--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What normally felt like the only possible…" description: "\"“What normally felt like the only possible world became one among many”\" — Ben Lerner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/ben-lerner-9267_quote_what-normally-felt-like-the-only-possibl_1132323.jpg" --- # What normally felt like the only possible world became one… ![“What normally felt like the only possible world became one among many” quote by Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/ben-lerner-9267_quote_what-normally-felt-like-the-only-possibl_1132323.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/ben-lerner-9267_quote_what-normally-felt-like-the-only-possibl_1132323.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/ben-lerner-9267_quote_what-normally-felt-like-the-only-possibl_1132323.jpg) > ““What normally felt like the only possible world became one among many”” [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing multiple possibilities expands perception beyond a single, limiting view. **In simple terms:** Seeing many options opens mind. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse perspectives. Themes perception possibility creativity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - artistic creation - problem solving - decision making Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose among many possibilities? - What criteria guide your decisions? A Different Perspective Overchoice can cause paralysis if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Felt Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-like/) [Normally Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normally-felt-3117457/) [Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible/) [Possible World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-world-639161/) ## Related quotes > [As we've learned on a logistical level, anything is possible in the 'This Is Us' world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sullivan/as-we-ve-learned-on-a-logistical-level-anything-is-possible-in-the/) [Chris Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sullivan/) > [“Be in the world but not of the world.' The words are from Jesus. But I have not the slightest idea how to accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-x-stork/be-in-the-world-but-not-of-the-world-the-words-are-from-jesus-but-i/) [Francisco X. Stork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-x-stork/) > [Anything is possible in this world. I really believe that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-minnelli/anything-is-possible-in-this-world-i-really-believe-that/) [Liza Minnelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-minnelli/) > [The game was that of continually inventing a possible world, or a piece of a possible world, and then of comparing it with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/the-game-was-that-of-continually-inventing-a-possible-world-or-a/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [Because of lies, we can produce and invent a possible world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/because-of-lies-we-can-produce-and-invent-a-possible-world/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“. . . overcast afternoons when it seemed possible the whole world had run out of things to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/overcast-afternoons-when-it-seemed-possible-the-whole-world-had-run/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“When a language dies, a possible world dies with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/when-a-language-dies-a-possible-world-dies-with-it/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [How was it possible for the world to be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lian-hearn/how-was-it-possible-for-the-world-to-be-so-beautiful-and-so-cruel-at/) [Lian Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lian-hearn/) > [“Why not"! That is SO wise. So many things would be possible in this world if you thought "Why not?" all day long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-rocklin/why-not-that-is-so-wise-so-many-things-would-be-possible-in-this/) [Joanne Rocklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-rocklin/) > [“Everything is possible in this world so don't fear anything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntambara-sylvestre-owen-berbason/everything-is-possible-in-this-world-so-don-t-fear-anything/) [Ntambara Sylvestre Owen Berbason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntambara-sylvestre-owen-berbason/) > [I have always wanted to know as much as possible about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/i-have-always-wanted-to-know-as-much-as-possible-about-the-world/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [“I didn't know it was possible to be so alone in a world of people...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cailah-h/i-didn-t-know-it-was-possible-to-be-so-alone-in-a-world-of-people/) [Cailah H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cailah-h/) > [It might be possible that the world itself is without meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-might-be-possible-that-the-world-itself-is-without-meaning/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Just when normal life felt almost possible--when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (prismatic spray of light through an icicle;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/just-when-normal-life-felt-almost-possible-when-the-world-held-some/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [Another world is possible!' ... Another world is also necessary, for this one is unjust, unsustainable, and unsafe. It's up to us to envision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/starhawk/another-world-is-possible-another-world-is-also-necessary-for-this/) [Starhawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/starhawk/) ## More by Ben Lerner > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Shaving is a way to start the workday by ritually not cutting your throat when you've the chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/shaving-is-a-way-to-start-the-workday-by-ritually-not-cutting-your/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“What you need to do is harness the self-love you are hypostasizing as offspring, as the next generation of you, and let it branch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/what-you-need-to-do-is-harness-the-self-love-you-are-hypostasizing-as/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And because his narrator was characterized above all by his anxiety regarding the disconnect between his internal experience and his social self-presentation,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-because-his-narrator-was-characterized-above-all-by-his-anxiety/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-i-want-to-say-something-to-the-schoolchildren-of-america-who-were/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“Part of what makes the book bizzare is that Whitman, because he wants to stand for everyone, because he wants to be less a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/part-of-what-makes-the-book-bizzare-is-that-whitman-because-he-wants/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I didn't want to write another book about fraudulence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-didn-t-want-to-write-another-book-about-fraudulence/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [The problem is that if you're self-conscious about being a person on whom nothing is lost, isn't something lost - some kind of presence?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/the-problem-is-that-if-you-re-self-conscious-about-being-a-person-on/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Most of us start from that position of irony now and what I wanted to do - really felt like I had to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/most-of-us-start-from-that-position-of-irony-now-and-what-i-wanted-to/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Laser technology has fulfilled our people's ancient dream of a blade so fine that the person it cuts remains standing and alive until he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/laser-technology-has-fulfilled-our-people-s-ancient-dream-of-a-blade/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“Our contempt for any particular poem must be perfect, be total, because only a ruthless reading that allows us to measure the gap between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/our-contempt-for-any-particular-poem-must-be-perfect-be-total-because/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [If I was a poet, I had become one because poetry, more intensely than any other practice, could not evade its anachronism and marginality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/if-i-was-a-poet-i-had-become-one-because-poetry-more-intensely-than/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Your interviews or blog posts or whatever are less supplements to your novel than part of it. I'm not private, but I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/your-interviews-or-blog-posts-or-whatever-are-less-supplements-to/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“I’m going to kill the president. I promise. I surrender. I'm sorry. I'm gay. I'm pregnant. I'm dying. I'm not your father. You're fired.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-m-going-to-kill-the-president-i-promise-i-surrender-i-m-sorry-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) [Explore all 73 Ben Lerner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## More Felt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Hackney gets a bit of a bad rap, but it's the only place I've ever lived that felt like a community. I know my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-horgan/hackney-gets-a-bit-of-a-bad-rap-but-it-s-the-only-place-i-ve-ever/) [Sharon Horgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-horgan/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [The more I read about feeding times, sleep times and waking-up times, the more inadequate and miserable I felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-porter/the-more-i-read-about-feeding-times-sleep-times-and-waking-up-times/) [Gail Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-porter/) > [I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/i-have-touched-with-a-sense-of-art-some-people-they-felt-the-love-and/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/) [Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I felt pretty good growing up. I didnt feel a lot of prejudice or racism. 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