--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have spent much of my life exploring…" description: "\"“I have spent much of my life exploring San Francisco. But perhaps it is better not to see everything. To let a small mystery stand in for the great on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/gary-kamiya-59259_exploring_i-have-spent-much-of-my-life-exploring-s_3088598.jpg" --- # I have spent much of my life exploring San Francisco. But… ![“I have spent much of my life exploring San Francisco. But perhaps it is better not to see everything. To let a small mystery stand in for the great one. To know that somewhere far below, down where the sea crashes endlessly into the land, is a rock that I will never climb.” quote by Gary Kamiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/gary-kamiya-59259_exploring_i-have-spent-much-of-my-life-exploring-s_3088598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/gary-kamiya-59259_exploring_i-have-spent-much-of-my-life-exploring-s_3088598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/gary-kamiya-59259_exploring_i-have-spent-much-of-my-life-exploring-s_3088598.jpg) > ““I have spent much of my life exploring San Francisco. But perhaps it is better not to see everything. To let a small mystery stand in for the great one. To know that somewhere far below, down where the sea crashes endlessly into the land, is a rock that I will never climb.”” [Gary Kamiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kamiya/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embracing unknowns preserves wonder; not every detail must be mastered. **In simple terms:** Leave some mysteries untouched. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty. Themes wonder exploration humility Mood contemplative inspired Type essayistic philosophical When to use this quote - travel - creative writing - mindfulness - education Key Concepts philosophy of knowledge aesthetic appreciation Questions to Reflect On - What small mystery fuels your curiosity? - When does mystery become fear? A Different Perspective Mystery can become avoidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) ## Related quotes > [There is a universe in your eyes that I'd love to spend the rest of my life exploring :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-universe-in-your-eyes-that-i-d-love-to-spend-the-rest-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What I love is dropping into someone else's life and exploring it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/what-i-love-is-dropping-into-someone-else-s-life-and-exploring-it/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [Every day I am aware of the flow and constant change; perhaps I am at the edge of discovering what more our bodies might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bernhard/every-day-i-am-aware-of-the-flow-and-constant-change-perhaps-i-am-at/) [Ruth Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bernhard/) > [“Experiment with life by exploring and trying new things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/experiment-with-life-by-exploring-and-trying-new-things/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [That's anzaimg! We love hearing from more and more people who are choosing the non conventional life, if only for a while, and exploring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moha/that-s-anzaimg-we-love-hearing-from-more-and-more-people-who-are/) Moha > [“Life is all about exploring yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tripurari/life-is-all-about-exploring-yourself/) [TRIPURARI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tripurari/) > [Life is all about Exploring new things!!! Explore as much as U can.. After life U have nothing with u](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/life-is-all-about-exploring-new-things-explore-as-much-as-u-can-after/) Unkown > [“Life is all about exploring yourself, discovering yourself and grooming yourself, then you will surely stop negative thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehabib/life-is-all-about-exploring-yourself-discovering-yourself-and/) Ehabib > [“I am in no rush. Let Life happen to me just as Life has planned. Because at the end of the day, when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debatrayee-banerjee/i-am-in-no-rush-let-life-happen-to-me-just-as-life-has-planned/) [Debatrayee Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debatrayee-banerjee/) > [“the Tenderloin is a large turd—often a literal one—floating in the crystal punchbowl that is San Francisco.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kamiya/the-tenderloin-is-a-large-turd-often-a-literal-one-floating-in-the/) [Gary Kamiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kamiya/) > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [For me, it's very easy to write a horror movie that's just a succession of scary sequences, but it's hard to find horror movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehren-kruger/for-me-it-s-very-easy-to-write-a-horror-movie-that-s-just-a/) [Ehren Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehren-kruger/) > [I somewhere along the way became fascinated with exploring characters who are willing to put themselves into violent situations, whether it's football, hockey, boxing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-berg/i-somewhere-along-the-way-became-fascinated-with-exploring-characters/) [Peter Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-berg/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) ## More by Gary Kamiya > [“I stumbled upon Friedrich Nietzsche when I was 17, following the usual trail of existential candies—Camus, Sartre, Beckett—that unsuspecting teenagers find in the woods.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kamiya/i-stumbled-upon-friedrich-nietzsche-when-i-was-17-following-the-usual/) [Gary Kamiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kamiya/) > [“the Tenderloin is a large turd—often a literal one—floating in the crystal punchbowl that is San Francisco.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kamiya/the-tenderloin-is-a-large-turd-often-a-literal-one-floating-in-the/) [Gary Kamiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kamiya/) > [“As I walk her streets, the only thing that keeps me from stopping on every block and throwing my hands in the air in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kamiya/as-i-walk-her-streets-the-only-thing-that-keeps-me-from-stopping-on/) [Gary Kamiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kamiya/) > [“Tho the dark be cold and blind Yet her sea-fog’s touch is kind, And her mightier caress Is joy and the pain thereof; And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kamiya/tho-the-dark-be-cold-and-blind-yet-her-sea-fog-s-touch-is-kind-and/) [Gary Kamiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kamiya/) [Explore all 5 Gary Kamiya quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kamiya/) ## More Exploring quotes > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. 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Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [I somewhere along the way became fascinated with exploring characters who are willing to put themselves into violent situations, whether it's football, hockey, boxing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-berg/i-somewhere-along-the-way-became-fascinated-with-exploring-characters/) [Peter Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-berg/) > [For me, it's very easy to write a horror movie that's just a succession of scary sequences, but it's hard to find horror movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehren-kruger/for-me-it-s-very-easy-to-write-a-horror-movie-that-s-just-a/) [Ehren Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehren-kruger/) > ['SoulPancake' is a website that I founded with a couple of friends, and it is for exploring life's big questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/soulpancake-is-a-website-that-i-founded-with-a-couple-of-friends-and/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Science is about exploring the unknown and cannot offer guarantees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/science-is-about-exploring-the-unknown-and-cannot-offer-guarantees/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [What I love is dropping into someone else's life and exploring it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/what-i-love-is-dropping-into-someone-else-s-life-and-exploring-it/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [I often attribute my screenwriting to journalism because they drill in the who, what, when, where and why - but we really need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-brock-akil/i-often-attribute-my-screenwriting-to-journalism-because-they-drill/) [Mara Brock Akil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-brock-akil/) > [Insofar as she recognized at all that she was dreaming, she realized that she must be exploring her subconscious mind. She had heard it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/insofar-as-she-recognized-at-all-that-she-was-dreaming-she-realized/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [If you're in such a position of power and your ego is such that this is not possible, then its essential to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/if-you-re-in-such-a-position-of-power-and-your-ego-is-such-that-this/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [The only TV I would be interested in exploring would be live television. There's no substitute for a team of artists performing at their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/the-only-tv-i-would-be-interested-in-exploring-would-be-live/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [I think if you write about human relationships, you're always exploring the psyche and the soul. I don't separate certain - perhaps more extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-jones/i-think-if-you-write-about-human-relationships-you-re-always/) [Sadie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie-jones/) Browse all 735 Exploring quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have spent much of my life exploring San Francisco. But perhaps it is better not to see everything. To let a small mystery stand in for the great one. 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