--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People permit life to slide past them…" description: "\"People permit life to slide past them like a deft pickpocket, their purse-not yet missed and now too late-in his hand.\" — Edna Ferber" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/edna-ferber-3893_hands_people-permit-life-to-slide-past-them-li_2677880.png" --- # People permit life to slide past them like a deft… ![“People permit life to slide past them like a deft pickpocket, their purse-not yet missed and now too late-in his hand.” quote by Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/edna-ferber-3893_hands_people-permit-life-to-slide-past-them-li_2677880.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/edna-ferber-3893_hands_people-permit-life-to-slide-past-them-li_2677880.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/edna-ferber-3893_hands_people-permit-life-to-slide-past-them-li_2677880.png) > “People permit life to slide past them like a deft pickpocket, their purse-not yet missed and now too late-in his hand.” [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People let life slip away unnoticed until it’s too late to act. **In simple terms:** Life can pass by unnoticed until it’s too late. Key Takeaway Stay aware and seize moments before they’re gone. Themes awareness time regret Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal relationships - health choices Key Concepts impermanence mindfulness opportunity Questions to Reflect On - What moments have you ignored? - How can you become more present? A Different Perspective Ignoring subtle signs can lead to missed chances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deft Pickpocket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deft-pickpocket-2556809/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Permit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permit/) [Pickpocket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pickpocket/) [Pickpocket Purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pickpocket-purse-2556808/) [Purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purse/) [Purse Missed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purse-missed-2556810/) [Purses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purses/) [Slides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slides/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [A lean purse is easier to cure than to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-clason/a-lean-purse-is-easier-to-cure-than-to-endure/) [George S. Clason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-clason/) > [I am a person who goes out without a purse. I put things in my coat pockets, so I don't have any accessories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigourney-weaver/i-am-a-person-who-goes-out-without-a-purse-i-put-things-in-my-coat/) [Sigourney Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigourney-weaver/) > [ The man who has lost his purse will go wherever you wish. \[Lat., Ibit eo quo vis qui zonam perdidit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-man-who-has-lost-his-purse-will-go-wherever-you-wish-lat-ibit-eo/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“A guy once told me that girls' purses reminded him of spiders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-c-and-kristin-cast/a-guy-once-told-me-that-girls-purses-reminded-him-of-spiders/) [P.C. and Kristin Cast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-c-and-kristin-cast/) > [A good prayer is master of anothers purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/a-good-prayer-is-master-of-anothers-purse/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I am a person who goes out without a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigourney-weaver/i-am-a-person-who-goes-out-without-a-purse/) [Sigourney Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigourney-weaver/) > [Avarice fills its purse at the expense of its belly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chandler-haliburton/avarice-fills-its-purse-at-the-expense-of-its-belly/) [Thomas Chandler Haliburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chandler-haliburton/) > [You don't touch the purse. The purse is sacrosanct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/you-don-t-touch-the-purse-the-purse-is-sacrosanct/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [It's where I keep all my things. Get a lot of compliments on this. Plus it's not a purse, it's called a satchel. Indiana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/it-s-where-i-keep-all-my-things-get-a-lot-of-compliments-on-this-plus/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/not-to-oversee-workmen-is-to-leave-them-your-purse-open/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Before you consult your fancy, consult your purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-you-consult-your-fancy-consult-your-purse/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [He that hath money in his purse cannot want a head for his shoulders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/he-that-hath-money-in-his-purse-cannot-want-a-head-for-his-shoulders/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [Fletch then kisses me on the forehead before opening the cabinet under the coffeemaker to grab placemats and napkins. Retrieving these items is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/fletch-then-kisses-me-on-the-forehead-before-opening-the-cabinet/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [The bashful beggar has an empty purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cranch-bond/the-bashful-beggar-has-an-empty-purse/) [William Cranch Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cranch-bond/) > [would you reach in the drawer there and give me my purse. A girl doesn't read this sort of thing without her lipstick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/would-you-reach-in-the-drawer-there-and-give-me-my-purse-a-girl-doesn/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) ## More by Edna Ferber > [People in big empty places are likely to behave very much as the gods did on Olympus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/people-in-big-empty-places-are-likely-to-behave-very-much-as-the-gods/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [Housework's the hardest work in the world. That's why men won't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/housework-s-the-hardest-work-in-the-world-that-s-why-men-won-t-do-it/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [It was part of theTexas ritual? We know about champagne and caviar but we talk hog and hominy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/it-was-part-of-thetexas-ritual-we-know-about-champagne-and-caviar-but/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [It's terrible to realize that you don't learn how to live until you're ready to die; and, then it's too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/it-s-terrible-to-realize-that-you-don-t-learn-how-to-live-until-you/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [The goat's business is none of the sheep's concern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/the-goat-s-business-is-none-of-the-sheep-s-concern/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [I sometimes wonder ... if the land is not destroying the people who inhabit it as the people who inhabit it are destroying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/i-sometimes-wonder-if-the-land-is-not-destroying-the-people-who/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [All the difference in the world between the movies and the thrill I get out of a play at the theater. Ay, yes! Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-movies-and-the-thrill-i/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [It's difficult to write a really good short story because it must be a complete and finished reflection of life with only a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/it-s-difficult-to-write-a-really-good-short-story-because-it-must-be/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [Now gae your wa'sTho'anes as gude As ever happit flesh and blude, Yet part we maunthe case sae hard is, Amang the writers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/now-gae-your-wa-stho-anes-as-gude-as-ever-happit-flesh-and-blude-yet/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [But I have felt that to be a Jew was, in some ways at least, to be especially privileged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/but-i-have-felt-that-to-be-a-jew-was-in-some-ways-at-least-to-be/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [I think in order to write really well and convincingly, one must be somewhat poisoned by emotion, dislike, displeasure, resentment, fault-finding, imagination, passionate remonstrance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/i-think-in-order-to-write-really-well-and-convincingly-one-must-be/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [“Then there were long, lazy summer afternoons when there was nothing to do but read. And dream. And watch the town go by to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/then-there-were-long-lazy-summer-afternoons-when-there-was-nothing-to/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [A woman can look both moral and exciting... if she also looks as if it was quite a struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/a-woman-can-look-both-moral-and-exciting-if-she-also-looks-as-if-it/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [Funny, isn't it, how your whole life goes by while you think you're only planning the way you're going to live it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/funny-isn-t-it-how-your-whole-life-goes-by-while-you-think-you-re/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [There's no sauce for play like work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/there-s-no-sauce-for-play-like-work/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) [Explore all 120 Edna Ferber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) ## More Hands quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. 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Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. 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