--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He woke one morning tantalized by an…" description: "\"“He woke one morning tantalized by an idea: if he could catch the orchard trees motionless for one second -- for half of one second -- then none of it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/david-wroblewski-14105_grief_he-woke-one-morning-tantalized-by-an-ide_95897.png" --- # He woke one morning tantalized by an idea: if he could… ![“He woke one morning tantalized by an idea: if he could catch the orchard trees motionless for one second -- for half of one second -- then none of it would have happened. The kitchen door would bang open and in his father would walk, red-faced and slapping his hands and exclaiming about some newly…” quote by David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/david-wroblewski-14105_grief_he-woke-one-morning-tantalized-by-an-ide_95897.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/david-wroblewski-14105_grief_he-woke-one-morning-tantalized-by-an-ide_95897.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/david-wroblewski-14105_grief_he-woke-one-morning-tantalized-by-an-ide_95897.png) > ““He woke one morning tantalized by an idea: if he could catch the orchard trees motionless for one second -- for half of one second -- then none of it would have happened. The kitchen door would bang open and in his father would walk, red-faced and slapping his hands and exclaiming about some newly whelped pup. Childish, Edgar knew, but he didn't care. The trick was to not focus on any single part of any tree, but to look through them all toward a point in the air. But how insidious a bargain he'd made. Even in the quietest moment some small thing quivered and the tableau was destroyed. How many afternoons slipped away like that? How many midnights standing in the spare room, watching the trees shiver in the moonlight? Still he watched, transfixed. Then, blushing because it was futile and silly, he forced himself to walk away. When he blinked, an afterimage of perfect stillness. To think it might happen when he wasn't watching. He turned back before he reached the door. Through the window glass, a dozen trees strummed by the winter wind, skeletons dancing pair-wise, fingers raised to heaven. Stop it, he told himself. Just stop. And watched some more.”” [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A boy attempts to freeze a fleeting moment, realizing that any focus disrupts the scene, illustrating the futility of trying to capture impermanence. **In simple terms:** Attempting to seize transient moments is futile Key Takeaway Observation alters what it watches Themes philosophy time perception memory nature Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - contemplating change - photography metaphors - mindful observation Key Concepts impermanence mindfulness Practical Applications - philosophical essay - creative writing Questions to Reflect On - What does the desire to freeze time reveal about human longing? - How does attention shape experience? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dozen Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dozen-trees-1177274/) [Edgar Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edgar-knew-1177276/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) [Trees Motionless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-motionless-1177277/) [Trees Shiver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-shiver-1177273/) [Watching Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-trees-1177275/) ## Related quotes > [“A sudden gust made the branches of the trees shiver, raining down a few bright green leaves. A fly buzzed in the grass near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/a-sudden-gust-made-the-branches-of-the-trees-shiver-raining-down-a/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [“Ayaan was sitting still, his head turned towards the window, watching the trees lose the race against our car. Maybe they had given up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-alchem/ayaan-was-sitting-still-his-head-turned-towards-the-window-watching/) [J. Alchem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-alchem/) > [I extend my condolences to those who have lost a loved one by saying, Good mourning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-espinoza/i-extend-my-condolences-to-those-who-have-lost-a-loved-one-by-saying/) [Rudy Espinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-espinoza/) > [ Loneliness is something we \[all people\] go through. We go through mourning and longing. We make some bad choices sometimes because we're desperate for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lee/loneliness-is-something-we-all-people-go-through-we-go-through/) [Jennifer Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lee/) > [“In daylight we pick up our tinned rations and hike off, every artery and nerve of us, into the rest of our commemorative lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gallagher/in-daylight-we-pick-up-our-tinned-rations-and-hike-off-every-artery/) [Tess Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gallagher/) > [“I have more than once tried to analyse this apparently deliberate form of self-torture that seems common to so many people in face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-maxwell/i-have-more-than-once-tried-to-analyse-this-apparently-deliberate/) [Gavin Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-maxwell/) > [Mourning your first love is as important as meeting your first love. It's the whole cycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-anderson/mourning-your-first-love-is-as-important-as-meeting-your-first-love/) [Jane Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-anderson/) > [Remember this-all the sighing, mourning, sobbing, and complaining in the world, does not so undeniably evidence a man to be humble, as his overlooking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/remember-this-all-the-sighing-mourning-sobbing-and-complaining-in-the/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [You do not see the river of mourning because it lacks one tear of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/you-do-not-see-the-river-of-mourning-because-it-lacks-one-tear-of/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [“It's wrong to give so much time over to mourning, she tells herself. Mourning and brooding. There's nothing to be accomplished by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-wrong-to-give-so-much-time-over-to-mourning-she-tells-herself/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-than-those-who-most-rejoice-at-it-a/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“I did not know the work of mourning Is like carrying a bag of cement Up a mountain at night The mountaintop is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-did-not-know-the-work-of-mourning-is-like-carrying-a-bag-of-cement/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) ## More by David Wroblewski > [“Just when normal life felt almost possible--when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (prismatic spray of light through an icicle;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/just-when-normal-life-felt-almost-possible-when-the-world-held-some/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“You put yourself in front of the thing and waited for whatever was going to happen and that was all. It scared you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/you-put-yourself-in-front-of-the-thing-and-waited-for-whatever-was/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [When you're making something big, whether it's long-form fiction or a big piece of software, whatever that is, you're having a very intimate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/when-you-re-making-something-big-whether-it-s-long-form-fiction-or-a/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [She had learned, in her life, that time lived inside you. You are time, you breathe time. When she'd been young, she'd had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/she-had-learned-in-her-life-that-time-lived-inside-you-you-are-time/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“In her life, she'd been nourished and sustained by certain things, him being one of them, Trudy another, and Edgar, the third and most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/in-her-life-she-d-been-nourished-and-sustained-by-certain-things-him/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“I think it's just as likely that someone could say that this place, right here, is heaven, hell and earth all at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/i-think-it-s-just-as-likely-that-someone-could-say-that-this-place/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“You swam in a river of chance and coincidence. You clung to the happiest accidents—the rest you let float by.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/you-swam-in-a-river-of-chance-and-coincidence-you-clung-to-the/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“Henry turned to give Edgar a look—a meaningful look—though Edgar couldn’t be sure exactly what its meaning was. It struck him again how there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/henry-turned-to-give-edgar-a-look-a-meaningful-look-though-edgar/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“He had also been demonstrative and intelligent from the very beginning, his questions startlingly insightful. She would watch him absorb a new idea and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/he-had-also-been-demonstrative-and-intelligent-from-the-very/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [I set writing aside when I went into theater, and then I set theater aside and subsequently had about a 25-year career in software…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/i-set-writing-aside-when-i-went-into-theater-and-then-i-set-theater/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“Edgar, do you actually think that how long a person grieves is a measure of how much they loved someone? There's no rule book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/edgar-do-you-actually-think-that-how-long-a-person-grieves-is-a/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [When she walked through the woods (infrequently now) she picked her way along the path, making way for the boy inside to run along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/when-she-walked-through-the-woods-infrequently-now-she-picked-her-way/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [No one can say if you are that person who, given good paint, good brushes, and a fine canvas, can produce something better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/no-one-can-say-if-you-are-that-person-who-given-good-paint-good/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“It was one thing to live in a world where death stood a distant figure, quite another to hold it in your hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/it-was-one-thing-to-live-in-a-world-where-death-stood-a-distant/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [“If you didn't like it, why didn't you quit?" To do what? Wasn't anything I knew better than farming. I was cursed, that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/if-you-didn-t-like-it-why-didn-t-you-quit-to-do-what-wasn-t-anything/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) [Explore all 48 David Wroblewski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He woke one morning tantalized by an idea: if he could catch the orchard trees motionless for one second -- for half of one second -- then none of it would have happened. The kitchen door would bang open and in his father would walk, red-faced and slapping his hands and exclaiming about some newly whelped pup. Childish, Edgar knew, but he didn't care. The trick was to not focus on any single part of any tree, but to look through them all toward a point in the air. But how insidious a bargain he'd made. Even in the quietest moment some small thing quivered and the tableau was destroyed. How many afternoons slipped away like that? How many midnights standing in the spare room, watching the trees shiver in the moonlight? Still he watched, transfixed. Then, blushing because it was futile and silly, he forced himself to walk away. When he blinked, an afterimage of perfect stillness. To think it might happen when he wasn't watching. He turned back before he reached the door. Through the window glass, a dozen trees strummed by the winter wind, skeletons dancing pair-wise, fingers raised to heaven. Stop it, he told himself. Just stop. 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