--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a balance, a kind of standoff…" description: "\"There is a balance, a kind of standoff between the time continuum and the human entity, our frail bundle of soma and psyche. We eventually succumb to t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/don-delillo-294_balance_there-is-a-balance-a-kind-of-standoff-be_2112225.jpg" --- # There is a balance, a kind of standoff between the time… ![“There is a balance, a kind of standoff between the time continuum and the human entity, our frail bundle of soma and psyche. We eventually succumb to time, it's true, but time depends on us. We carry it in our muscles and genes, pass it on to the next set of time-factoring creatures, our…” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/don-delillo-294_balance_there-is-a-balance-a-kind-of-standoff-be_2112225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/don-delillo-294_balance_there-is-a-balance-a-kind-of-standoff-be_2112225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/don-delillo-294_balance_there-is-a-balance-a-kind-of-standoff-be_2112225.jpg) > “There is a balance, a kind of standoff between the time continuum and the human entity, our frail bundle of soma and psyche. We eventually succumb to time, it's true, but time depends on us. We carry it in our muscles and genes, pass it on to the next set of time-factoring creatures, our brown-eyed daughters and jug-eared sons, or how would the world keep going. Never mind the time theorists, the cesium devices that measure the life and death of the smallest silvery trillionth of a second… We were the only crucial clocks, our minds and bodies, way stations for the distribution of time.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human bodies act as living clocks, shaping and being shaped by time, passing it to future generations. **In simple terms:** We are living clocks that carry and give time. Key Takeaway Recognize your role in the flow of time. Themes time humanity legacy biology philosophy Mood reflective thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical literary existential When to use this quote - parenting - athletic training - aging research - cultural rituals - personal health Key Concepts Chronobiology existentialism intergenerational transmission Questions to Reflect On - How do you feel your daily rhythms influence your sense of purpose? - In what ways can you honor the time you inherit? A Different Perspective Time is also a social construct, not just a physical measure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind and body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-body/) [Soma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soma/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Standoffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standoffs/) [Theorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theorists/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [How we see the world changes all the time. It all depends on our mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/how-we-see-the-world-changes-all-the-time-it-all-depends-on-our-mood/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [I can be anything and nothing, and everything at the same time. It all depends on the role I am in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-be-anything-and-nothing-and-everything-at-the-same-time-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Is it my birthday again? Already? Where does the time go?" "Behind us --or in front. It depends on which way you are looking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/is-it-my-birthday-again-already-where-does-the-time-go-behind-us-or/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [“Surely love cannot exist outside of time. It depends upon small objects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-joseph-adams/surely-love-cannot-exist-outside-of-time-it-depends-upon-small-objects/) [John Joseph Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-joseph-adams/) > [“Come here, cat. You wouldn’t want to destroy the space-time continuum, would you? Meow. Meow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-willis/come-here-cat-you-wouldn-t-want-to-destroy-the-space-time-continuum/) [Connie Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-willis/) > [I also live in the present, due to the constraints of the space-time continuum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/i-also-live-in-the-present-due-to-the-constraints-of-the-space-time/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [Since time is a continuum, the moment is always different, so the music is always different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/since-time-is-a-continuum-the-moment-is-always-different-so-the-music/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [People think of time as a continuum composed of points which is stretched out at a line, and even if you add a direction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/people-think-of-time-as-a-continuum-composed-of-points-which-is/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“...for in the world of the mad, time is not a continuum but a fluid, shifting place, relative to nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smith/for-in-the-world-of-the-mad-time-is-not-a-continuum-but-a-fluid/) [Lee Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smith/) > [Generally, the craft of programming is the factoring of a set of requirements into a a set of functions and data structures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crockford/generally-the-craft-of-programming-is-the-factoring-of-a-set-of/) [Douglas Crockford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crockford/) > [The market is now factoring in that first-quarter earnings will likely be below consensus. And the reality is that economic growth is probably going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-kumar/the-market-is-now-factoring-in-that-first-quarter-earnings-will/) Subodh Kumar > [“Mackenzie, I am what some would say ‘holy, and wholly other than you.’ The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/mackenzie-i-am-what-some-would-say-holy-and-wholly-other-than-you-the/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [Factoring in millions of people when I'm writing a song is not a good idea. I don't ever do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/factoring-in-millions-of-people-when-i-m-writing-a-song-is-not-a-good/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [How can you think about the world without factoring in the unforseen, the fluke event?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/how-can-you-think-about-the-world-without-factoring-in-the-unforseen/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People talk about skating, puck handling and shooting, but the whole sport is angles and caroms, forgetting the straight direction the puck is going,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gretzky/people-talk-about-skating-puck-handling-and-shooting-but-the-whole/) [Wayne Gretzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gretzky/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a balance, a kind of standoff between the time continuum and the human entity, our frail bundle of soma and psyche. We eventually succumb to time, it's true, but time depends on us. We carry it in our muscles and genes, pass it on to the next set of time-factoring creatures, our brown-eyed daughters and jug-eared sons, or how would the world keep going. 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