--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From this experience, I understood the…" description: "\"From this experience, I understood the danger of focusing only on what isn't there. What if I came to the end of my life and realized that I'd spent ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/arthur-golden-1813_childhood_from-this-experience-i-understood-the-da_1061507.jpg" --- # From this experience, I understood the danger of focusing… ![“From this experience, I understood the danger of focusing only on what isn't there. What if I came to the end of my life and realized that I'd spent every day watching for a man who would never come to me? What an unbearable sorrow it would be, to realize I'd never really tasted the things I'd…” quote by Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/arthur-golden-1813_childhood_from-this-experience-i-understood-the-da_1061507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/arthur-golden-1813_childhood_from-this-experience-i-understood-the-da_1061507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/arthur-golden-1813_childhood_from-this-experience-i-understood-the-da_1061507.jpg) > “From this experience, I understood the danger of focusing only on what isn't there. What if I came to the end of my life and realized that I'd spent every day watching for a man who would never come to me? What an unbearable sorrow it would be, to realize I'd never really tasted the things I'd eaten, or seen the places I'd been, because I'd thought of nothing but the Chairman even while my life was drifting away from me. And yet if I drew my thoughts back from him, what life would I have? I would be like a dancer who had practiced since childhood for a performance she would never give.” [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) ## 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 warns against letting an unattainable ideal dominate one’s life, causing missed experiences and regret. **In simple terms:** Don’t let an impossible goal blind you to real life. Key Takeaway Focus on present experiences. Themes regret expectations mindfulness Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - relationships - career - personal growth - travel - health Key Concepts attachment illusion presence Questions to Reflect On - What ideal is you your life? - How can you balance ambition with presence? A Different Perspective If you chase an ideal, you may neglect real opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Dancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancer/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) ## Related quotes > [Learning is experience understood in tranquility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-handy/learning-is-experience-understood-in-tranquility/) [Charles Handy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-handy/) > [I am here no longer just a vision birthed into this body I accept my praise, my blame, my joy, my sorrow I realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshell-ndegeocello/i-am-here-no-longer-just-a-vision-birthed-into-this-body-i-accept-my/) [Meshell Ndegeocello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshell-ndegeocello/) > [The black immigrant experience in the U.S. must be understood not in contrast to the African American experience but as an integral part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/the-black-immigrant-experience-in-the-u-s-must-be-understood-not-in/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [The experience of being understood, versus interpreted, is so compelling you can charge admission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-joseph-pine-ii/the-experience-of-being-understood-versus-interpreted-is-so/) [B. Joseph Pine II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-joseph-pine-ii/) > [“Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings but contemplate their return. If you don't realize the source, you stumble in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuang-tzu/let-your-heart-be-at-peace-watch-the-turmoil-of-beings-but/) [Chuang Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuang-tzu/) > [Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return. Each separate being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/empty-your-mind-of-all-thoughts-let-your-heart-be-at-peace-watch-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And yet if I drew my thoughts back from him, what life would I have? I would be like a dancer who had practiced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/and-yet-if-i-drew-my-thoughts-back-from-him-what-life-would-i-have-i/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [Because I actively enjoy sleeping, dreams, the unexplainable dialogues that take place in my head as I am drifting off, all that, I tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/because-i-actively-enjoy-sleeping-dreams-the-unexplainable-dialogues/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [I wish I could close my eyes and be blown into dust and nothingness, feel all my thoughts disperse like dandelion fluff drifting off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wish-i-could-close-my-eyes-and-be-blown-into-dust-and-nothingness-2/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [What an unbearable sorrow it would be, to realized I'd never really tasted to things I'd eaten, or seen the places I'd been. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/what-an-unbearable-sorrow-it-would-be-to-realized-i-d-never-really/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [Your mind is a powerful thing. When you fill it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-fill-it-with-positive-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is unclear how much longer people will write on dried and flattened wood. Trees do so much for humans and for our planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yarus/it-is-unclear-how-much-longer-people-will-write-on-dried-and/) Michael Yarus > [“… saying that you don’t have time to improve your thoughts and your life is like saying you don’t have time to stop for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/saying-that-you-don-t-have-time-to-improve-your-thoughts-and-your/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [Your there. your everywhere. in my mind. in my thoughts. in my life. but where were you when I needed you the most? Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/your-there-your-everywhere-in-my-mind-in-my-thoughts-in-my-life-but/) Author Name > [Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life. And when a thought or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-manin-morrissey/put-love-first-entertain-thoughts-that-give-life-and-when-a-thought/) [Mary Manin Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-manin-morrissey/) ## More by Arthur Golden > [He was like a song I'd heard once in fragments but had been singing in my mind ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/he-was-like-a-song-i-d-heard-once-in-fragments-but-had-been-singing/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [Sometimes we get through adversity only by imagining what the world might be like if our dreams should ever come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/sometimes-we-get-through-adversity-only-by-imagining-what-the-world/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [When we fight upstream against a rocky undercurrent, every foothold takes on a kind of urgency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/when-we-fight-upstream-against-a-rocky-undercurrent-every-foothold/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [Never give up; for even rivers someday wash dams away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/never-give-up-for-even-rivers-someday-wash-dams-away/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“Oh I'm sure you're right," Auntie said. "Probably she's just as you say. But she looks to me like a very clever girl, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/oh-i-m-sure-you-re-right-auntie-said-probably-she-s-just-as-you-say/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“I'm not sure this will make sense to you, but I felt as though I'd turned around to look in a different direction, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/i-m-not-sure-this-will-make-sense-to-you-but-i-felt-as-though-i-d/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“We human beings are only a part of something very much larger. When we walk along, we may crush a beetle or simply cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/we-human-beings-are-only-a-part-of-something-very-much-larger-when-we/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [If you aren't the woman I think you are, then this isn't the world I thought it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/if-you-aren-t-the-woman-i-think-you-are-then-this-isn-t-the-world-i/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [You know, the men go to tea houses with the expectation that they will have a nice quiet evening and not read about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/you-know-the-men-go-to-tea-houses-with-the-expectation-that-they-will/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/adversity-is-like-a-strong-wind-i-don-t-mean-just-that-it-holds-us/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“Most nights I lay on my futon I was sick with anxiety, and felt a pit inside myself as big and empty as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/most-nights-i-lay-on-my-futon-i-was-sick-with-anxiety-and-felt-a-pit/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [Of course, a sign doesn't mean anything unless you know how to interpret it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/of-course-a-sign-doesn-t-mean-anything-unless-you-know-how-to/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“I knew even then that she was right. An en is a karmic bond lasting a lifetime. Nowadays many people seem to believe their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/i-knew-even-then-that-she-was-right-an-en-is-a-karmic-bond-lasting-a/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [I didn't say to act dead. I said act helpless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/i-didn-t-say-to-act-dead-i-said-act-helpless/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“I'm not sure this will make sense to you but I felt as though I'd turned around to look in a different direction so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/i-m-not-sure-this-will-make-sense-to-you-but-i-felt-as-though-i-d-2/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) [Explore all 190 Arthur Golden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“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/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From this experience, I understood the danger of focusing only on what isn't there. What if I came to the end of my life and realized that I'd spent every day watching for a man who would never come to me? What an unbearable sorrow it would be, to realize I'd never really tasted the things I'd eaten, or seen the places I'd been, because I'd thought of nothing but the Chairman even while my life was drifting away from me. And yet if I drew my thoughts back from him, what life would I have? 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