--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He found himself remembering how on one…" description: "\"He found himself remembering how on one summer morning they two had started from New York in search of happiness. They had never expected to find it, p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_becoming_he-found-himself-remembering-how-on-one_2352166.jpg" --- # He found himself remembering how on one summer morning… ![“He found himself remembering how on one summer morning they two had started from New York in search of happiness. They had never expected to find it, perhaps, yet in itself that quest had been happier than anything he expected forevermore. Life, it seemed, must be a setting up of props around one…” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_becoming_he-found-himself-remembering-how-on-one_2352166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_becoming_he-found-himself-remembering-how-on-one_2352166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_becoming_he-found-himself-remembering-how-on-one_2352166.jpg) > “He found himself remembering how on one summer morning they two had started from New York in search of happiness. They had never expected to find it, perhaps, yet in itself that quest had been happier than anything he expected forevermore. Life, it seemed, must be a setting up of props around one - otherwise it was disaster. There was no rest, no quiet. He had been futile in longing to drift and dream, no one drifted except to maelstroms, no one dreamed, without his dreams becoming fantastic nightmares of indecision and regret.” [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quest for happiness becomes a performance, filling life with restless activity and anxiety rather than peace. **In simple terms:** Chasing joy as a show creates unrest. Key Takeaway Seek authentic contentment, not staged happiness. Themes happiness restlessness illusion Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary reflective When to use this quote - career - relationship building - creative projects - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism modernity Questions to Reflect On - What “props” are you building around yourself? - How might you find quiet amid the pursuit? A Different Perspective The constant search can cause perpetual dissatisfaction and fatigue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dream Drifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-drifted-5730274/) [Dreamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamed/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Indecision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indecision/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing Drift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-drift-5730275/) [Maelstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maelstrom/) [Maelstroms Dreamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maelstroms-dreamed-5730273/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Nightmares Indecision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmares-indecision-5730276/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Props](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/props/) [Quests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quests/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [Across the troubled maelstrom of time, people always need a beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/across-the-troubled-maelstrom-of-time-people-always-need-a-beer/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) > [Why is the forecast so bland? Why instead of 'stormy' don't they just say the sea's 'a frothing maelstrom of terror and hopelessness'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/why-is-the-forecast-so-bland-why-instead-of-stormy-don-t-they-just/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [Vengeous scowled. 'As you can see,' he said, 'you are vastly outnumbered.' I usually am.' Your situation has become quite untenable.' It usually does.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/vengeous-scowled-as-you-can-see-he-said-you-are-vastly-outnumbered-i/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/sometimes-we-are-tempted-to-be-that-kind-of-christian-who-keeps-the/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Maelstrom Maelstrom Maelstrom is”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maelstrom-maelstrom-maelstrom-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The conscious mind is a maelstrom of fleeting thoughts, images, sensations, feelings, conflicting desires, and doubts; barely able to confine its attention to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/the-conscious-mind-is-a-maelstrom-of-fleeting-thoughts-images/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [Consciousness turns out to consist of a maelstrom of events distributed across the brain. These events compete for attention, and as one process outshouts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consciousness-turns-out-to-consist-of-a-maelstrom-of-events/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [No less a bold and pugnacious figure than Winston Churchill broke down and was unable to finish his remarks at the sendoff of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-less-a-bold-and-pugnacious-figure-than-winston-churchill-broke/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Aye, aye! and I'll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/aye-aye-and-i-ll-chase-him-round-good-hope-and-round-the-horn-and/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I beg the reader not to go in search of messages. It is a term that I detest because it distresses me greatly, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/i-beg-the-reader-not-to-go-in-search-of-messages-it-is-a-term-that-i/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [If I wrote at all, I must throw myself headlong into the great political maelstrom, and would of course be swallowed up like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-swisshelm/if-i-wrote-at-all-i-must-throw-myself-headlong-into-the-great/) [Jane Swisshelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-swisshelm/) > [If I had political responsibility, I would want to prepare for a plan B that would foresee that the European currency union, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peer-steinbruck/if-i-had-political-responsibility-i-would-want-to-prepare-for-a-plan/) [Peer Steinbruck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peer-steinbruck/) > [The name Alaska is probably an abbreviation of Unalaska, derived from the original Aleut word agunalaksh, which means "the shores where the sea breaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-ford/the-name-alaska-is-probably-an-abbreviation-of-unalaska-derived-from/) [Corey Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-ford/) > [“It was fun, although we felt like pawns, or prawns, in the maelstrom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/it-was-fun-although-we-felt-like-pawns-or-prawns-in-the-maelstrom/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [“Seed: Maelstrom This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blockboy/seed-maelstrom-this/) [BlockBoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blockboy/) ## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. 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A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. 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