--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have heard that sometimes when a person…" description: "\"“I have heard that sometimes when a person has an operation to transplant someone else's heart or liver or kidney into his body, his tastes in foods ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32a/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_change_i-have-heard-that-sometimes-when-a-perso_1020273.png" --- # I have heard that sometimes when a person has an operation… ![“I have heard that sometimes when a person has an operation to transplant someone else's heart or liver or kidney into his body, his tastes in foods change, or his favorite colors, as if the organ has brought with it some memory of its life before, as if it holds within it a whole past that must…” quote by Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32a/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_change_i-have-heard-that-sometimes-when-a-perso_1020273.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32a/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_change_i-have-heard-that-sometimes-when-a-perso_1020273.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32a/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_change_i-have-heard-that-sometimes-when-a-perso_1020273.png) > ““I have heard that sometimes when a person has an operation to transplant someone else's heart or liver or kidney into his body, his tastes in foods change, or his favorite colors, as if the organ has brought with it some memory of its life before, as if it holds within it a whole past that must find a place within its new host. This is the way I carry Lexy inside me. Since the moment she took up residency within me, she has lent her own color to the way I see and hear and taste, so that by now I can barely distinguish between the world as it seemed before and the way it seems now. I cannot say what air tasted like before I knew her or how the city smelled as I walked its streets at night. I have only one tongue in my head and one pair of eyes, and I stopped being able to trust them a long time ago.”” [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels that an organ transplant carries the donor’s memories, altering perception and identity, making it hard to trust one’s senses. **In simple terms:** Transplanted organs may change how we perceive the world. Key Takeaway Recognize how profound experiences reshape self‑perception. Themes identity memory perception trust Mood reflective introspective Type personal narrative philosophical When to use this quote - medical recovery - grief processing - personal identity - sensory integration Key Concepts psychology neuroscience philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between physical and emotional changes after a transplant? - Can memory be transferred biologically? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overstate biological influence; changes could be psychological. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body Tastes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-tastes-2270419/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Favorite color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/favorite-color/) [Hear Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-taste-1611838/) [Lexy Inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lexy-inside-2270420/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Long time ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time-ago/) [Organ Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organ-brought-2270422/) [Tastes Foods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tastes-foods-2270421/) ## Related quotes > [“It is through the filter of our ego that we give meaning to everything we see, touch, hear, taste and feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyalwa-dokhampa/it-is-through-the-filter-of-our-ego-that-we-give-meaning-to/) [Gyalwa Dokhampa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyalwa-dokhampa/) > [And I don't wanna hear that it taste good One hit it, it's you feel it in yo face good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-ink/and-i-don-t-wanna-hear-that-it-taste-good-one-hit-it-it-s-you-feel-it/) [Kid Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-ink/) > [What we say has such a profound influence upon what we see, and hear, and taste of the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-abram/what-we-say-has-such-a-profound-influence-upon-what-we-see-and-hear/) [David Abram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-abram/) > [First we have to see. 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A purple dress, eating grapes, lilacs - I love purple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-yee/purple-is-my-favorite-color-it-makes-me-think-of-spring-and-summer-a/) [Angela Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-yee/) > [“Wen people ask me what my favorite color is I say green Because I don't know what to call it This color the sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-alene/wen-people-ask-me-what-my-favorite-color-is-i-say-green-because-i-don/) [Catherine Alene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-alene/) > [“Rahim Khan laughed. “Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/rahim-khan-laughed-children-aren-t-coloring-books-you-don-t-get-to/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Lavender used to be my favorite color in the box of sixty-four crayons - you know, the one with the sharpener built into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melinda-metz/lavender-used-to-be-my-favorite-color-in-the-box-of-sixty-four/) [Melinda Metz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melinda-metz/) > [Gold is my favorite color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalen-ramsey/gold-is-my-favorite-color/) [Jalen Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalen-ramsey/) > [Orange is my favorite color overall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/orange-is-my-favorite-color-overall/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) ## More by Carolyn Parkhurst > [“Anyway, I thought, it's wishful thinking, all this talk of ghosts. 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"What do you want to be today?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/go-on-lexy-said-what-do-you-want-to-be-today/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [The simplest thing that can be said about any person, any relationship, is that it's not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/the-simplest-thing-that-can-be-said-about-any-person-any-relationship/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“The unexpected thing, the miraculous thing, is when a car that's been shattered in a crash, that's been left in the rain to rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/the-unexpected-thing-the-miraculous-thing-is-when-a-car-that-s-been/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [What's it like, Lexy? You wake up and you feel - what? Heaviness, an ache inside, a weight, yes. A soft crumpling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/what-s-it-like-lexy-you-wake-up-and-you-feel-what-heaviness-an-ache/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [Perhaps she saw before her a lifetime of walking on the ruined earth and chose instead a single moment in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/perhaps-she-saw-before-her-a-lifetime-of-walking-on-the-ruined-earth/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“And sitting here now, with all of Lexy's dreams in my lap, I realize there are things about her I will never know. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/and-sitting-here-now-with-all-of-lexy-s-dreams-in-my-lap-i-realize/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“You are my finest knight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/you-are-my-finest-knight/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) [Explore all 45 Carolyn Parkhurst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. 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This is the way I carry Lexy inside me. Since the moment she took up residency within me, she has lent her own color to the way I see and hear and taste, so that by now I can barely distinguish between the world as it seemed before and the way it seems now. I cannot say what air tasted like before I knew her or how the city smelled as I walked its streets at night. 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