--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's like being on a tightrope stretched…" description: "\"“It's like being on a tightrope stretched tightly between two skyscrapers - the past and the future.”\" — Donna Cooner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/donna-cooner-25718_tightrope_it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched_2659922.jpg" --- # It's like being on a tightrope stretched tightly between… ![“It's like being on a tightrope stretched tightly between two skyscrapers - the past and the future.” quote by Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/donna-cooner-25718_tightrope_it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched_2659922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/donna-cooner-25718_tightrope_it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched_2659922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/donna-cooner-25718_tightrope_it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched_2659922.jpg) > ““It's like being on a tightrope stretched tightly between two skyscrapers - the past and the future.”” [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing past experiences with future aspirations feels precarious, like walking a tightrope between two towering structures. **In simple terms:** Balancing past and future feels precarious. Key Takeaway Embrace the tension to grow. Themes balance uncertainty growth Mood reflective anxious Type metaphorical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - relationship building Key Concepts psychology risk management Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain stability when past and future clash? - What supports help you stay centered? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex emotional dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Like Tightrope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-tightrope-772527/) [Past And The Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-the-future/) [Stretched Tightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stretched-tightly-1086769/) [Tightly Skyscrapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tightly-skyscrapers-2420011/) [Tightrope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tightrope/) [Tightrope Stretched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tightrope-stretched-2420012/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Her Mao tse-tung t-shirt was stretched so tightly across her chest that the Chairman was grinning broadly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/her-mao-tse-tung-t-shirt-was-stretched-so-tightly-across-her-chest/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [“Love will make a man do some funny things, like tightrope walking across a telephone wire, rather than simply picking up the phone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/love-will-make-a-man-do-some-funny-things-like-tightrope-walking/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Like a tightrope walker who has forgotten how to put one foot in front of the other, all I felt was the swaying of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/like-a-tightrope-walker-who-has-forgotten-how-to-put-one-foot-in/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [Designing is a lot like a high-wire act - if the tightrope walker is only six inches off the ground, where's the excitement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/designing-is-a-lot-like-a-high-wire-act-if-the-tightrope-walker-is/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [You may reasonably expect a man to walk a tightrope safely for ten minutes; it would be unreasonable to do so without accident for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/you-may-reasonably-expect-a-man-to-walk-a-tightrope-safely-for-ten/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [When I was younger, I wanted to be a vet or a tightrope walker. But I have no sense of balance, and I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-may-jagger/when-i-was-younger-i-wanted-to-be-a-vet-or-a-tightrope-walker-but-i/) [Georgia May Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-may-jagger/) > [“The tightrope walk was an act of creation that seemed to stand in direct defiance to the act of destruction twenty-seven years later. About…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-tightrope-walk-was-an-act-of-creation-that-seemed-to-stand-in/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [The short story is a very natural mode of storytelling; most stories can be told quickly. I always think of them as like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/the-short-story-is-a-very-natural-mode-of-storytelling-most-stories/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [The storytelling in a movie is in the cut; it's in the edit. It's not an actor's job, really. Your job is such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-bishe/the-storytelling-in-a-movie-is-in-the-cut-it-s-in-the-edit-it-s-not/) [Kerry Bishe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-bishe/) > [In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature. You must be able to walk firmly on the ground before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/in-the-beginning-you-must-subject-yourself-to-the-influence-of-nature/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [It is really a tightrope sort of thing, living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-hester/it-is-really-a-tightrope-sort-of-thing-living/) [Joy Hester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-hester/) > [“We were walking that tightrope between friends and something more...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-aragon/we-were-walking-that-tightrope-between-friends-and-something-more/) [Melissa Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-aragon/) > [Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-always-a-tightrope-or-a-feather-bed-give-me-the-tightrope/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The world may end up under a Sword of Damocles on a tightrope over the abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-a-gromyko/the-world-may-end-up-under-a-sword-of-damocles-on-a-tightrope-over/) [Andrei A. Gromyko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-a-gromyko/) > [“We’re each on our own tightrope. All we can do is pick one another up after we fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marius-gabriel/we-re-each-on-our-own-tightrope-all-we-can-do-is-pick-one-another-up/) [Marius Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marius-gabriel/) ## More by Donna Cooner > [“Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/hopeless-freak-elephant-pitiful/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“At midnight, Cinderella ran away from the ball, leaving behind glass slipper. The doors swing slowly close behind, shutting out the sound of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/at-midnight-cinderella-ran-away-from-the-ball-leaving-behind-glass/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“The hard thing about waiting is the not knowing how it's going to go. That's what makes me really crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/the-hard-thing-about-waiting-is-the-not-knowing-how-it-s-going-to-go/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“I loved you when you were three hundred and two pounds, and I love you now." -Rat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/i-loved-you-when-you-were-three-hundred-and-two-pounds-and-i-love-you/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“The library is the only place where I don’t have to try to fit in. It’s effortless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/the-library-is-the-only-place-where-i-don-t-have-to-try-to-fit-in-it/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“This isn't the way the fairy-tale is supposed to end. 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God made some people naturally skinny and some people naturally fat. I'd never know how my life would have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/it-just-wasn-t-fair-god-made-some-people-naturally-skinny-and-some/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“There's a point when he realizes the poor thing is so wounded it can no longer be fixed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/there-s-a-point-when-he-realizes-the-poor-thing-is-so-wounded-it-can/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“We pass Tinsley's Fried Chicken with the big sign that reads, TRY OUR BIG, JUICY BREASTS.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/we-pass-tinsley-s-fried-chicken-with-the-big-sign-that-reads-try-our/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“I finally understand what it's like to be truly awake, and I never ever want to go back to sleep again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/i-finally-understand-what-it-s-like-to-be-truly-awake-and-i-never/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“I'm always aware of being observed. Always self-conscious. I'm evidently living my life with stage fright.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/i-m-always-aware-of-being-observed-always-self-conscious-i-m/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) > [“The end of the street looks so far away. I want to turn back or at least stop, but my legs keep moving. Step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/the-end-of-the-street-looks-so-far-away-i-want-to-turn-back-or-at/) [Donna Cooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) [Explore all 22 Donna Cooner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/) ## More Tightrope quotes > [“We’re each on our own tightrope. All we can do is pick one another up after we fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marius-gabriel/we-re-each-on-our-own-tightrope-all-we-can-do-is-pick-one-another-up/) [Marius Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marius-gabriel/) > [The world may end up under a Sword of Damocles on a tightrope over the abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-a-gromyko/the-world-may-end-up-under-a-sword-of-damocles-on-a-tightrope-over/) [Andrei A. Gromyko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-a-gromyko/) > [Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-always-a-tightrope-or-a-feather-bed-give-me-the-tightrope/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“We were walking that tightrope between friends and something more...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-aragon/we-were-walking-that-tightrope-between-friends-and-something-more/) [Melissa Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-aragon/) > [It is really a tightrope sort of thing, living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-hester/it-is-really-a-tightrope-sort-of-thing-living/) [Joy Hester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-hester/) > [In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature. You must be able to walk firmly on the ground before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/in-the-beginning-you-must-subject-yourself-to-the-influence-of-nature/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The storytelling in a movie is in the cut; it's in the edit. It's not an actor's job, really. Your job is such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-bishe/the-storytelling-in-a-movie-is-in-the-cut-it-s-in-the-edit-it-s-not/) [Kerry Bishe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-bishe/) > [The short story is a very natural mode of storytelling; most stories can be told quickly. I always think of them as like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/the-short-story-is-a-very-natural-mode-of-storytelling-most-stories/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [“The tightrope walk was an act of creation that seemed to stand in direct defiance to the act of destruction twenty-seven years later. About…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-tightrope-walk-was-an-act-of-creation-that-seemed-to-stand-in/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [When I was younger, I wanted to be a vet or a tightrope walker. But I have no sense of balance, and I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-may-jagger/when-i-was-younger-i-wanted-to-be-a-vet-or-a-tightrope-walker-but-i/) [Georgia May Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-may-jagger/) > [You may reasonably expect a man to walk a tightrope safely for ten minutes; it would be unreasonable to do so without accident for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/you-may-reasonably-expect-a-man-to-walk-a-tightrope-safely-for-ten/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Designing is a lot like a high-wire act - if the tightrope walker is only six inches off the ground, where's the excitement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/designing-is-a-lot-like-a-high-wire-act-if-the-tightrope-walker-is/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [For me, looking back is akin to being on a tightrope and looking down. It doesn't help you in the present moment to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/for-me-looking-back-is-akin-to-being-on-a-tightrope-and-looking-down/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [If expectations are low, you can only impress people. But if expectations are there for you to be the leading guy, and you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsden/if-expectations-are-low-you-can-only-impress-people-but-if/) [James Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsden/) > [“Life is a tightrope walk. One has to balance the do's and don'ts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haresh-sippy/life-is-a-tightrope-walk-one-has-to-balance-the-do-s-and-don-ts/) [Haresh Sippy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haresh-sippy/) [Browse all 37 Tightrope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tightrope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's like being on a tightrope stretched tightly between two skyscrapers - the past and the future.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Cooner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched-tightly-between-two/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tightrope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched-tightly-between-two/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/donna-cooner-25718_tightrope_it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched_2659922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/donna-cooner-25718_tightrope_it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched_2659922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/donna-cooner-25718_tightrope_it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched_2659922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's like being on a tightrope stretched tightly between two skyscrapers - the past and the future.” — Donna Cooner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Donna Cooner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-cooner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's like being on a tightrope...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched-tightly-between-two/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cooner/it-s-like-being-on-a-tightrope-stretched-tightly-between-two/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```