--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not a single atom in our bodies today was…" description: "\"“Not a single atom in our bodies today was there when we were children. Every bit of us has been replaced many times over. We flake away and become new..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/colum-mccann-902_aging-quotes_not-a-single-atom-in-our-bodies-today-wa_2413150.png" --- # Not a single atom in our bodies today was there when we… ![“Not a single atom in our bodies today was there when we were children. Every bit of us has been replaced many times over. We flake away and become new. Whatever we are now, we are not the stuff from which we were originally made. All the people we once were. All the people we had once hoped to be.” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/colum-mccann-902_aging-quotes_not-a-single-atom-in-our-bodies-today-wa_2413150.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/colum-mccann-902_aging-quotes_not-a-single-atom-in-our-bodies-today-wa_2413150.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/colum-mccann-902_aging-quotes_not-a-single-atom-in-our-bodies-today-wa_2413150.png) > ““Not a single atom in our bodies today was there when we were children. Every bit of us has been replaced many times over. We flake away and become new. Whatever we are now, we are not the stuff from which we were originally made. All the people we once were. All the people we had once hoped to be.”” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our bodies and identities are constantly rebuilt, so the self is a series of replacements rather than a fixed essence. **In simple terms:** We are constantly changing, not the same as our past selves. Key Takeaway Accept change as natural and focus on present growth. Themes identity change impermanence Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - health - relationships - career transitions - grieving loss Key Concepts philosophy biology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing constant renewal affect your sense of self? - What aspects of identity feel permanent to you? A Different Perspective It may overlook continuity of memory and personality that persists despite physical change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging-quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging-quotes/) [Atom Bodies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom-bodies-2611762/) [Bodies Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bodies-today-6082217/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Repair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repair/) [Replaced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replaced/) [Single Atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-atom-295489/) [Stuff Originally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff-originally-505860/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“They say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. 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As an individual he is a free agent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/as-a-single-atom-man-is-an-enigma-as-a-whole-he-is-a-mathematical/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [“Not one single atom opposes us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zen-master-hongzhi/not-one-single-atom-opposes-us/) [Zen Master Hongzhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zen-master-hongzhi/) > [It has been rightly said that nothing is unimportant, nothing powerless in the universe; a single atom can dissolve everything, and save everything! 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This means that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-movement-of-a-single-atom-from-one-known-position-to-another/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“If you have children and love one more than another, work at it. 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So old and wrinkled. So beautiful and just right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-lawrence/she-looked-at-his-face-so-old-and-wrinkled-so-beautiful-and-just-right/) [R.J. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-lawrence/) > [“Those who said ageing is the power, are no more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/those-who-said-ageing-is-the-power-are-no-more/) [P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) ## More by Colum McCann > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-so-sure-that-i-can-teach-people-how-to-you-know-write/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Once we had filled each other with desire, not remembrance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/once-we-had-filled-each-other-with-desire-not-remembrance/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“How long ago it was and how strange, but all dead friends come to life again sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/how-long-ago-it-was-and-how-strange-but-all-dead-friends-come-to-life/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She would want, instead, to recall him in the air, between layers of cloud. To give him back that ancient dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-would-want-instead-to-recall-him-in-the-air-between-layers-of/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-a-silence-that-heard-itself-awful-and-beautiful/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think one of the biggest political failures, and the biggest social failures, over the past few years has been the failure of empathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-think-one-of-the-biggest-political-failures-and-the-biggest-social/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. "It's like dust. You walk about and don't see it, don't notice it, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/bits-of-it-floating-in-the-air-he-said-it-s-like-dust-you-walk-about/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“He has read whole volumes on the philosophy of nonviolence. How peace had to be understood in all its moral dimensions. The proper coexistence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-has-read-whole-volumes-on-the-philosophy-of-nonviolence-how-peace/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She’s always thought that one of the beauties of New York is that you can be from anywhere and within moments of landing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-s-always-thought-that-one-of-the-beauties-of-new-york-is-that-you/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm of the opinion that the real is imagined and the imagined is quite real. The real is imagined, in the sense that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-the-real-is-imagined-and-the-imagined-is/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She had that emigrant’s sadness—she would never go back to her old country—it was gone in more senses than one—but she was forever gazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-had-that-emigrant-s-sadness-she-would-never-go-back-to-her-old/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) [Explore all 333 Colum McCann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## More Aging-quotes quotes > [“Those who said ageing is the power, are no more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/those-who-said-ageing-is-the-power-are-no-more/) [P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [“She looked at his face. So old and wrinkled. So beautiful and just right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-lawrence/she-looked-at-his-face-so-old-and-wrinkled-so-beautiful-and-just-right/) [R.J. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-lawrence/) > [“You looked in the mirror, years had passed, you had aged, you remembered your youthful image and felt a little demoralized, but then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/you-looked-in-the-mirror-years-had-passed-you-had-aged-you-remembered/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Aging is not a disease, not a symptom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar-2/aging-is-not-a-disease-not-a-symptom/) [p s jagadeesh kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar-2/) > [“Age– I don’t wear her particularly well. She despises my stubbornness, as I abhor her impatience. We’ve made a deal– She will let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-jordan/age-i-don-t-wear-her-particularly-well-she-despises-my-stubbornness/) [Gabrielle Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-jordan/) > [“I never did mind my birthday. Adding up the years made me fearless the true killer of my life was always Valentines Day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-leilou-colon/i-never-did-mind-my-birthday-adding-up-the-years-made-me-fearless-the/) [Evelyn Leilou Colon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-leilou-colon/) > [“As our body journeys through life, and life journeys on our body….life will leave marks on us too. From the creases of our wrinkles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-klarfeld/as-our-body-journeys-through-life-and-life-journeys-on-our-body-life/) [lauren klarfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-klarfeld/) > [“I try to live my life, as if I am 85 or 90 years old in retrospect. I was handsome and young still, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-storrs/i-try-to-live-my-life-as-if-i-am-85-or-90-years-old-in-retrospect-i/) [TIM STORRS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-storrs/) > [“I know what I look like. I have no choice (…) What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/i-know-what-i-look-like-i-have-no-choice-what-am-i-going-to-do-about/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [“A saying on an art piece prompted me to use the term seasoned citizen instead of senior citizen: 'I'm no longer a spring chicken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-clark-johnston/a-saying-on-an-art-piece-prompted-me-to-use-the-term-seasoned-citizen/) [Janis Clark Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-clark-johnston/) > [“Age hastens for those who measure its steps too often.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuwan-thapaliya/age-hastens-for-those-who-measure-its-steps-too-often/) [Bhuwan Thapaliya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuwan-thapaliya/) > [“Time can rob us of youth, but it can never rob us of true beauty that shines through our actions from the day we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-vorvain/time-can-rob-us-of-youth-but-it-can-never-rob-us-of-true-beauty-that/) [Carol Vorvain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-vorvain/) > [“As I got older, I thought about aging more, as we all do. 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