--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There had been a slice of time, somewhere…" description: "\"“There had been a slice of time, somewhere sliding away from him now and fading into the slippery past, where Walker had been a happy man. Where his li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/hugh-howey-841_contentment_there-had-been-a-slice-of-time-somewhere_2518123.png" --- # There had been a slice of time, somewhere sliding away… ![“There had been a slice of time, somewhere sliding away from him now and fading into the slippery past, where Walker had been a happy man. Where his life should've ended to keep him from enduring any of the suffering beyond. But he had made it through that brief bliss and now could hardly recall…” quote by Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/hugh-howey-841_contentment_there-had-been-a-slice-of-time-somewhere_2518123.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/hugh-howey-841_contentment_there-had-been-a-slice-of-time-somewhere_2518123.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/hugh-howey-841_contentment_there-had-been-a-slice-of-time-somewhere_2518123.png) > ““There had been a slice of time, somewhere sliding away from him now and fading into the slippery past, where Walker had been a happy man. Where his life should've ended to keep him from enduring any of the suffering beyond. But he had made it through that brief bliss and now could hardly recall it. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to rise with anticipation every morning, to fall asleep with contentment at the end of every day.”” [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on a fleeting period of happiness that feels distant and almost unreachable after enduring hardship. **In simple terms:** Brief happiness feels far away after suffering. Key Takeaway Cherish moments of joy while they last. Themes memory loss resilience hope reflection Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - mental health - grief coping - mindfulness Key Concepts nostalgia psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor past joy without clinging? - What practices help retain contentment? A Different Perspective Happiness may be fleeting and hard to recall, making it easy to undervalue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asleep Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep-contentment-1222823/) [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Contentment End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment-end-1222824/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Every morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-man/) [Past Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-walker-1222821/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Walker Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walker-happy-1222822/) ## Related quotes > [“Become a doc. Marry Walker. B happy. Callum”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/become-a-doc-marry-walker-b-happy-callum/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [“Will he come to me, Dream Angus, Come quietly through the evening light, Come when I do not expect him, and I am sleepy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/will-he-come-to-me-dream-angus-come-quietly-through-the-evening-light/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/happy-is-the-man-who-can-endure-the-highest-and-lowest-fortune-he-who/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Happy the man when he has not the defects of his qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/happy-the-man-when-he-has-not-the-defects-of-his-qualities/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [“If I could put back the pieces and make them right,I’d turn back the hands of time with all my might.You’d never think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-reber/if-i-could-put-back-the-pieces-and-make-them-right-i-d-turn-back-the/) [Tina Reber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-reber/) > [I think I'm a happy man, and I'm a blessed man. I have been able to adjust to any situation, whatever it was, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rusesabagina/i-think-i-m-a-happy-man-and-i-m-a-blessed-man-i-have-been-able-to/) [Paul Rusesabagina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rusesabagina/) > [I think it's good for an actor to bounce between stuff on camera and stuff in theatre. If I could do half and half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-madden/i-think-it-s-good-for-an-actor-to-bounce-between-stuff-on-camera-and/) [Richard Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-madden/) > [There ought to be a man with a hammer behind the door of every happy man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-ought-to-be-a-man-with-a-hammer-behind-the-door-of-every-happy/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/because-i-don-t-live-in-either-my-past-or-my-future-i-m-interested/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I wondered whether any woman could be happy with a man who says 'folderol'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/i-wondered-whether-any-woman-could-be-happy-with-a-man-who-says/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [In emancipation from the fears that beset the slave of circumstance he will experience a profound joy, and through all the vicissitudes of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-emancipation-from-the-fears-that-beset-the-slave-of-circumstance/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I drink because I don't stand a chance and I know it. I couldn't drive a truck and I couldn't get on the cops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/i-drink-because-i-don-t-stand-a-chance-and-i-know-it-i-couldn-t-drive/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [Misery makes you special. Misery makes you more egoistic. A miserable man can have a more concentrated ego than a happy man. A happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/misery-makes-you-special-misery-makes-you-more-egoistic-a-miserable/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I know George Burns was a very happy man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-know-george-burns-was-a-very-happy-man/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) ## More by Hugh Howey > [“the mind-numbing routine. It was the castration of thought,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-mind-numbing-routine-it-was-the-castration-of-thought/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/even-in-the-darkness-his-smile-threw-shadows/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“The Loud came before the quiet. That was a Rule of the World, for the bangs and shouts need somewhere to echo, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-loud-came-before-the-quiet-that-was-a-rule-of-the-world-for-the/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“People from IT sent to replace those they’d killed. Juliette’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/people-from-it-sent-to-replace-those-they-d-killed-juliette-s/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a heap of words designed to hinder communication rather than facilitate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-heap-of-words-designed-to-hinder-communication-rather-than/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“That leaves Bravo Company, the expendables who know what they’re doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-leaves-bravo-company-the-expendables-who-know-what-they-re-doing/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Sleep was a vehicle for passing the time, for avoiding the present. It was a trolley for the depressed, the impatient, and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/sleep-was-a-vehicle-for-passing-the-time-for-avoiding-the-present-it/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Overhead, tangles of wires knotted together in a grand display of unplanned infrastructure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/overhead-tangles-of-wires-knotted-together-in-a-grand-display-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Montana wants to scream, but the thing she is angry at is in the past. The past can’t hear her. This is the thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/montana-wants-to-scream-but-the-thing-she-is-angry-at-is-in-the-past/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I guess what I'm sayin' is, if you want to give Jules a job, be very careful.” “Why be careful?” Marnes asked. Marck gazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-guess-what-i-m-sayin-is-if-you-want-to-give-jules-a-job-be-very/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [One of the many things that surprised me about 'Wool' is how many of its fans don't consider themselves science fiction readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/one-of-the-many-things-that-surprised-me-about-wool-is-how-many-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“We have allowed a dangerous forest to grow as we try to guard against individual trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/we-have-allowed-a-dangerous-forest-to-grow-as-we-try-to-guard-against/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“You’re . . . a rock,” I tell the rock. “The fuck I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/you-re-a-rock-i-tell-the-rock-the-fuck-i-am/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I hated Sundays as a kid. From the moment I woke up, I could feel Monday looming,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-hated-sundays-as-a-kid-from-the-moment-i-woke-up-i-could-feel/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) [Explore all 351 Hugh Howey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## More Contentment quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/) [Jennie Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-rooney/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) [Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/) > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) [Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There had been a slice of time, somewhere sliding away from him now and fading into the slippery past, where Walker had been a happy man. Where his life should've ended to keep him from enduring any of the suffering beyond. But he had made it through that brief bliss and now could hardly recall it. 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