--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Living would be a terribly pedestrian…" description: "\"Living would be a terribly pedestrian business without the impatient ones. The seekers. Always searching for something new, something relevant to leave..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/helen-van-slyke-30593_air_living-would-be-a-terribly-pedestrian-bu_1658100.jpg" --- # Living would be a terribly pedestrian business without the… ![“Living would be a terribly pedestrian business without the impatient ones. The seekers. Always searching for something new, something relevant to leave their mark on. Always on tiptoe, anticipating discovery. Such people find change as necessary as the air they breathe.” quote by Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/helen-van-slyke-30593_air_living-would-be-a-terribly-pedestrian-bu_1658100.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/helen-van-slyke-30593_air_living-would-be-a-terribly-pedestrian-bu_1658100.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/helen-van-slyke-30593_air_living-would-be-a-terribly-pedestrian-bu_1658100.jpg) > “Living would be a terribly pedestrian business without the impatient ones. The seekers. Always searching for something new, something relevant to leave their mark on. Always on tiptoe, anticipating discovery. Such people find change as necessary as the air they breathe.” [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Impatient seekers drive innovation by constantly looking for new, relevant ideas, making change essential. **In simple terms:** Seekers fuel progress through constant curiosity. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity and embrace change. Themes innovation curiosity change Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - research - artistic creation Key Concepts existentialism progressivism Questions to Reflect On - What drives your desire for new ideas? - How do you balance patience with curiosity? A Different Perspective Impatience can lead to burnout; not all change is beneficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Seekers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seekers/) ## Related quotes > [“On account of those absolute and impatient ones, be not jealous, thou lover of truth! Never yet did truth cling to the arm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/on-account-of-those-absolute-and-impatient-ones-be-not-jealous-thou/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I look at Peeta and he gives me a sad smile. I hear Haymitch's voice. "You could do a lot worse." At this moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-look-at-peeta-and-he-gives-me-a-sad-smile-i-hear-haymitch-s-voice/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [The Christian on his knees sees more than the philosopher on tiptoe. God sends no one away empty except those who are full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/the-christian-on-his-knees-sees-more-than-the-philosopher-on-tiptoe/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [I feel that Wilton Felder and Wayne Henderson have involved themselves so deeply into being Jehovah's Witnesses that Stix Hooper and I have decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/i-feel-that-wilton-felder-and-wayne-henderson-have-involved/) Joe Sample > [Love arrives on tiptoe and bangs the door when it leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lembke/love-arrives-on-tiptoe-and-bangs-the-door-when-it-leaves/) Robert Lembke > [Death will never be pretty - its sights and smells too close and crude. And it will never come under our control: it gallops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/death-will-never-be-pretty-its-sights-and-smells-too-close-and-crude/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Life isn't a tiptoe through the tulips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hoon/life-isn-t-a-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/) [Shannon Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hoon/) > [Here are sweet peas, on tiptoe for a flight; With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white, And taper fingers catching at all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/here-are-sweet-peas-on-tiptoe-for-a-flight-with-wings-of-gentle-flush/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [You think giving you a hug would give away too much?" he says. "You know," I say. "I really don't care." I stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/you-think-giving-you-a-hug-would-give-away-too-much-he-says-you-know/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [You're after something - not a story, but a certain, exquisitely intense encounter with beauty - and the only way to find it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/you-re-after-something-not-a-story-but-a-certain-exquisitely-intense/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [The best of our theater is standing on tiptoe, striving to see over the shoulders of father and mother. The worst is exploiting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-best-of-our-theater-is-standing-on-tiptoe-striving-to-see-over/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [This world has suns, but they are overcast;This world has sweets, but they're of ling'ring bloom;Life still expects, and empty falls at last;Warm Hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/this-world-has-suns-but-they-are-overcast-this-world-has-sweets-but/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [As he walks away on his own two feet--the toddler's body-mind has reached its moment of perfection. The world is his and he the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/as-he-walks-away-on-his-own-two-feet-the-toddler-s-body-mind-has/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-you-want-to-accord-with-the-tao-just-do-your-job-then-let-go/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [She stood, squared her shoulders. “We’ll do it. Together.” And then she did something that shocked them both. She rose on her tiptoes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/she-stood-squared-her-shoulders-we-ll-do-it-together-and-then-she-did/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) ## More by Helen Van Slyke > [Isn't it boring ... how people always want to tell you their own stories instead of listening to yours? I suppose that's why psychiatrists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/isn-t-it-boring-how-people-always-want-to-tell-you-their-own-stories/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Fear is for the old. Lack of it is one of the joys of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/fear-is-for-the-old-lack-of-it-is-one-of-the-joys-of-youth/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Emotion seemed more valid than experience, for I had so much of the former and so little of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/emotion-seemed-more-valid-than-experience-for-i-had-so-much-of-the/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Mail from home was so important when you were traveling. It kept you in touch with the familiar, even the part you were running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/mail-from-home-was-so-important-when-you-were-traveling-it-kept-you/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [I should coldly, clinically think of myself and stop worrying about other people, as though I'm a necessary woman, indispensable to their happiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/i-should-coldly-clinically-think-of-myself-and-stop-worrying-about/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [People who let the weak or greedy drink their blood sometimes have a need to play God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/people-who-let-the-weak-or-greedy-drink-their-blood-sometimes-have-a/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [The rush of power to the head is not as becoming as a new hat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/the-rush-of-power-to-the-head-is-not-as-becoming-as-a-new-hat/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [When you get to be my age, all your friends have either died or moved to Florida.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/when-you-get-to-be-my-age-all-your-friends-have-either-died-or-moved/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Vanity, wounded pride, rejection, self-delusion. I could recite a litany of little pinpricks that finally produce a gaping wound. That's how marriages and friendships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/vanity-wounded-pride-rejection-self-delusion-i-could-recite-a-litany/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Never doubt love ... Never question it when it comes onstage, but be happy for its entrance. And do not weep when it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/never-doubt-love-never-question-it-when-it-comes-onstage-but-be-happy/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [If arrogance is the heady wine of youth, then humility must be its eternal hangover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/if-arrogance-is-the-heady-wine-of-youth-then-humility-must-be-its/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Timing. We give it many names: Destiny, Fate, Kismet, the will of God. Whatever we call it, lives are changed and molded by it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/timing-we-give-it-many-names-destiny-fate-kismet-the-will-of-god/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [ \[On parents:\] They're not gods to be pleased or devils to be exorcised. They're just there, and we can only hope they understand when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/on-parents-they-re-not-gods-to-be-pleased-or-devils-to-be-exorcised/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Eighty's a landmark and people treat you differently than they do when you're seventy-nine. At seventy-nine, if you drop something it just lies there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/eighty-s-a-landmark-and-people-treat-you-differently-than-they-do/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [It's especially fitting that they call a cruise ship 'she,' for she is pregnant with a thousand adult embryos who long to stay forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/it-s-especially-fitting-that-they-call-a-cruise-ship-she-for-she-is/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) [Explore all 17 Helen Van Slyke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. 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The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Living would be a terribly pedestrian business without the impatient ones. The seekers. Always searching for something new, something relevant to leave their mark on. Always on tiptoe, anticipating discovery. 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