---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyday life seems so permanent and…"
description: "\"“Everyday life seems so permanent and unshakable‒but, as I was reminded by these writers, it can be destroyed by a single phone call.”\" — Graham Greene"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/graham-greene-441_day-life_everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-uns_867045.jpg"
---

#  Everyday life seems so permanent and unshakable‒but, as I…

![“Everyday life seems so permanent and unshakable‒but, as I was reminded by these writers, it can be destroyed by a single phone call.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/graham-greene-441_day-life_everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-uns_867045.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/graham-greene-441_day-life_everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-uns_867045.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/graham-greene-441_day-life_everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-uns_867045.jpg)

> ““Everyday life seems so permanent and unshakable‒but, as I was reminded by these writers, it can be destroyed by a single phone call.””

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life feels stable until a single phone call can upend everything, showing how fragile our routines are.

**In simple terms:** A call can destroy a seemingly permanent life.

Key Takeaway

Guard against complacency; value communication.

Themes

fragility communication change vulnerability

Mood

anxious reflective

Type

cautionary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- business negotiations
- legal settlements
- emergency planning

Key Concepts

existential risk interpersonal dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How would you protect your life from sudden disruption?
- What safeguards can you put in place?

A Different Perspective

A single call may not always have such dramatic impact.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Everyday life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Phone call](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone-call/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [Nothing in life is permanent, not even one's troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/nothing-in-life-is-permanent-not-even-one-s-troubles/)

[Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/)

> [Ive learned that most things are life are never permanent. Just a lesson in life that needed to be learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ive-learned-that-most-things-are-life-are-never-permanent-just-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Marriage is a commitment for life. It is a permanent, lifelong relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-vaswani/marriage-is-a-commitment-for-life-it-is-a-permanent-lifelong/)

[Dada Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-vaswani/)

> [When you know that everything matters—that every move counts as much as any other—you will begin living a life of permanent purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/when-you-know-that-everything-matters-that-every-move-counts-as-much/)

[Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/)

> [“We want to make life permanent, but in doing so we go against nature, and there lies our pain. Only the mind which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/we-want-to-make-life-permanent-but-in-doing-so-we-go-against-nature/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [In this life nothing is permanent. Joy, sorrow, pain, pleasure - everything is in a constant state of change. Thankfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-cormack/in-this-life-nothing-is-permanent-joy-sorrow-pain-pleasure-everything/)

[Danielle Cormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-cormack/)

> [Life is full of Problems Problems are not permanent but , life is permanent.. So, solve problems &amp; keep similing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addy/life-is-full-of-problems-problems-are-not-permanent-but-life-is-2/)

[Addy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addy/)

> [“For life in permanent beta, the trick is to never stop starting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/for-life-in-permanent-beta-the-trick-is-to-never-stop-starting/)

[Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/)

> [Life is full of problems,problems are not permanent , but life is permanent so keep simling and keep enjoying a golden life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/life-is-full-of-problems-problems-are-not-permanent-but-life-is/)

Unknow

> [“Holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mould yourself through the gaps”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/holes-in-your-life-are-permanent-you-have-to-grow-around-them-like/)

[Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/)

> [“Your life matters because it is broader in scope than the darkness you might experience today. Your life is more permanent than your struggles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herrick/your-life-matters-because-it-is-broader-in-scope-than-the-darkness/)

[John Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herrick/)

> [“When we hold on too tightly to our attachments we are trying to keep them just as they are, to make them permanent. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyalwa-dokhampa/when-we-hold-on-too-tightly-to-our-attachments-we-are-trying-to-keep/)

[Gyalwa Dokhampa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyalwa-dokhampa/)

> [In a liquid modern life there are no permanent bonds, and any that we take up for a time must be tied loosely so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/in-a-liquid-modern-life-there-are-no-permanent-bonds-and-any-that-we/)

[Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/)

> [“the holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mould yourself through the gaps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/the-holes-in-your-life-are-permanent-you-have-to-grow-around-them/)

[Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/)

> [“Everything falls apart. The only thing in life that is permanent is family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/everything-falls-apart-the-only-thing-in-life-that-is-permanent-is/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

## More by Graham Greene

> [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“Knowledge was the great thing--not abstract knowledge in which Dr. Forester had been so rich, the theories which lead one enticingly on with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/knowledge-was-the-great-thing-not-abstract-knowledge-in-which-dr/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [With Your great schemes, You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/with-your-great-schemes-you-ruin-our-happiness-like-a-harvester-ruins/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“He had thought that home was something one possessed, but the things one had possessed were cursed with change; it was what one didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-thought-that-home-was-something-one-possessed-but-the-things/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“He said, ‘Oh god, help her. Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

[Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

## More Day life quotes

> [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/)

[Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/)

> [“Let’s say you have an ax. Just a cheap one, from Home Depot. On one bitter winter day, you use said ax to behead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/let-s-say-you-have-an-ax-just-a-cheap-one-from-home-depot-on-one/)

[David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/)

> [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/)

[Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/)

> [On my podcast, I got to interview Will Ferrell, Sam Hunt, Colin Cowherd - all these different names - and it was just really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-darnold/on-my-podcast-i-got-to-interview-will-ferrell-sam-hunt-colin-cowherd/)

[Sam Darnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-darnold/)

> [In daily or everyday life, I am so impressed with tiny details, like when I look up at a street lamp falling on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/in-daily-or-everyday-life-i-am-so-impressed-with-tiny-details-like/)

[Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/)

> [My first bill to become law repeals regulations to make everyday life easier and more affordable for Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/my-first-bill-to-become-law-repeals-regulations-to-make-everyday-life/)

[Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/)

> [“There is a powerful difference between picturing an image that does not relate to you, and recalling something specific that you are connected with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-houge/there-is-a-powerful-difference-between-picturing-an-image-that-does/)

[Adam Houge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-houge/)

> [Ultimately, we want to provide people with a unique experience, and an unexpected one as well. We'd like people to leave the theater having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rania-attieh/ultimately-we-want-to-provide-people-with-a-unique-experience-and-an/)

Rania Attieh

> [Families are like friends at school, at first you have no idea about them, but right after you talk talking and getting attach to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asiya-sasika-khan/families-are-like-friends-at-school-at-first-you-have-no-idea-about/)

Asiya Sasika Khan

> [Design should do the same thing in everyday life that art does when encountered: amaze us, scare us or delight us, but certainly open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-betsky/design-should-do-the-same-thing-in-everyday-life-that-art-does-when/)

Aaron Betsky

> [ This is the industry that wants \[music\], the rap industry. You have to be on deck all the time, but you do not have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-thug/this-is-the-industry-that-wants-music-the-rap-industry-you-have-to-be/)

[Young Thug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-thug/)

> [As your awareness of the riches available to you in your everyday life grows, you are on the way to becoming the laughing Buddha.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/as-your-awareness-of-the-riches-available-to-you-in-your-everyday/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/)

[Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/)

> [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/)

[Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/)

Browse all 1,479 Day life quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Everyday life seems so permanent and unshakable‒but, as I was reminded by these writers, it can be destroyed by a single phone call.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Graham Greene"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-unshakable-but-as-i-was-reminded/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Day life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-unshakable-but-as-i-was-reminded/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/graham-greene-441_day-life_everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-uns_867045.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/graham-greene-441_day-life_everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-uns_867045.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/graham-greene-441_day-life_everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-uns_867045.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Everyday life seems so permanent and unshakable‒but, as I was reminded by these writers, it can be destroyed…” — Graham Greene",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Graham Greene",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Everyday life seems so permanent and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-unshakable-but-as-i-was-reminded/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/everyday-life-seems-so-permanent-and-unshakable-but-as-i-was-reminded/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
