--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is your life. This is yours. You can…" description: "\"“This is your life. This is yours. You can establish an exact inventory of your meager fortune, the precise balance sheet of your first quarter-century..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/georges-perec-13585_five-years_this-is-your-life-this-is-yours-you-can_37896.jpg" --- # This is your life. This is yours. You can establish an… ![“This is your life. This is yours. You can establish an exact inventory of your meager fortune, the precise balance sheet of your first quarter-century. You are twenty-five years old, you have twenty-nine teeth, three shirts and eight socks, a few books you no longer read, a few records you no…” quote by Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/georges-perec-13585_five-years_this-is-your-life-this-is-yours-you-can_37896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/georges-perec-13585_five-years_this-is-your-life-this-is-yours-you-can_37896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/georges-perec-13585_five-years_this-is-your-life-this-is-yours-you-can_37896.jpg) > ““This is your life. This is yours. You can establish an exact inventory of your meager fortune, the precise balance sheet of your first quarter-century. You are twenty-five years old, you have twenty-nine teeth, three shirts and eight socks, a few books you no longer read, a few records you no longer play. You do not want to remember anything else, be it your family or your studies, your friends and lovers, or your holidays and plans. You traveled and you brought nothing back from your travels. Here you sit, and you want only to wait, just to wait until there is nothing left to wait for: for night to fall and the passing hours to chime, for the days to slip away and the memories to fade.”” [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A meditation on the emptiness of material accumulation and the inevitability of time, urging acceptance of life's transience. **In simple terms:** Contemplation of life's fleeting nature Key Takeaway Embrace impermanence Themes mortality materialism existentialism memory time solitude Mood melancholic reflective quiet Type philosophical literary existential When to use this quote - midlife reflection - end-of-day contemplation - after a trip - when feeling stagnant - during a quiet evening Key Concepts impermanence self-awareness detachment Practical Applications - philosophical writing - therapy journaling Questions to Reflect On - What do you truly value beyond possessions? - How does acknowledging impermanence affect your daily choices? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Friends And Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-and-love/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Memories fade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories-fade/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [If there never was a night or day and memories could fade away, then we'd be nothing left but the dreams we made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/if-there-never-was-a-night-or-day-and-memories-could-fade-away-then/) [Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/) > [“Memories fade, but trauma remembers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-lake/memories-fade-but-trauma-remembers/) Dianne Lake > [That's the trouble with living things. Don't last very long. Kittens one day, old cats the next. And then just memories. And the memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/that-s-the-trouble-with-living-things-don-t-last-very-long-kittens/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Why did happy memories fade and blur until one could scarcely recall them at all, while horrible memories seemed to retain their blinding clarity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-mcnaught/why-did-happy-memories-fade-and-blur-until-one-could-scarcely-recall/) [Judith McNaught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-mcnaught/) > [“Some memories fade to tender nostalgia, and some fade altogether,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/some-memories-fade-to-tender-nostalgia-and-some-fade-altogether/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memories-and-thoughts-age-just-as-people-do-but-certain-thoughts-can/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [ \[My\] pictures are about memory and forgetfulness. The evidence is dissolving. Bones crumble; human ash returns to soil; teeth, sandals, hair, bullets, axes disperse… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-norfolk/my-pictures-are-about-memory-and-forgetfulness-the-evidence-is/) Simon Norfolk > [The man who lies asleep will never waken fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/the-man-who-lies-asleep-will-never-waken-fame/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“Memories fade and branches break, but home still calls my name…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-seabrook/memories-fade-and-branches-break-but-home-still-calls-my-name/) [C.M. Seabrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-seabrook/) > [When you wake up from a dream you have only a few precious moments before the details of the dream begin to dissipate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/when-you-wake-up-from-a-dream-you-have-only-a-few-precious-moments/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Time will heal the wounds but the memories will never fade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-el-hallab/time-will-heal-the-wounds-but-the-memories-will-never-fade/) [Mahmoud El Hallab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-el-hallab/) > [It seemed like most of the memories faded before they had time to form. And after a while, my life with my father seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-swisher/it-seemed-like-most-of-the-memories-faded-before-they-had-time-to/) [Kara Swisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-swisher/) > [Someday, my memories of her will fade. Her voice,her actions-I might forget them as well. But even then, I wil always remember that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emiya-shirou/someday-my-memories-of-her-will-fade-her-voice-her-actions-i-might/) Emiya Shirou > [“He looks at me now. “Anyway, I want you to be careful, Meda. Careful you don’t wake up one day, an old fool with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-crewe/he-looks-at-me-now-anyway-i-want-you-to-be-careful-meda-careful-you/) [Eliza Crewe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-crewe/) > [Time will pass, Memories will fade, Feelings will change, People will leave, but the heart never forgets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-will-pass-memories-will-fade-feelings-will-change-people-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Georges Perec > [“The second project is in the field of metaphysics: with the aim of showing that, in the words of Professor H. M. Tooten, “evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/the-second-project-is-in-the-field-of-metaphysics-with-the-aim-of/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“Vivir es pasar de un espacio a otro sin golpearse”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/vivir-es-pasar-de-un-espacio-a-otro-sin-golpearse/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“Ne bi imalo nikakvog smisla da je drugačije. Sve su proučili, sve izračunali, ne dolazi u obzir da se prevare, nitko nikada nije uočio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/ne-bi-imalo-nikakvog-smisla-da-je-druga-ije-sve-su-prou-ili-sve-izra/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [Question your tea spoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/question-your-tea-spoons/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [Force yourself to write down what is of no interest, what is most obvious, most common, most colourless...antique shops, clothes, hi-fi, etc. Don't say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/force-yourself-to-write-down-what-is-of-no-interest-what-is-most/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [Chess is a fathead and feudal game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/chess-is-a-fathead-and-feudal-game/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [Every library answers a twofold need, which is often also a twofold obsession: that of conserving certain objects (books) and that of organizing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/every-library-answers-a-twofold-need-which-is-often-also-a-twofold/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [What we need to question is bricks, concrete, glass, our table manners, our utensils, our tools, the way we spend our time, our rhythms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/what-we-need-to-question-is-bricks-concrete-glass-our-table-manners/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“Ili pak imati samo odjeću koju nosimo na leđima, ništa ne čuvati, živjeti po hotelima i često ih mijenjati, seliti se iz grada u…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/ili-pak-imati-samo-odje-u-koju-nosimo-na-le-ima-ni-ta-ne-uvati-ivjeti/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“Quien no trabaja no come, sí, pero quien trabaja no vive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/quien-no-trabaja-no-come-s-pero-quien-trabaja-no-vive/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“As the hours, the days, the weeks, the seasons slip by, you detach yourself from everything. You discover, with something that sometimes almost resembles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/as-the-hours-the-days-the-weeks-the-seasons-slip-by-you-detach/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“Busco a un tiempo lo eterno y lo efímero”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/busco-a-un-tiempo-lo-eterno-y-lo-ef-mero/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“Tú no te mueves. No te moverás. Otro, un socias, un doble fantasmagórico y meticuloso hace, quizás, en tu lugar uno a uno, los…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/t-no-te-mueves-no-te-mover-s-otro-un-socias-un-doble-fantasmag-rico-y/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [“Duyarsız değil, yansız.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/duyars-z-de-il-yans-z/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [From this, one can make a deduction which is quite certainly the ultimate truth of jigsaw puzzles: despite appearances, puzzling is not a solitary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/from-this-one-can-make-a-deduction-which-is-quite-certainly-the/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) [Explore all 22 Georges Perec quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) ## More Five years quotes > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [“A clear look back on the Cold War's battlegrounds, along with a sense of relief that the world survived forty-five years of confrontation, evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-clear-look-back-on-the-cold-war-s-battlegrounds-along-with-a-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Something had been confirmed: I was worth giving a shit about; I was getting to be a successful sick person. Sick is when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/something-had-been-confirmed-i-was-worth-giving-a-shit-about-i-was/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“His Army Ranger unit had always been ready for an ambush. Five years in special ops had made him suspicious of most. On that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-perini/his-army-ranger-unit-had-always-been-ready-for-an-ambush-five-years/) [Robin Perini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-perini/) > [“I looked at him, tipping down the coarse wine like a man who expects to put up with worse. I felt I was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/i-looked-at-him-tipping-down-the-coarse-wine-like-a-man-who-expects/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“Whatand why were never questions for me. How was the only question. When I look back now, I realize that I never thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/whatand-why-were-never-questions-for-me-how-was-the-only-question/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“most professionals progress until they reach an “acceptable” level, and then they plateau. Software engineers, for instance, usually stop progressing somewhere around five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-grenny/most-professionals-progress-until-they-reach-an-acceptable-level-and/) [Joseph Grenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-grenny/) > [In five years of my previous tenure, the treasury was never shut for one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amarinder-singh/in-five-years-of-my-previous-tenure-the-treasury-was-never-shut-for/) [Amarinder Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amarinder-singh/) > [We have been playing every summer on clay since I was five years old, so it is an easy surface for us in Belgium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goffin/we-have-been-playing-every-summer-on-clay-since-i-was-five-years-old/) [David Goffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goffin/) > [I'm an immigrant, a legal immigrant to the United States. I only became a citizen five years ago. Every day, for seven months, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-gorka/i-m-an-immigrant-a-legal-immigrant-to-the-united-states-i-only-became/) [Sebastian Gorka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-gorka/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Wrestling introduced me to the idea that my body has a purpose besides trying to look five years younger for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gilpin/wrestling-introduced-me-to-the-idea-that-my-body-has-a-purpose/) [Betty Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gilpin/) > [“I have entered the New Yorker's Cartoon Caption Contest almost weekly virtually since it began and have never even been a finalist. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mankoff/i-have-entered-the-new-yorker-s-cartoon-caption-contest-almost-weekly/) Bob Mankoff Browse all 2,724 Five years quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is your life. This is yours. You can establish an exact inventory of your meager fortune, the precise balance sheet of your first quarter-century. You are twenty-five years old, you have twenty-nine teeth, three shirts and eight socks, a few books you no longer read, a few records you no longer play. You do not want to remember anything else, be it your family or your studies, your friends and lovers, or your holidays and plans. You traveled and you brought nothing back from your travels. 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