--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In New York, he would live for them, but…" description: "\"“In New York, he would live for them, but in San Francisco, he could live for himself. And though he does not like to think about it, though he in fact..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/chloe-benjamin-15855_life_in-new-york-he-would-live-for-them-but-i_538207.jpg" --- # In New York, he would live for them, but in San Francisco… ![“In New York, he would live for them, but in San Francisco, he could live for himself. And though he does not like to think about it, though he in fact avoids the subject pathologically, he allows himself to think it now: What if the woman on Hester Street is right, and the next few years are his…” quote by Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/chloe-benjamin-15855_life_in-new-york-he-would-live-for-them-but-i_538207.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/chloe-benjamin-15855_life_in-new-york-he-would-live-for-them-but-i_538207.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/chloe-benjamin-15855_life_in-new-york-he-would-live-for-them-but-i_538207.jpg) > ““In New York, he would live for them, but in San Francisco, he could live for himself. And though he does not like to think about it, though he in fact avoids the subject pathologically, he allows himself to think it now: What if the woman on Hester Street is right, and the next few years are his last? The mere thought turns his life a different color; it makes everything feel urgent, glittering, precious.”” [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The protagonist confronts mortality, realizing that awareness of limited time intensifies life’s value and urgency. **In simple terms:** Thinking about death makes life feel urgent and precious. Key Takeaway Embrace urgency, cherish moments. Themes mortality urgency self‑discovery city life existentialism Mood reflective poignant thoughtful Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - creative projects - health choices - travel planning Key Concepts impermanence meaning-making psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does the prospect of limited time change your priorities? - What does “glittering” mean to you in daily life? A Different Perspective If one ignores mortality, urgency may fade, leading to complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [You never were behind me, you never were in front of me. 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That the mere thought of it keeps you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-bad-you-think-you-d-die-if-you-don/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Just when we thought we've found our one true love, the mere thought of losing them hurts us so bad, and the moment we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-t-pascua/just-when-we-thought-we-ve-found-our-one-true-love-the-mere-thought/) [April T Pascua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-t-pascua/) > [“The mere thought of her with another man is enough to drive me fucking insane. So, yeah, I’m not saying any of that bullshit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-arcane/the-mere-thought-of-her-with-another-man-is-enough-to-drive-me/) [Annie Arcane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-arcane/) > [The mere thought hadn't even begun to speculate about the merest possibility of crossing my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-mere-thought-hadn-t-even-begun-to-speculate-about-the-merest/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Every one may know that to will and not to do, when there is opportunity, is in reality not to will; and that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/every-one-may-know-that-to-will-and-not-to-do-when-there-is/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) ## More by Chloe Benjamin > [I've always been interested in the tension between knowledge and mystery, between science and religion, and the various ways we cope with the unknown.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-the-tension-between-knowledge-and/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [“Klara has always known she’s meant to be a bridge: between reality and illusion, the present and the past, this world and the next.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/klara-has-always-known-she-s-meant-to-be-a-bridge-between-reality-and/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [“So, this is how it started: as a secret, a challenge, a fire escape they used to dodge the hulking mass of their mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/so-this-is-how-it-started-as-a-secret-a-challenge-a-fire-escape-they/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [I did invent the idea of using lucid dreaming to treat sleep disorders, but I was influenced by many real-life researchers - from forefathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/i-did-invent-the-idea-of-using-lucid-dreaming-to-treat-sleep/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [I think much of my own quest in life is to figure out how best to cope with my own uncertainties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/i-think-much-of-my-own-quest-in-life-is-to-figure-out-how-best-to/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [I think readers either love or hate nonlinear storytelling, and it's true that it can be more difficult, both to write and to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/i-think-readers-either-love-or-hate-nonlinear-storytelling-and-it-s/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [“Is there such a thing as too much pleasure? When Simon imagines the bathhouses, he thinks of a carnival of gluttony, an underworld so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/is-there-such-a-thing-as-too-much-pleasure-when-simon-imagines-the/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [“He believes in bad choices; he believes in bad luck. And yet the memory of the woman on Hester Street is like a miniscule…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/he-believes-in-bad-choices-he-believes-in-bad-luck-and-yet-the-memory/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [“No vices?’ ‘No vices.’ ‘Except men,’ Simon says. A tree branch waves in front of the living room window, blocking the sun, and Robert’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/no-vices-no-vices-except-men-simon-says-a-tree-branch-waves-in-front/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [My mom is Episcopalian; my dad is ancestrally Jewish but personally atheist. After their divorce, however, my dad married a Jewish spiritual director, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/my-mom-is-episcopalian-my-dad-is-ancestrally-jewish-but-personally/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [I've always been fascinated by dreams - they seem like such intriguing evidence of the brain's obsession with narrative as a form of sense-making.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-dreams-they-seem-like-such-intriguing/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [“Simon still feels high, remembering how it felt to dance with those beautiful, sculpted men, how it felt to be adored. For a moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/simon-still-feels-high-remembering-how-it-felt-to-dance-with-those/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [My favorite writer is Alice Munro. It's simply amazing how well she captures entire lifetimes in a single short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/my-favorite-writer-is-alice-munro-it-s-simply-amazing-how-well-she/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [“Even Eden – especially Eden – didn’t last forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/even-eden-especially-eden-didn-t-last-forever/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [None of us know what comes after death. All of us, to some extent, are probably mystified or maybe a little bit frightened of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/none-of-us-know-what-comes-after-death-all-of-us-to-some-extent-are/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) [Explore all 41 Chloe Benjamin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [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/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In New York, he would live for them, but in San Francisco, he could live for himself. 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