticated children have long since become oblivious. 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