--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And time is a curious thing. Most of us…" description: "\"“And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/fredrik-backman-857_grief_and-time-is-a-curious-thing-most-of-us-o_888729.jpg" --- # And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the… ![“And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is more to look back on than ahead. And when time no…” quote by Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/fredrik-backman-857_grief_and-time-is-a-curious-thing-most-of-us-o_888729.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/fredrik-backman-857_grief_and-time-is-a-curious-thing-most-of-us-o_888729.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/fredrik-backman-857_grief_and-time-is-a-curious-thing-most-of-us-o_888729.jpg) > ““And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is more to look back on than ahead. And when time no longer lies ahead of one, other things have to be lived for. Memories, perhaps. Afternoons in the sun with someone’s hand clutched in one’s own. The fragrance of flower beds in fresh bloom. Sundays in a café. Grandchildren, perhaps. One finds a way of living for the sake of someone else’s future. And it wasn’t as if Ove also died when Sonja left him. He just stopped living. Grief is a strange thing.”” [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When forward time fades, living for others and memories gives life meaning. **In simple terms:** Later life finds purpose in others. Key Takeaway Cultivate relationships and memories. Themes aging memory purpose Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - volunteering - storytelling - legacy projects Key Concepts existentialism intergenerational love grief Questions to Reflect On - What gives you purpose as you age? - How do you honor past memories? A Different Perspective Some may find meaning in personal pursuits instead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-strange-1124383/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-grief-1124385/) [Painful moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful-moments/) [Person Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-curious-1124384/) [Way of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-living/) ## Related quotes > [“And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. 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Sometimes it seems to be gone entirely, but then one smell or sound or memory and it's as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-whipple/grief-is-such-a-strange-thing-sometimes-it-seems-to-be-gone-entirely/) [Natalie Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-whipple/) > [It was like a nightmare that can make you scream cause no body wants to die too fast. That retched day of grief is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reluctant-hero-s-part-1/it-was-like-a-nightmare-that-can-make-you-scream-cause-no-body-wants/) [Reluctant Hero's Part 1](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reluctant-hero-s-part-1/) > [Grief is a very strange thing. It can affect you in all kinds of ways. I lost a year. I've done a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-orzabal/grief-is-a-very-strange-thing-it-can-affect-you-in-all-kinds-of-ways/) [Roland Orzabal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-orzabal/) > [I took a long time after 'Curious' to find something I really wanted to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-walker/i-took-a-long-time-after-curious-to-find-something-i-really-wanted-to/) [Nicola Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-walker/) > [I want to learn more. I want to know more. That's what taking this time is about. I'm curious about so many things, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-zellweger/i-want-to-learn-more-i-want-to-know-more-that-s-what-taking-this-time/) [Renee Zellweger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-zellweger/) > [“One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/one-of-the-most-painful-moments-in-a-person-s-life-probably-comes-2/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/one-of-the-most-painful-moments-in-a-person-s-life-probably-comes/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [I had to really kill off all the religious myths. In the therapy you really feel every painful moment of your life - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-had-to-really-kill-off-all-the-religious-myths-in-the-therapy-you/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Life is a dream even in its most painful moments, it's a dream that we can dance to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/life-is-a-dream-even-in-its-most-painful-moments-it-s-a-dream-that-we/) [Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/) > [“How beautiful Mamma’s face was when she smiled! It made her so infinitely more charming, and everything around her seemed to grow brighter! If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/how-beautiful-mamma-s-face-was-when-she-smiled-it-made-her-so/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Writing isn't easy because you have to relieve the most painful moments of your life, over and over again, and then you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-mihai/writing-isn-t-easy-because-you-have-to-relieve-the-most-painful/) [Cristian Mihai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-mihai/) > [One of life's most painful moments comes when we must admit that we didn't do our homework, that we are not prepared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-olsen/one-of-life-s-most-painful-moments-comes-when-we-must-admit-that-we/) [Merlin Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-olsen/) ## More by Fredrik Backman > [“So she bowed her head and devoted herself to Beartown’s real traditional sports: shame and silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/so-she-bowed-her-head-and-devoted-herself-to-beartown-s-real/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“If Peter has learned one thing about human nature during all his years in hockey, it’s that almost everyone regards themselves as a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/if-peter-has-learned-one-thing-about-human-nature-during-all-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“That’s what parents often do, I think, we persuade ourselves we’re doing everything for the sake of the child. 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The world becomes easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/hate-can-be-a-deeply-stimulating-emotion-the-world-becomes-easier-to/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/another-morning-comes-it-always-does-time-always-moves-at-the-same/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“The girl glances at the surface of the desk, which looks as if toddlers have been trying to eat potatoes off it. With pitchforks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/the-girl-glances-at-the-surface-of-the-desk-which-looks-as-if/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Mnogim ljudima je teško da žive sa nekim ko ceni samoću. To neprijatno žulja one koji nisu i sami takvi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/mnogim-ljudima-je-te-ko-da-ive-sa-nekim-ko-ceni-samo-u-to-neprijatno/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“But his taste buds are as dysfunctional as the volume control on his voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/but-his-taste-buds-are-as-dysfunctional-as-the-volume-control-on-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Throughout their childhood Maya loved her best friend because she wasn’t like any other girl she had met, but life as a teenager seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/throughout-their-childhood-maya-loved-her-best-friend-because-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“For more than half a century they belonged to one another. She detested the same characteristics in him that last day as she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/for-more-than-half-a-century-they-belonged-to-one-another-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“His heart is too big.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/his-heart-is-too-big/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Back in the days when there were still things to boast about, the city council erected a sign beside the road at the entrance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/back-in-the-days-when-there-were-still-things-to-boast-about-the-city/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“And after all those hours in the locker room, all those nights on the team bus, all the conversations and all the jokes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/and-after-all-those-hours-in-the-locker-room-all-those-nights-on-the/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) [Explore all 320 Fredrik Backman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## 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. 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