--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At this very moment, the thumb of…" description: "\"“At this very moment, the thumb of Ricardo's hovering shadow jabbed her in her left eye, revealing for all the world the shallowness of her water table..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/grace-paley-3243_floods_at-this-very-moment-the-thumb-of-ricardo_2425280.png" --- # At this very moment, the thumb of Ricardo's hovering… ![“At this very moment, the thumb of Ricardo's hovering shadow jabbed her in her left eye, revealing for all the world the shallowness of her water table. Rice could have been planted at that instant on the terraces of her flesh and sprouted in strength and beauty in the floods that overwhelmed her…” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/grace-paley-3243_floods_at-this-very-moment-the-thumb-of-ricardo_2425280.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/grace-paley-3243_floods_at-this-very-moment-the-thumb-of-ricardo_2425280.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/grace-paley-3243_floods_at-this-very-moment-the-thumb-of-ricardo_2425280.png) > ““At this very moment, the thumb of Ricardo's hovering shadow jabbed her in her left eye, revealing for all the world the shallowness of her water table. Rice could have been planted at that instant on the terraces of her flesh and sprouted in strength and beauty in the floods that overwhelmed her from that moment on through all the afternoon. ”” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid metaphor shows how a small injury reveals deeper vulnerability and potential growth. **In simple terms:** A small wound exposes deeper weakness and possible strength. Key Takeaway Recognize pain as a chance for growth. Themes vulnerability growth metaphor Mood poetic introspective Type fiction literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - healing - self‑discovery Key Concepts literary analysis psychology Questions to Reflect On - What hidden strengths emerge from pain? - How does vulnerability lead to growth? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on metaphor may obscure literal meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Floods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floods/) [Strength and beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength-and-beauty/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [In the end, long life is the reward, strength, and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/in-the-end-long-life-is-the-reward-strength-and-beauty/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Andy Anderson has written an autobiography in pictures, a life on the water. Salt is an eloquent modern paean to the strength and beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-la-valdene/andy-anderson-has-written-an-autobiography-in-pictures-a-life-on-the/) Guy De la Valdene > [The emerging woman ... will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied...strength and beauty must go together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/the-emerging-woman-will-be-strong-minded-strong-hearted-strong-souled/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [When I'm not depressed, I draw strength and beauty from depression; when I am depressed, I find no such things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/when-i-m-not-depressed-i-draw-strength-and-beauty-from-depression/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [“And she gave herself up to him body and soul, responding to his disarming affection, the bounty of his indefatigable dick, and as always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-gibbs/and-she-gave-herself-up-to-him-body-and-soul-responding-to-his/) [C.C. Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-gibbs/) > [“Whoever said love was blind, was right, Benjamin decided sometime later as he listened to the even rise and fall of Tzadkiel’s breaths. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tibby-armstrong/whoever-said-love-was-blind-was-right-benjamin-decided-sometime-later/) [Tibby Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tibby-armstrong/) > [It is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/it-is-a-disgrace-to-grow-old-through-sheer-carelessness-before-seeing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Justice, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/justice-like-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [Beauty is not in the face; Beauty is a light in the something you do daily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-murdock/beauty-is-not-in-the-face-beauty-is-a-light-in-the-something-you-do/) [Mike Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-murdock/) > [Virtue, the strength and beauty of the soul, Is the best gift of Heaven: a happiness That even above the smiles and frowns of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/virtue-the-strength-and-beauty-of-the-soul-is-the-best-gift-of-heaven/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [It is a base thing for a man to wax old in careless self-neglect before he has lifted up his eyes and seen what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/it-is-a-base-thing-for-a-man-to-wax-old-in-careless-self-neglect/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“A true home is one of the most sacred of places. It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world’s perils and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/a-true-home-is-one-of-the-most-sacred-of-places-it-is-a-sanctuary/) [J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/) > [Only the strongest are put through the fire,' Josiah said. 'And the forge creates things of great strength and beauty.' 'Then I shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/only-the-strongest-are-put-through-the-fire-josiah-said-and-the-forge/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [You and your horse. His strength and beauty. Your knowledge and patience and determination and understanding and love. That's what fuses the two of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-dickens/you-and-your-horse-his-strength-and-beauty-your-knowledge-and/) [Monica Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-dickens/) > [“I tell you, because military training is not publicly recognised by the state, you must not make that an excuse for being a whit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophon-memorabilia-371bc-marchant-translation/i-tell-you-because-military-training-is-not-publicly-recognised-by/) Xenophon Memorabilia. 371BC Marchant translation ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Floods quotes > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [When pride thaws, look for floods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/when-pride-thaws-look-for-floods/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [“It was not as beatific as one might imagine to live under continuous precipitation in a desert. The ground, instead of enjoying the sudden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/it-was-not-as-beatific-as-one-might-imagine-to-live-under-continuous/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [So also there are tides and floods in the affairs of men, which in some are slight and may be kept within bounds, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/so-also-there-are-tides-and-floods-in-the-affairs-of-men-which-in/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [People are seeing the impact of climate change around them in extraordinary patterns of floods and droughts, wildfires, heatwaves and powerful storms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holdren/people-are-seeing-the-impact-of-climate-change-around-them-in/) [John Holdren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holdren/) > [And really, it wasn’t much good having anything exciting like floods, if you couldn’t share them with somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-really-it-wasn-t-much-good-having-anything-exciting-like-floods/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The love of youth, river floods are similar to the boom. The leaves are a sign of destruction behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-love-of-youth-river-floods-are-similar-to-the-boom-the-leaves-are/) Mak\_786 > [Ladakh has changed a lot. Flash floods are common, followed by drought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/ladakh-has-changed-a-lot-flash-floods-are-common-followed-by-drought/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [I was 15 when Hugo Chavez came to power in 1998. At the time, I lived in Vargas State, which borders the Caribbean. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-guaido/i-was-15-when-hugo-chavez-came-to-power-in-1998-at-the-time-i-lived/) [Juan Guaido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-guaido/) > [Floods will become more serious and frequent in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Drought induced food and water scarcity will become more acute. South Asia, Sub-Saharan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-swaminathan/floods-will-become-more-serious-and-frequent-in-the-indo-gangetic/) [M. S. Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [“Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymus/many-waters-cannot-quench-love-nor-can-the-floods-drown-it/) anonymus > [“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-waters-cannot-quench-love-neither-can-the-floods-drown-it-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, droughts and floods is in line with what climate scientists have been predicting for decades - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/the-increasing-frequency-of-extreme-weather-events-droughts-and/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [A boil on a man's neck is more important to him than 40 floods in India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/a-boil-on-a-man-s-neck-is-more-important-to-him-than-40-floods-in/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“The desire of water is scribed across the desert like graffiti, until all that is left of the desert is water… In the scream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-childs/the-desire-of-water-is-scribed-across-the-desert-like-graffiti-until/) [Craig Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-childs/) [Browse all 73 Floods quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floods/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At this very moment, the thumb of Ricardo's hovering shadow jabbed her in her left eye, revealing for all the world the shallowness of her water table. 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