--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The time is gone when mere accidents…" description: "\"“The time is gone when mere accidents could still happen to me; and what could still come to me now that was not mine already? What returns, what final..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accidents-happen_the-time-is-gone-when-mere-accidents-cou_86700.jpg" --- # The time is gone when mere accidents could still happen to… ![“The time is gone when mere accidents could still happen to me; and what could still come to me now that was not mine already? What returns, what finally comes home to me, is my own self and what of myself has long been in strange lands and scattered among all things and accidents.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accidents-happen_the-time-is-gone-when-mere-accidents-cou_86700.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accidents-happen_the-time-is-gone-when-mere-accidents-cou_86700.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/friedrich-nietzsche-15_accidents-happen_the-time-is-gone-when-mere-accidents-cou_86700.jpg) > ““The time is gone when mere accidents could still happen to me; and what could still come to me now that was not mine already? What returns, what finally comes home to me, is my own self and what of myself has long been in strange lands and scattered among all things and accidents.”” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on the loss of innocence, asserting that only one's own self remains after life's chaos. **In simple terms:** Self as the ultimate return after life's turbulence Key Takeaway Recognize the self as the constant amid change Themes existentialism identity impermanence self‑realization Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type philosophical poetic introspective When to use this quote - contemplating personal growth - grieving loss - seeking meaning after upheaval Key Concepts selfhood destiny inner journey Practical Applications - philosophical counseling - creative writing prompts Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself feel most unchanged? - How does loss shape your sense of identity? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents-happen/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [They're funny things, Accidents. 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It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? 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Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Accidents happen quotes > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [“Enlightenments, like accidents, happen only to prepared minds. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/enlightenments-like-accidents-happen-only-to-prepared-minds/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The cinema was certainly an art, but television can't be, because it is the museum of accidents. 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But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-williams/every-coach-always-worries-about-accidents-happening-i-was-very/) Fred Williams > [We must look back over our lives and look at some of the accidents and curiosities and oddities and troubles and sicknesses and begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/we-must-look-back-over-our-lives-and-look-at-some-of-the-accidents/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [“The meeting was as off-the-books as it got. Equal parts indignant denial and veiled threat. Accidents happen. Don’t want to lose your people? 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