--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe it seems strange to you, all the…" description: "\"“Maybe it seems strange to you, all the trouble we’re taking to catch a glimpse of what you’re going to see in close-up, so soon. It’s hard to explain:..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/greg-egan-8766_impatience_maybe-it-seems-strange-to-you-all-the-tr_2916455.jpg" --- # Maybe it seems strange to you, all the trouble we’re… ![“Maybe it seems strange to you, all the trouble we’re taking to catch a glimpse of what you’re going to see in close-up, so soon. It’s hard to explain: I don’t think it’s jealousy, or even impatience. Just a need for independence.” quote by Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/greg-egan-8766_impatience_maybe-it-seems-strange-to-you-all-the-tr_2916455.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/greg-egan-8766_impatience_maybe-it-seems-strange-to-you-all-the-tr_2916455.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/greg-egan-8766_impatience_maybe-it-seems-strange-to-you-all-the-tr_2916455.jpg) > ““Maybe it seems strange to you, all the trouble we’re taking to catch a glimpse of what you’re going to see in close-up, so soon. It’s hard to explain: I don’t think it’s jealousy, or even impatience. Just a need for independence.”” [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character expresses a deep desire for independence, not driven by jealousy or impatience **In simple terms:** They crave independence above all else Key Takeaway Seek personal autonomy Themes psychology relationships independence desire Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - career counseling - relationship therapy - creative projects Key Concepts Self‑actualization emotional needs personal freedom Questions to Reflect On - What does independence mean to you? - How can you balance independence with connection? A Different Perspective Independence may conflict with collaboration or community goals ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hard To Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-to-explain/) [Impatience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impatience/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) ## Related quotes > [My music is rather abstract and maybe even strange-sounding for some people, so maybe that's why it's been used in so many horror movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-penderecki/my-music-is-rather-abstract-and-maybe-even-strange-sounding-for-some/) [Krzysztof Penderecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-penderecki/) > [I'm writing another novel and I know what I'm going to do after, which may be something more like this again, maybe some strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-m-writing-another-novel-and-i-know-what-i-m-going-to-do-after-which/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“Perhaps, more than anything, it occurred to her that maybe she didn't have to spend the rest of eternity alone. One person could know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-drummond/perhaps-more-than-anything-it-occurred-to-her-that-maybe-she-didn-t/) [India Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-drummond/) > [A few years ago, maybe it was more strange to be outside of the centers of fashion. Now, with the Internet and traveling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dries-van-noten/a-few-years-ago-maybe-it-was-more-strange-to-be-outside-of-the/) [Dries van Noten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dries-van-noten/) > [“Maybe I’m strange and perverse, but I’ve always thought there was something sexy about a compelling argument.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-doucet/maybe-i-m-strange-and-perverse-but-i-ve-always-thought-there-was/) Therese Doucet > [I don't think that jealousy and love and hate and anger and all those things have changed in the past 200 years - people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-don-t-think-that-jealousy-and-love-and-hate-and-anger-and-all-those/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [“Jealousy? I don't think jealousy is the right word, says Pauline. They were both strong women and in those days people liked to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-osman/jealousy-i-don-t-think-jealousy-is-the-right-word-says-pauline-they/) [Richard Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-osman/) > [I don't think jealousy has much of a connection with real, objective conditions. Like if you're fortunate you're not jealous, but if life hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-don-t-think-jealousy-has-much-of-a-connection-with-real-objective/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I think jealousy is a good thing. It motivates me to make jealous people more disappointed and angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-jealousy-is-a-good-thing-it-motivates-me-to-make-jealous/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A thug is what I want and a thug is what I need. And my friends don't understand, and I think it's jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/a-thug-is-what-i-want-and-a-thug-is-what-i-need-and-my-friends-don-t/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [I learned very young that jealousy is a waste of energy, and the more you think about jealousy or act upon it, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-longoria/i-learned-very-young-that-jealousy-is-a-waste-of-energy-and-the-more/) [Eva Longoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-longoria/) > [Street fights in Hawaii are so controlled you would think they were sanctioned. It's really hard to explain. It's almost like a peaceful violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-tavares/street-fights-in-hawaii-are-so-controlled-you-would-think-they-were/) [Brad Tavares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-tavares/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It's hard to explain these feelings...But I'm extremely honored to be an Olympian and be a part of this team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordyn-wieber/it-s-hard-to-explain-these-feelings-but-i-m-extremely-honored-to-be/) [Jordyn Wieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordyn-wieber/) > [“Yeah, Johnnie,’ I said, ‘it’s a screwed up, bitched up world, and I’m afraid it’s going to stay that way. And I’ll tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-thompson/yeah-johnnie-i-said-it-s-a-screwed-up-bitched-up-world-and-i-m-afraid/) [Jim Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-thompson/) ## More by Greg Egan > [“Paul closed his eyes and turned his face to the sun. In spite of everything, it was hard not to take solace from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/paul-closed-his-eyes-and-turned-his-face-to-the-sun-in-spite-of/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“I was recruited by the dead,’ Zak said. ‘Not in any rush to join them in their silence, but from the urgent need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/i-was-recruited-by-the-dead-zak-said-not-in-any-rush-to-join-them-in/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“You have to be doubly foolish to be a Satanist,” Stoney muttered. “Doubly?” “Not only do you need to believe all the nonsense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/you-have-to-be-doubly-foolish-to-be-a-satanist-stoney-muttered-doubly/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“Fleshers used to spin fantasies about aliens arriving to ‘conquer’ Earth, to steal their ‘precious’ physical resources, to wipe them out for fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/fleshers-used-to-spin-fantasies-about-aliens-arriving-to-conquer/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [Australian SF book publishing has undergone a boom recently, and sometimes it's easier for new writers to sell a book to a local publisher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/australian-sf-book-publishing-has-undergone-a-boom-recently-and/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“If the technology improves sufficiently, the environmental impact of the wealthiest Copy could end up being less than that of the most ascetic living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/if-the-technology-improves-sufficiently-the-environmental-impact-of/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [I'm rarely grabbed by anything the way I was when I was 10 years younger. About the only relatively new artists whose albums I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/i-m-rarely-grabbed-by-anything-the-way-i-was-when-i-was-10-years/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [If we spend all our time gazing at the wonders ahead without remembering where we're standing right now, we're going to trip and fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/if-we-spend-all-our-time-gazing-at-the-wonders-ahead-without/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“The Transmuters had built a structure that dwarfed universes, but touched each one only lightly. They hadn’t turned whole worlds to rubble, they hadn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/the-transmuters-had-built-a-structure-that-dwarfed-universes-but/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“I have no strength now to speak of my loss of strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/i-have-no-strength-now-to-speak-of-my-loss-of-strength/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“The only way up is up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/the-only-way-up-is-up/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“My earliest memories are of CP4 — that's a Kähler manifold that looks locally like a vector space with four complex directions, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/my-earliest-memories-are-of-cp4-that-s-a-k-hler-manifold-that-looks/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“We’ve been half right about a lot of things, but there’s something missing from our theories, something whose nature we haven’t even guessed yet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/we-ve-been-half-right-about-a-lot-of-things-but-there-s-something/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [A story in Asimov's is read by hundreds of thousands of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/a-story-in-asimov-s-is-read-by-hundreds-of-thousands-of-people/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“Imagine a universe entirely without structure, without shape, without connections. A cloud of microscopic events, like fragments of space-time … except that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/imagine-a-universe-entirely-without-structure-without-shape-without/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) [Explore all 78 Greg Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) ## More Impatience quotes > [“The drivers here are horrible. And by horrible, I mean they don't realize I have someplace to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-drivers-here-are-horrible-and-by-horrible-i-mean-they-don-t/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [God is never late, we're just impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/god-is-never-late-we-re-just-impatient/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That is why faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience… Those who hope in Christ can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/that-is-why-faith-wherever-it-develops-into-hope-causes-not-rest-but/) [Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [Advent is patience it's how God has made us a people of promise, in a world of impatience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/advent-is-patience-it-s-how-god-has-made-us-a-people-of-promise-in-a/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [Patience in planning & Impatience in execution.. Always creates Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/patience-in-planning-impatience-in-execution-always-creates-miracles/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive. We'll keep waiting until tomorrow. If we allow impatience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/when-we-define-our-happiness-by-some-point-in-the-future-it-will/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [“Transform your impatience into commitment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ela-crain/transform-your-impatience-into-commitment/) [Ela Crain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ela-crain/) > [“The impatience you felt before kissing someone you liked wasn't nearly as bad as the impatience you felt afterward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/the-impatience-you-felt-before-kissing-someone-you-liked-wasn-t/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/learn-the-art-of-patience-apply-discipline-to-your-thoughts-when-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-less-you-associate-with-some-people-the-more-your-life-will/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [Thought I'd give impatience a try. Got a little enveloped in time. Cuz I watch you come and watch you go and it don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-ready-set/thought-i-d-give-impatience-a-try-got-a-little-enveloped-in-time-cuz/) [The Ready Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-ready-set/) > [What you're missing is that the path itself changes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-you-re-missing-is-that-the-path-itself-changes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The cure for impatience with the fulfillment of God's timetable is to believe His promises, obey His will, and leave the results to Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/the-cure-for-impatience-with-the-fulfillment-of-god-s-timetable-is-to/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) [Browse all 470 Impatience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impatience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Maybe it seems strange to you, all the trouble we’re taking to catch a glimpse of what you’re going to see in close-up, so soon. 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