--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Get back in the box. Set it for home…" description: "\"“Get back in the box. Set it for home, present day. Go see your mom. Bring your dad. Have dinner, the three of you. Go find The Woman You Never Married..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/charles-yu-3807_moment_get-back-in-the-box-set-it-for-home-pres_1242159.jpg" --- # Get back in the box. Set it for home, present day. Go see… ![“Get back in the box. Set it for home, present day. Go see your mom. Bring your dad. Have dinner, the three of you. Go find The Woman You Never Married and see if she might want to be The Woman You Are Going To Marry Someday. Step out of this box. Pop open the hatch. The forces within the…” quote by Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/charles-yu-3807_moment_get-back-in-the-box-set-it-for-home-pres_1242159.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/charles-yu-3807_moment_get-back-in-the-box-set-it-for-home-pres_1242159.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/charles-yu-3807_moment_get-back-in-the-box-set-it-for-home-pres_1242159.jpg) > ““Get back in the box. Set it for home, present day. Go see your mom. Bring your dad. Have dinner, the three of you. Go find The Woman You Never Married and see if she might want to be The Woman You Are Going To Marry Someday. Step out of this box. Pop open the hatch. The forces within the chronohydraulic air lock will equalize. Step out into the world of time and risk and loss again. Move forward, into the emily plane. Find the book you wrote, and read it until the end, but don't turn the last page yet, keep stalling, see how long you can keep expanding the infinitely expandable moment. Enjoy the elastic present, which can accommodate as little or as much as you want to put in there. Stretch it out, live inside of it.”” [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage urges embracing the present, exploring possibilities, and confronting uncertainty while staying grounded in personal relationships and creative work. **In simple terms:** Live fully now, explore, and accept risk while staying connected. Key Takeaway Embrace risk, stay present, and keep creating. Themes present risk creativity relationships time existence Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type philosophical inspirational literary When to use this quote - family dinner - creative writing - personal decision making - risk assessment - mindfulness Key Concepts existentialism personal growth fictional narrative time perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance risk with responsibility? - What does “elastic present” mean to you? A Different Perspective The advice may overlook practical constraints and responsibilities that limit endless exploration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Move forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/move-forward/) [Present day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-day/) ## Related quotes > [“Move forward, into the empty plane. Find the book you wrote, and read it until the end, but don't turn the last page yet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/move-forward-into-the-empty-plane-find-the-book-you-wrote-and-read-it/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [I had my palm read. I wrote something on it first to see if she would read that too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-had-my-palm-read-i-wrote-something-on-it-first-to-see-if-she-would/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a book I neither wrote nor read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delmore-schwartz/i-am-a-book-i-neither-wrote-nor-read/) [Delmore Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delmore-schwartz/) > [“Tiff like in Breakfast at Tiffany's,' he says. 'Right?' I couldn't be more shocked. 'Um... yes, that's right - it's an old movie.' 'Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-condon/tiff-like-in-breakfast-at-tiffany-s-he-says-right-i-couldn-t-be-more/) [Bill Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-condon/) > [Man does not live by a turkey in every oven or a color TV set in every home. Man lives by faith and hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-merrill-root/man-does-not-live-by-a-turkey-in-every-oven-or-a-color-tv-set-in/) [E. Merrill Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-merrill-root/) > [“Once we were on the road and safely out of earshot she said, ‘Hot, sweet tea, indeed! We shall have a bracing brandy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-kinsey/once-we-were-on-the-road-and-safely-out-of-earshot-she-said-hot-sweet/) [T E Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-kinsey/) > [“I always questioned myself if we were ever like birds in our hearts. Were feelings ever set back home at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsholofelo-lehaha/i-always-questioned-myself-if-we-were-ever-like-birds-in-our-hearts/) [Tsholofelo Lehaha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsholofelo-lehaha/) > [“is as though the winter has set up home in my marrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/is-as-though-the-winter-has-set-up-home-in-my-marrow/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [I'm definitely a homebody, so when I have an emotional day on set, I have to go home, take a bath, and go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-brewer/i-m-definitely-a-homebody-so-when-i-have-an-emotional-day-on-set-i/) [Madeline Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-brewer/) > [I am more comfortable on set than I am in my own home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynch/i-am-more-comfortable-on-set-than-i-am-in-my-own-home/) [Jennifer Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynch/) > [We have set up our home to be designed for taking care of children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bob-duggar/we-have-set-up-our-home-to-be-designed-for-taking-care-of-children/) [Jim Bob Duggar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bob-duggar/) > [I've gotten pretty good at leaving characters on the set. I go home and try to relax and regroup and be ready for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/i-ve-gotten-pretty-good-at-leaving-characters-on-the-set-i-go-home/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Every morning when I wake up, I am grateful and happy that I come to the film set. It is home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjun-kapoor/every-morning-when-i-wake-up-i-am-grateful-and-happy-that-i-come-to/) [Arjun Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjun-kapoor/) > [The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-best-way-to-pay-for-a-lovely-moment-is-to-enjoy-it/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [We're just grateful, we learn to be in moment and enjoy what we're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ant-mcpartlin/we-re-just-grateful-we-learn-to-be-in-moment-and-enjoy-what-we-re/) [Ant McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ant-mcpartlin/) ## More by Charles Yu > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“Maybe I'd absorbed the capacity to hurt someone by listening to my parents every night, who were under the impression that turning the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/maybe-i-d-absorbed-the-capacity-to-hurt-someone-by-listening-to-my/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“A life is about twenty-five thousand days, and a finding occurs about once every twenty-five thousand days. In other news, once in a lifetime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/a-life-is-about-twenty-five-thousand-days-and-a-finding-occurs-about/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“We don't need the Good Life. The Pretty Good Life would be just fine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/we-don-t-need-the-good-life-the-pretty-good-life-would-be-just-fine/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [For the past several years, I have gone to sleep every night in this same little pocket, the most uneventful piece of time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/for-the-past-several-years-i-have-gone-to-sleep-every-night-in-this/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [Whatever the reason, first place was always Solo, always, always, always, and second place was usually Chewbacca, because if you weren't the one saving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/whatever-the-reason-first-place-was-always-solo-always-always-always/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“I hate everything about her except for the fact that I love everything about her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/i-hate-everything-about-her-except-for-the-fact-that-i-love/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“My thoughts, normally bunched together, wrapped in gauze, insistent, urgent, impatient, one moment to the next, living in what I now realize is, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/my-thoughts-normally-bunched-together-wrapped-in-gauze-insistent/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“How many times before I finally convince myself, how many private, erasable deaths will I need to die, how many self-murders is it going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/how-many-times-before-i-finally-convince-myself-how-many-private/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“I know none of this seems very believable. It probably doesn't even make sense. But for once in your life, please, I am asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/i-know-none-of-this-seems-very-believable-it-probably-doesn-t-even/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“My father makes to-do lists, makes plans, makes business plans. This is how he starts, always with a blank sheet of graph paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/my-father-makes-to-do-lists-makes-plans-makes-business-plans-this-is/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“It’s hard to have a relationship in this world. Other people are not the same from day to day. I might wake up next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/it-s-hard-to-have-a-relationship-in-this-world-other-people-are-not/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [Everyone has a time machine. Everyone \*is\* a time machine. It's just that most people's time machines are broken. The strangest and hardest kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/everyone-has-a-time-machine-everyone-is-a-time-machine-it-s-just-that/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“There are objects you may desire but cannot explain. There are objects that are not nouns, there are actions that are not verbs. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/there-are-objects-you-may-desire-but-cannot-explain-there-are-objects/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [“The sneaky heftiness of the book being the aggregate cumulative effect of hundreds of thousands of individually insubstantial little markings, letters and numbers, commas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/the-sneaky-heftiness-of-the-book-being-the-aggregate-cumulative/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) [Explore all 121 Charles Yu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) ## More Moment quotes > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [“Enjoy small moments as they come. At the end, That's what makes life worthwhile...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadun-lokuliyanage/enjoy-small-moments-as-they-come-at-the-end-that-s-what-makes-life/) Nadun Lokuliyanage > [“Will you destroy something in order to make it beautiful? Will you avoid something in order to fall in love with it? Will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/will-you-destroy-something-in-order-to-make-it-beautiful-will-you/) [Hanif Hassan Barbhuiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/) > [Any moment,everything can change.. - Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-duff/any-moment-everything-can-change-hilary-duff/) [Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-duff/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' I knew it had Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Gary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/professionally-speaking-the-proudest-moment-was-when-i-booked-the/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [I never want to look back on any moment and say I could have done more. So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/) [Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/) > [It's you. It's been you for the past 7 months, since the moment we started talking. It's you at 2am or it's you at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/it-s-you-it-s-been-you-for-the-past-7-months-since-the-moment-we/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [What I know about Ali Krieger is no moment is ever going to be too big for her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-ellis/what-i-know-about-ali-krieger-is-no-moment-is-ever-going-to-be-too/) [Jill Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-ellis/) > [“In this moment, I'm yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/in-this-moment-i-m-yours/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [You'll never see me coming around the corner not smiling... I mean, I enjoy every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquem-griffin/you-ll-never-see-me-coming-around-the-corner-not-smiling-i-mean-i/) [Shaquem Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquem-griffin/) > [Brian Johnson, AC/DC, singing 'The Hokey Pokey' with him - I'll take that over any other moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-breuer/brian-johnson-ac-dc-singing-the-hokey-pokey-with-him-i-ll-take-that/) [Jim Breuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-breuer/) > [There were moments, of course. Those small spaces in time, too soon gone, when everything seems to stand still, and existence is balanced on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/there-were-moments-of-course-those-small-spaces-in-time-too-soon-gone/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [There was a stage in my career when I started to have problems with the vanity aspect of the subject. I got frustrated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juergen-teller/there-was-a-stage-in-my-career-when-i-started-to-have-problems-with/) [Juergen Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juergen-teller/) [Browse all 5,869 Moment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Get back in the box. Set it for home, present day. Go see your mom. Bring your dad. Have dinner, the three of you. Go find The Woman You Never Married and see if she might want to be The Woman You Are Going To Marry Someday. Step out of this box. Pop open the hatch. The forces within the chronohydraulic air lock will equalize. Step out into the world of time and risk and loss again. Move forward, into the emily plane. Find the book you wrote, and read it until the end, but don't turn the last page yet, keep stalling, see how long you can keep expanding the infinitely expandable moment. Enjoy the elastic present, which can accommodate as little or as much as you want to put in there. 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