--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was as if she had reached into her own…" description: "\"“It was as if she had reached into her own pocket and discovered a small pebble, as hard as a diamond, that she had forgotten belonged to her.”\" — Eowy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/eowyn-ivey-7989_grief_it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-ow_1352614.jpg" --- # It was as if she had reached into her own pocket and… ![“It was as if she had reached into her own pocket and discovered a small pebble, as hard as a diamond, that she had forgotten belonged to her.” quote by Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/eowyn-ivey-7989_grief_it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-ow_1352614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/eowyn-ivey-7989_grief_it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-ow_1352614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/eowyn-ivey-7989_grief_it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-ow_1352614.jpg) > ““It was as if she had reached into her own pocket and discovered a small pebble, as hard as a diamond, that she had forgotten belonged to her.”” [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character discovers an unexpected inner strength that feels both ordinary and precious. **In simple terms:** She finds a hidden, valuable inner quality. Key Takeaway Recognize and value your hidden strengths. Themes self‑discovery inner strength identity Mood introspective hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - career transition - personal crisis - creative projects - self‑reflection Key Concepts personal growth resilience self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - What hidden strength have you ignored? - How can you nurture it? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑emphasize rarity, ignoring everyday effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diamond Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamond-forgotten-4604367/) [Discovered Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered-small-4377166/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Pebble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pebble/) [Pocket Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pocket-discovered-4604366/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Small Pebble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-pebble-4194212/) ## Related quotes > [In the year 1657 I discovered very small living creatures in rain water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonie-van-leeuwenhoek/in-the-year-1657-i-discovered-very-small-living-creatures-in-rain/) [Antonie van Leeuwenhoek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonie-van-leeuwenhoek/) > [Memory: a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-harris/memory-a-child-walking-along-a-seashore-you-never-can-tell-what-small/) [Pierce Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-harris/) > [“I’m the type to ignore a pebble in my boot until it gives me a blister. I’ve made ignoring problems an art form.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-bailey/i-m-the-type-to-ignore-a-pebble-in-my-boot-until-it-gives-me-a/) [Tessa Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-bailey/) > [Pebble Beach. It is tough and the lay out is amazing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pebble-beach-it-is-tough-and-the-lay-out-is-amazing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/you-want-to-be-the-pebble-in-the-pond-that-creates-the-ripple-for/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [Here is a semi-transparent pebble I picked up on the way to my EKG. Probably worthless but it is my heart so take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-young/here-is-a-semi-transparent-pebble-i-picked-up-on-the-way-to-my-ekg/) [Dean Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-young/) > [The entire ocean is affected by a single pebble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-entire-ocean-is-affected-by-a-single-pebble/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/just-as-ripples-spread-out-when-a-single-pebble-is-dropped-into-water/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“A pebble thrown in a pool may ripple from end to end, but tossed into the sea, it is swallowed by enormity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-froman/a-pebble-thrown-in-a-pool-may-ripple-from-end-to-end-but-tossed-into/) [Craig Froman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-froman/) > [A flawed diamond is better than a pebble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/a-flawed-diamond-is-better-than-a-pebble/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [“We have one precious life: do something extraordinary today, even if it's tiny. A pebble starts the avalanche.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-a-laity/we-have-one-precious-life-do-something-extraordinary-today-even-if-it/) [K.A. Laity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-a-laity/) > [It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/it-isn-t-the-mountains-ahead-to-climb-that-wear-you-out-it-s-the/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [A chipped pebble is almost part of the hand it never leaves. A thrown spear declares a sort of independence the moment it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-chipped-pebble-is-almost-part-of-the-hand-it-never-leaves-a-thrown/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“There's only one thing you can do: Toss your pebble in the river, watch it ripple, and know you have moved the ocean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-douglas/there-s-only-one-thing-you-can-do-toss-your-pebble-in-the-river-watch/) [K.M. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-douglas/) > [Often it isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the little pebble in your shoe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/often-it-isn-t-the-mountains-ahead-that-wear-you-out-it-s-the-little/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) ## More by Eowyn Ivey > [“It was beautiful, Mabel knew, but it was a beauty that ripped you open and scored you clean so that you were left helpless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/it-was-beautiful-mabel-knew-but-it-was-a-beauty-that-ripped-you-open/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“Makes me see that there might be some sense to having children after all, just so your entire life and all your family’s contributions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/makes-me-see-that-there-might-be-some-sense-to-having-children-after/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“She and Jack had formed her of snow and birch boughs and frosty wild grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/she-and-jack-had-formed-her-of-snow-and-birch-boughs-and-frosty-wild/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“You’ll drive yourself crazy looking for something that’s not there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/you-ll-drive-yourself-crazy-looking-for-something-that-s-not-there/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“She might be curt and ungrateful, but by God she could bake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/she-might-be-curt-and-ungrateful-but-by-god-she-could-bake/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“And if it is true...that we are each inhabited by some bit of divine light, then upon death, how long before those particles dissipate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/and-if-it-is-true-that-we-are-each-inhabited-by-some-bit-of-divine/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“Carry me on and on to the edge of the earth, with children's laughter like a wind - full sail, then carry me beyond”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/carry-me-on-and-on-to-the-edge-of-the-earth-with-children-s-laughter/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“When she first fell in love with Jack, she had dreamed she could fly, that on a warm, inky black night she had pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/when-she-first-fell-in-love-with-jack-she-had-dreamed-she-could-fly/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“But what makes the question of cultural loss the most uncomfortable, and difficult for me to address, are the inherent definitions built into it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/but-what-makes-the-question-of-cultural-loss-the-most-uncomfortable/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“Sewing was different. Mabel knew if she was patient and meticulous, if she carefully followed the lines, took each step as it came, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/sewing-was-different-mabel-knew-if-she-was-patient-and-meticulous-if/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“As Jack's eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, he saw the ground covered in white and, in the light of Garrett"s lantern, snowflakes spinning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/as-jack-s-eyes-grew-accustomed-to-the-darkness-he-saw-the-ground/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“Doubt crouched over his shoulder, ready to take him by the throat, whispering in his ear, You are an old man. An old, old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/doubt-crouched-over-his-shoulder-ready-to-take-him-by-the-throat/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“All her life she had believed in something more, in the mystery that shape-shifted at the edge of her senses. It was the flutter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/all-her-life-she-had-believed-in-something-more-in-the-mystery-that/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“In my old age, I see that life itself is often more fantastic and terrible than the stories we believed as children, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/in-my-old-age-i-see-that-life-itself-is-often-more-fantastic-and/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“I see that life itself is often more fantastic and terrible than the stories we believed as children, and that perhaps there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/i-see-that-life-itself-is-often-more-fantastic-and-terrible-than-the/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) [Explore all 84 Eowyn Ivey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) ## 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": "“It was as if she had reached into her own pocket and discovered a small pebble, as hard as a diamond, that she had forgotten belonged to her.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eowyn Ivey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-own-pocket-and-discovered-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-own-pocket-and-discovered-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/eowyn-ivey-7989_grief_it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-ow_1352614.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/eowyn-ivey-7989_grief_it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-ow_1352614.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/eowyn-ivey-7989_grief_it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-ow_1352614.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was as if she had reached into her own pocket and discovered a small pebble, as hard as a diamond, that…” — Eowyn Ivey", "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": "Eowyn Ivey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was as if she had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-own-pocket-and-discovered-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/it-was-as-if-she-had-reached-into-her-own-pocket-and-discovered-a/#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 } } ] } ```