--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One way to think about your life is as an…" description: "\"“One way to think about your life is as an extended free fall. An epiphany may help you see better as you fall. Rather than a meaningless blur, you wil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/david-burr-gerrard-17852_epiphany_one-way-to-think-about-your-life-is-as-a_2943779.jpg" --- # One way to think about your life is as an extended free… ![“One way to think about your life is as an extended free fall. An epiphany may help you see better as you fall. Rather than a meaningless blur, you will see rocks and trees and lizards. An epiphany is not a parachute.” quote by David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/david-burr-gerrard-17852_epiphany_one-way-to-think-about-your-life-is-as-a_2943779.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/david-burr-gerrard-17852_epiphany_one-way-to-think-about-your-life-is-as-a_2943779.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/david-burr-gerrard-17852_epiphany_one-way-to-think-about-your-life-is-as-a_2943779.jpg) > ““One way to think about your life is as an extended free fall. An epiphany may help you see better as you fall. Rather than a meaningless blur, you will see rocks and trees and lizards. An epiphany is not a parachute.”” [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compares life to a free fall where insights act as fleeting clarity, not safety nets. **In simple terms:** Insights are brief, not protective. Key Takeaway Seek clarity but accept uncertainty. Themes existence insight uncertainty Mood reflective philosophical Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - risk‑taking Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning in uncertainty? - What role do epiphanies play in your life? 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Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-jennings/) > [Once you depart from the Ten Commandments as being the foundation of right and wrong, you are in a free fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/once-you-depart-from-the-ten-commandments-as-being-the-foundation-of/) [Randall Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-terry/) > [“The first impression scares the shit out of me, but it’s breathtaking, too, like when you push off a cliff and feel the wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/the-first-impression-scares-the-shit-out-of-me-but-it-s-breathtaking/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [Writing is a kind of free fall that you then go back and edit and shape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-gurganus/writing-is-a-kind-of-free-fall-that-you-then-go-back-and-edit-and/) [Allan Gurganus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-gurganus/) > [I was a pilot and flying hang gliders, paragliders, aerobatics airplanes, and then I discovered skydiving. 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His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by David Burr Gerrard > [“Thinking, like other drugs, can be a useful distraction from pain, as long as it's managed and doesn't become an addiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/thinking-like-other-drugs-can-be-a-useful-distraction-from-pain-as/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“You could fling open every closet of regret and desire in yourself and the people you loved, and still there would be one closet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/you-could-fling-open-every-closet-of-regret-and-desire-in-yourself/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“There was too much protection in a drone, protection that was also a denial of one’s own humanity, very much like the protection offered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/there-was-too-much-protection-in-a-drone-protection-that-was-also-a/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“To talk about something is the first step toward invading it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/to-talk-about-something-is-the-first-step-toward-invading-it/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“That was what maturity was: accepting things. 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Subtlety is bourgeois. Brecht us that when he popped drama’s cherry. He fucked drama until it stopped being subtle, like a lady, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/subtle-subtlety-is-bourgeois-brecht-us-that-when-he-popped-drama-s/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“The epiphany machine will not discover anything about you that you do not, in some way, already know. But think for a moment about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/the-epiphany-machine-will-not-discover-anything-about-you-that-you-do/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“Don’t go to the protest. Go out and get laid. Unless you’re going to the protest to get laid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/don-t-go-to-the-protest-go-out-and-get-laid-unless-you-re-going-to/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“Arthur, do you think the fall of the Wall means anything? Do you think that this means that even one fewer body will burn?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/arthur-do-you-think-the-fall-of-the-wall-means-anything-do-you-think/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“The months after the fall of the Wall constituted one of the few points in history when the past seemed to lead to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/the-months-after-the-fall-of-the-wall-constituted-one-of-the-few/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“Men do everything that men do, from waging war to reading books, for one purpose only: to get laid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/men-do-everything-that-men-do-from-waging-war-to-reading-books-for/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“Human beings are terrible things, Arthur.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/human-beings-are-terrible-things-arthur/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) [Explore all 36 David Burr Gerrard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) ## More Epiphany quotes > [I recently had an epiphany and now I'm making the most of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recently-had-an-epiphany-and-now-i-m-making-the-most-of-my-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was 12 when I was on stage for the first time and had an epiphany that this is what I wanted to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mithila-palkar/i-was-12-when-i-was-on-stage-for-the-first-time-and-had-an-epiphany/) [Mithila Palkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mithila-palkar/) > [ \[On Cantor's work:\] The finest product of mathematical genius and one of the supreme achievements of purely intellectual human activity. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/on-cantor-s-work-the-finest-product-of-mathematical-genius-and-one-of/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [So if there was a way that I knew something about my character's desires or the things that they were resisting because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-antopol/so-if-there-was-a-way-that-i-knew-something-about-my-character-s/) [Molly Antopol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-antopol/) > [“I had an epiphany a few years ago when I was out at a celebrity party and it suddenly dawned on me that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-had-an-epiphany-a-few-years-ago-when-i-was-out-at-a-celebrity-party/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Do not, under any circumstances, belittle a work of fiction by trying to turn it into a carbon copy of real life; what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/do-not-under-any-circumstances-belittle-a-work-of-fiction-by-trying/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“Without the quest, there can be no epiphany.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantine-e-scaros/without-the-quest-there-can-be-no-epiphany/) [Constantine E. Scaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantine-e-scaros/) > [Very often in mathematics the crucial problem is to recognize and discover what are the relevant concepts; once this is accomplished the job may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-nathan-herstein/very-often-in-mathematics-the-crucial-problem-is-to-recognize-and/) [Israel Nathan Herstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-nathan-herstein/) > [I can't relate to the idea of suicide. I guess I'm just one of those people that is always optimistic and upbeat. 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He never saw it coming. It encapsulated in one poignant instant the tragic beauty of his family history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-scene-sucker-punched-max-he-never-saw-it-coming-it-encapsulated/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [Humility is not self deprecating, rather it is the quiet internal confidence allowing you to accept things as they are, especially yourself; that epiphany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casar-jacobson/humility-is-not-self-deprecating-rather-it-is-the-quiet-internal/) [Casar Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casar-jacobson/) > [“It’s a little-known secret, and it should probably stay that way: attempting suicide usually jump-starts your brain chemistry. There must be something about taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-cheney/it-s-a-little-known-secret-and-it-should-probably-stay-that-way/) [Terri Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-cheney/) [Browse all 299 Epiphany quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epiphany/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One way to think about your life is as an extended free fall. An epiphany may help you see better as you fall. Rather than a meaningless blur, you will see rocks and trees and lizards. 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