--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Memory, so complete and clear or so…" description: "\"Memory, so complete and clear or so evasive, has to be ended, has to be put aside, as if one were leaving a chapel and bringing the prayer to an end in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/harold-brodkey-14369_chapel_memory-so-complete-and-clear-or-so-evasi_3128933.png" --- # Memory, so complete and clear or so evasive, has to be… ![“Memory, so complete and clear or so evasive, has to be ended, has to be put aside, as if one were leaving a chapel and bringing the prayer to an end in one's head.” quote by Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/harold-brodkey-14369_chapel_memory-so-complete-and-clear-or-so-evasi_3128933.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/harold-brodkey-14369_chapel_memory-so-complete-and-clear-or-so-evasi_3128933.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/harold-brodkey-14369_chapel_memory-so-complete-and-clear-or-so-evasi_3128933.png) > “Memory, so complete and clear or so evasive, has to be ended, has to be put aside, as if one were leaving a chapel and bringing the prayer to an end in one's head.” [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory can be vivid or elusive, and sometimes we must consciously set it aside like ending a prayer. **In simple terms:** Memory may need to be paused. Key Takeaway Allow yourself to let go of lingering thoughts. Themes memory reflection mental health Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - stressful memories - grief processing - creative writing - meditation Key Concepts psychology mindfulness closure Questions to Reflect On - What memories do you keep revisiting? - How can you gently release them? A Different Perspective Memory can resurface unexpectedly, making closure difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-memories/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) ## Related quotes > [I'm amazed, that how salam (peace) is always the first word to start a meeting. but in prayer it is the end word. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-shariati/i-m-amazed-that-how-salam-peace-is-always-the-first-word-to-start-a/) [Ali Shariati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-shariati/) > [Prayer is an end to isolation. It is living our daily life with someone; with him who alone can deliver us from solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-lefebvre/prayer-is-an-end-to-isolation-it-is-living-our-daily-life-with/) Georges Lefebvre > [If God sees that my spiritual life will be furthered by giving the things for which I ask, then He will give them, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-god-sees-that-my-spiritual-life-will-be-furthered-by-giving-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Prayer is listening as well as speaking, receiving as well as asking; and its deepest mood is friendship held in reverence. So the daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-arthur-buttrick/prayer-is-listening-as-well-as-speaking-receiving-as-well-as-asking/) [George Arthur Buttrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-arthur-buttrick/) > [I love this site. It was lovingly hand-shaped it. Your soul transformed this into this art. It was perfect. I have tried to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/i-love-this-site-it-was-lovingly-hand-shaped-it-your-soul-transformed/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“But the chapel, that will never be prosaic. Those who have seen it outlined against the sunset or the full moon, those who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whipplesnaith/but-the-chapel-that-will-never-be-prosaic-those-who-have-seen-it/) [Whipplesnaith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whipplesnaith/) > [The blog is meant to be a bit of a side chapel - a place to slip into and still and encounter the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-blog-is-meant-to-be-a-bit-of-a-side-chapel-a-place-to-slip-into/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [I don't really believe in political art. I feel in my heart the purpose of art transcends cultural and class and politics. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lennon/i-don-t-really-believe-in-political-art-i-feel-in-my-heart-the/) [Sean Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lennon/) > [In Chapel Hill among a friendly folk, this old university, the first state university to open its doors, stands on a hill set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-porter-graham/in-chapel-hill-among-a-friendly-folk-this-old-university-the-first/) Frank Porter Graham > [My gentleman gives the law where he is; he will outpray saints in chapel, outgeneral veterans in the field, and outshine all courtesy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/my-gentleman-gives-the-law-where-he-is-he-will-outpray-saints-in/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In 2012 the best venue I played was Union Chapel in London. It's a beautiful room, the sound is exceptional, and they treated us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-pope/in-2012-the-best-venue-i-played-was-union-chapel-in-london-it-s-a/) [Ron Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-pope/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Wherever God erects a house of prayer the Devil always builds a chapel there; And 't will be found, upon examination, the latter has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wherever-god-erects-a-house-of-prayer-the-devil-always-builds-a/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“Maybe if I’d never set foot in the chapel, everything would have turned out okay. I would have learned to be satisfied with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/maybe-if-i-d-never-set-foot-in-the-chapel-everything-would-have/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) ## More by Harold Brodkey > [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“I figured I had kept her from being too depressed after fucking--it's hard for a girl with any force in her and any brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-figured-i-had-kept-her-from-being-too-depressed-after-fucking-it-s/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-dependent-on-it-scared-of-it-well/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [In our opposed forms of loneliness and self-recognition and recognition of the other, we touched each other often as we spoke; and on shore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/in-our-opposed-forms-of-loneliness-and-self-recognition-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [It is death that goes down to the center of the earth, the great burial church the earth is, and then to the curved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/it-is-death-that-goes-down-to-the-center-of-the-earth-the-great/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“Reading is an intimate act, perhaps more intimate than any other human act. I say that because of the prolonged (or intense) exposure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/reading-is-an-intimate-act-perhaps-more-intimate-than-any-other-human/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“There is a certain shade of red brick--a dark, almost melodious red, sombre and riddled with blue--that is my childhood in St.Louis. 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You have to know what the game is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/you-really-can-t-write-unless-you-read-you-have-to-know-what-the-game/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I often thought men stank of rage; it is why I preferred women, and homosexuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-often-thought-men-stank-of-rage-it-is-why-i-preferred-women-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) [Explore all 47 Harold Brodkey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) ## More Chapel quotes > [“Maybe if I’d never set foot in the chapel, everything would have turned out okay. I would have learned to be satisfied with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/maybe-if-i-d-never-set-foot-in-the-chapel-everything-would-have/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) > [Wherever God erects a house of prayer the Devil always builds a chapel there; And 't will be found, upon examination, the latter has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wherever-god-erects-a-house-of-prayer-the-devil-always-builds-a/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In 2012 the best venue I played was Union Chapel in London. It's a beautiful room, the sound is exceptional, and they treated us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-pope/in-2012-the-best-venue-i-played-was-union-chapel-in-london-it-s-a/) [Ron Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-pope/) > [My gentleman gives the law where he is; he will outpray saints in chapel, outgeneral veterans in the field, and outshine all courtesy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/my-gentleman-gives-the-law-where-he-is-he-will-outpray-saints-in/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In Chapel Hill among a friendly folk, this old university, the first state university to open its doors, stands on a hill set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-porter-graham/in-chapel-hill-among-a-friendly-folk-this-old-university-the-first/) Frank Porter Graham > [I don't really believe in political art. I feel in my heart the purpose of art transcends cultural and class and politics. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lennon/i-don-t-really-believe-in-political-art-i-feel-in-my-heart-the/) [Sean Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lennon/) > [And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [The blog is meant to be a bit of a side chapel - a place to slip into and still and encounter the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-blog-is-meant-to-be-a-bit-of-a-side-chapel-a-place-to-slip-into/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“But the chapel, that will never be prosaic. Those who have seen it outlined against the sunset or the full moon, those who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whipplesnaith/but-the-chapel-that-will-never-be-prosaic-those-who-have-seen-it/) [Whipplesnaith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whipplesnaith/) > [I love this site. It was lovingly hand-shaped it. Your soul transformed this into this art. It was perfect. I have tried to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/i-love-this-site-it-was-lovingly-hand-shaped-it-your-soul-transformed/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [The religion of England is part of good-breeding. 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