--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Something in me was always watching life…" description: "\"Something in me was always watching life from the outside, permanently obsessed with the notion of belonging vs. not-belonging [to a group]. It did not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/barbara-kingsolver-200_belonging_something-in-me-was-always-watching-life_2500621.jpg" --- # Something in me was always watching life from the outside… ![“Something in me was always watching life from the outside, permanently obsessed with the notion of belonging vs. not-belonging [to a group]. It did not make for a happy childhood, but it was excellent training for a writer.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/barbara-kingsolver-200_belonging_something-in-me-was-always-watching-life_2500621.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/barbara-kingsolver-200_belonging_something-in-me-was-always-watching-life_2500621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/barbara-kingsolver-200_belonging_something-in-me-was-always-watching-life_2500621.jpg) > “Something in me was always watching life from the outside, permanently obsessed with the notion of belonging vs. not-belonging \[to a group\]. It did not make for a happy childhood, but it was excellent training for a writer.” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing life from outside creates a sense of alienation but sharpens observational skills useful for writing. **In simple terms:** Outside view fuels writer’s insight. Key Takeaway Embrace outsider perspective. Themes identity belonging creativity Mood reflective analytical Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - education - personal development Key Concepts observer effect social alienation Questions to Reflect On - How does alienation shape creativity? - Can outsider view be balanced with belonging? A Different Perspective May cause emotional distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) [Belonging to a group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging-to-a-group-18219/) [Belonging Vs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging-vs-1057866/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Excellent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellent/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Happy childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-childhood/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Not belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-belonging/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Notion Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion-belonging-1057867/) [Obsessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessed/) [Obsessed Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessed-notion-1057868/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Watching Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-life-556418/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I had always fantasized about going to the Pyramids, the Great Wall; I've always been sort of obsessed with the whole notion of Everest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-zackham/i-had-always-fantasized-about-going-to-the-pyramids-the-great-wall-i/) [Justin Zackham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-zackham/) > [I had friends at school, but I was never part of a gang and I dreamed of that sense of belonging to a group.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-had-friends-at-school-but-i-was-never-part-of-a-gang-and-i-dreamed/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [Belonging to a group can provide the child with a variety of resources that an individual friendship often cannot--a sense of collective participation, experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zick-rubin/belonging-to-a-group-can-provide-the-child-with-a-variety-of/) [Zick Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zick-rubin/) > [There is, of course, great value in belonging to a group. 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Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of nature but standing apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-too-willingly-man-sees-himself-as-the-centre-of-the-universe-as/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Pathology has made us acquainted with a great number of states in which the boundary lines between the ego and the external world become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/pathology-has-made-us-acquainted-with-a-great-number-of-states-in/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“When the sense of «not belonging» is tolling the bell for true happiness, it infuses people into accepting life as a failure, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-the-sense-of-not-belonging-is-tolling-the-bell-for-true/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. 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"That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Belonging quotes > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [I always think the best way of motivating yourself is to put yourself in a situation where you feel like you're belonging to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jackson/i-always-think-the-best-way-of-motivating-yourself-is-to-put-yourself/) [Colin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jackson/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“The reason “belonging” was so potent, so attractive, so much a part of the human yearning, was that it also meant safety, and loyalty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/the-reason-belonging-was-so-potent-so-attractive-so-much-a-part-of/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [If some student belonging to weaker section of society suffers distress, humanity says it must be addressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-jaitley/if-some-student-belonging-to-weaker-section-of-society-suffers/) [Arun Jaitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-jaitley/) > [Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/connection-gives-purpose-and-meaning-to-our-lives/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe the problem with the world is, that people are too quick to judge. 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