---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And when you look along the way we've…"
description: "\"And when you look along the way we've come, there are spirals of vultures wheeling.\" — Bruce Chatwin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/bruce-chatwin-11797_looks_and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-co_1837579.jpg"
---

#  And when you look along the way we've come, there are…

![“And when you look along the way we've come, there are spirals of vultures wheeling.” quote by Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/bruce-chatwin-11797_looks_and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-co_1837579.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/bruce-chatwin-11797_looks_and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-co_1837579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/bruce-chatwin-11797_looks_and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-co_1837579.jpg)

> “And when you look along the way we've come, there are spirals of vultures wheeling.”

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Observing the past reveals recurring patterns, like vultures circling, symbolizing looming threats or decay.

**In simple terms:** History repeats itself like circling vultures.

Key Takeaway

Watch for repeating dangers.

Themes

history observation danger

Mood

cautious thoughtful

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- travel
- politics
- environmental studies

Key Concepts

cycles decay warning signs

Questions to Reflect On

- What modern issues feel like circling vultures?
- How can we break harmful cycles?

A Different Perspective

Vultures may not always indicate danger.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Vultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vultures/) [Wheeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheeling/)

## Related quotes

> [“His legs withered. His stomach stretched taut as a drum. His skin erupted in watery pustules: whichever way he turned was agony. Phosphorescent centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/his-legs-withered-his-stomach-stretched-taut-as-a-drum-his-skin/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [I am alive. Up here with the song of the engine and the air whispering on my face as the sunlight and shadows play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/i-am-alive-up-here-with-the-song-of-the-engine-and-the-air-whispering/)

[Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/)

> [I seem like a big bombastic outgoing dude, when it comes down to it with the ladies, when I was a single, free-wheeling dude,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-black/i-seem-like-a-big-bombastic-outgoing-dude-when-it-comes-down-to-it/)

[Jack Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-black/)

> [The world was not wheeling anymore. It was just very clear and bright and inclined to blur at the edges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-world-was-not-wheeling-anymore-it-was-just-very-clear-and-bright/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia Rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand And his daring life of crime made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/from-a-town-known-as-wheeling-west-virginia-rode-a-boy-with-a-six-gun/)

[Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/)

> [With the stick in my right hand, the throttle in my left, and the rudder beneath my feet, I can savor that essence from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/with-the-stick-in-my-right-hand-the-throttle-in-my-left-and-the/)

[Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/)

> [I'm an only child. Mostly raised by my father outside of Saratoga, doing martial arts and snowmobiling. I wore sweaters, jeans and sneakers. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jwoww/i-m-an-only-child-mostly-raised-by-my-father-outside-of-saratoga/)

JWoww

> [This world was once a fluid haze of light, Till toward the centre set the starry tides, And eddied into suns, that wheeling cast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/this-world-was-once-a-fluid-haze-of-light-till-toward-the-centre-set/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

> [I go four- wheeling in my truck. I also like to fish, cook, do stuff around my house. I even studied fencing for awhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-perry/i-go-four-wheeling-in-my-truck-i-also-like-to-fish-cook-do-stuff/)

[Luke Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-perry/)

> [Only the free-wheeling artist-explorer, non-academic, scientist-philosopher, mechanic, economist-poet who has never waited for patron-starting and accrediting of his co-ordinate capabilities holds the prime initiative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-the-free-wheeling-artist-explorer-non-academic-scientist/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Time rides with the old At a great pace. As travellers on swift steeds See the near landscape fly and flow behind them, While…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace-as-travellers-on-swift-steeds/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [ Even when you go up ramp, and you think about \[Franklin D. Roosevelt\] wheeling himself up, you know, got a little cigarette holder in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/even-when-you-go-up-ramp-and-you-think-about-franklin-d-roosevelt/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [I have need of the sky, I have business with the grass; I will up and get me away where the hawk is wheeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hovey/i-have-need-of-the-sky-i-have-business-with-the-grass-i-will-up-and/)

[Richard Hovey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hovey/)

> [So here comes Gabriel again, and what he says is "Good tidings of great joy ... for all people." ... That's why the shepherds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin/so-here-comes-gabriel-again-and-what-he-says-is-good-tidings-of-great/)

[Walter Wangerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin/)

> [I want to see us to explore outer space. But I want to do it safely, without the loss of human life, and democratically:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/i-want-to-see-us-to-explore-outer-space-but-i-want-to-do-it-safely/)

[Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/)

## More by Bruce Chatwin

> [Tyranny sets up its own echo-chamber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/tyranny-sets-up-its-own-echo-chamber/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [“I think I would be happy in that place I happen not to be, and this question of moving house is the subject of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/i-think-i-would-be-happy-in-that-place-i-happen-not-to-be-and-this/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [And the formation of man is the most pressing problem facing humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/and-the-formation-of-man-is-the-most-pressing-problem-facing-humanity/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [A Sufi manual, the Kashf-al-Mahjub, says that, towards the end of his journey, the dervish becomes the Way not the wayfarer, i.e. a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/a-sufi-manual-the-kashf-al-mahjub-says-that-towards-the-end-of-his/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [I pictured a low timber house with a shingled roof, caulked against storms, with blazing log fires inside and the walls lined with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/i-pictured-a-low-timber-house-with-a-shingled-roof-caulked-against/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [“One year, he went to Paris for the week-end: but that completely upset his equilibrium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/one-year-he-went-to-paris-for-the-week-end-but-that-completely-upset/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [It's an old sailor's idea that every ship has a rope with one end made fast to her bows and the other held by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/it-s-an-old-sailor-s-idea-that-every-ship-has-a-rope-with-one-end/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [“ Fino a quando, Signore, fino a quando? ... "Finché non siano devastate le città...". I Profeti confidavano in un Giorno della Restaurazione, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/fino-a-quando-signore-fino-a-quando-finch-non-siano-devastate-le-citt/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [I climbed a path and from the top looked up-stream towards Chile. I could see the river, glinting and sliding through the bone-white cliffs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/i-climbed-a-path-and-from-the-top-looked-up-stream-towards-chile-i/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [“The real home of man is not his house but the road. Life itself is a travel that has to be done by foot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/the-real-home-of-man-is-not-his-house-but-the-road-life-itself-is-a/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [“What am I doing here? Rimbaud writing home from Ethiopia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/what-am-i-doing-here-rimbaud-writing-home-from-ethiopia/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> ['I will go to France, to Yugoslavia, to China, and continue my profession.' 'As sanitary engineer?' 'No, Monsieur. As adventurer. I will see all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/i-will-go-to-france-to-yugoslavia-to-china-and-continue-my-profession/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [Walking is a virtue, tourism is a deadly sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/walking-is-a-virtue-tourism-is-a-deadly-sin/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [Richard Lee calculated that a Bushman child will be carried a distance of 4,900 miles before he begins to walk on his own. Since,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/richard-lee-calculated-that-a-bushman-child-will-be-carried-a/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

> [“Gradually the idea for a book began to take shape. It was to be a wildly ambitious and intolerant work, a kind of 'Anatomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/gradually-the-idea-for-a-book-began-to-take-shape-it-was-to-be-a/)

[Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

[Explore all 53 Bruce Chatwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/)

## More Looks quotes

> [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/)

[Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/)

> [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/)

[Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/)

> [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/)

[Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/)

> [once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look it right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/once-in-awhile-you-get-shown-the-light-in-the-strangest-of-places-if/)

[Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/)

> [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/)

[Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/)

> [I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/)

[Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/)

> [If you're texting Magnus to say 'I think u r kewl,' I'm going to kill you." "Who's Magnus?" Max inquired. "He's a warlock," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/if-you-re-texting-magnus-to-say-i-think-u-r-kewl-i-m-going-to-kill/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [If your thighs look like the hood of a white Toyota minivan after a hailstorm, you aren't juicy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/if-your-thighs-look-like-the-hood-of-a-white-toyota-minivan-after-a/)

[Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/)

[Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/)

Browse all 32,393 Looks quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "And when you look along the way we've come, there are spirals of vultures wheeling.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bruce Chatwin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-come-there-are-spirals-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Looks"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-come-there-are-spirals-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/bruce-chatwin-11797_looks_and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-co_1837579.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/bruce-chatwin-11797_looks_and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-co_1837579.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/bruce-chatwin-11797_looks_and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-co_1837579.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And when you look along the way we've come, there are spirals of vultures wheeling.” — Bruce Chatwin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Bruce Chatwin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "And when you look along the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-come-there-are-spirals-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-come-there-are-spirals-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
