--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Observing any human being from infancy…" description: "\"“Observing any human being from infancy, seeing someone come into existence, like a new flower in bud, each petal first tightly furled around another, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/jamaica-kincaid-1540_around-the-corner_observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-s_1514086.jpg" --- # Observing any human being from infancy, seeing someone… ![“Observing any human being from infancy, seeing someone come into existence, like a new flower in bud, each petal first tightly furled around another, and then the natural loosening and unfurling, the opening into a bloom, the life of that bloom, must be something wonderful to behold; to see…” quote by Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/jamaica-kincaid-1540_around-the-corner_observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-s_1514086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/jamaica-kincaid-1540_around-the-corner_observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-s_1514086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/jamaica-kincaid-1540_around-the-corner_observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-s_1514086.jpg) > ““Observing any human being from infancy, seeing someone come into existence, like a new flower in bud, each petal first tightly furled around another, and then the natural loosening and unfurling, the opening into a bloom, the life of that bloom, must be something wonderful to behold; to see experience collect in the eyes, around the corners of the mouth, the weighing down of the brow, the heaviness in heart and soul, the thick gathering around the waist, the breasts, the slowing down of footsteps not from old age but only with the caution of life-all this is something so wonderful to observe, so wonderful to behold; the pleasure for the observer, the beholder, is an invisible current between the two, observed and observer, beheld and beholder, and I believe that no life is complete, no life is really whole, without this invisible current, which is in many ways a definition of love.”” [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes love as a subtle, shared experience that completes life, observed through physical and emotional cues. **In simple terms:** Love is a quiet, shared feeling that makes life whole. Key Takeaway Recognize and cherish the unseen bonds. Themes love human experience connection Mood thoughtful poetic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - parenting - artistic - spiritual practice Key Concepts empathy shared consciousness psychology Questions to Reflect On - What invisible currents shape your relationships? - How can we nurture unseen connections? 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The answer to that depends on your own definition of love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/some-people-wonder-if-abusers-can-feel-love-or-affection-for-their/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [Among the different expressions of love are friendship, dedication to a cause or to a person, the love of parents for their children, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/among-the-different-expressions-of-love-are-friendship-dedication-to/) [Meicee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meicee/) > [“I admired how perfectly matched they seemed to be, and I started to wonder about my own, personal definition of love. Had it been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/i-admired-how-perfectly-matched-they-seemed-to-be-and-i-started-to/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) ## More by Jamaica Kincaid > [I'm always telling my students go to law school or become a doctor, do something, and then write. 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If I say something truthfully, people say "Oh, she's so angry."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/race-as-a-subject-only-comes-about-because-of-what-i-look-like-if-i/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [in the place I am from ... a grave is topped off with a huge mound of loose earth - carelessly, as if piled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/in-the-place-i-am-from-a-grave-is-topped-off-with-a-huge-mound-of/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I like melancholy. I like to pretend that I'm alone in the world and I'm just sort of abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-like-melancholy-i-like-to-pretend-that-i-m-alone-in-the-world-and-i/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I come from the small island of Antigua and I always wanted to write; I just didn't know that it was possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-come-from-the-small-island-of-antigua-and-i-always-wanted-to-write/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“Have you ever wondered to yourself why it is that all people like me seem to have learned from you is how to imprison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/have-you-ever-wondered-to-yourself-why-it-is-that-all-people-like-me/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. 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Sometimes we hold your retribution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/do-you-see-the-queer-thing-about-people-like-me-sometimes-we-hold/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I didn't really understand racism because I grew up in an all-black society, so I didn't see how it was possible not to like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-didn-t-really-understand-racism-because-i-grew-up-in-an-all-black/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [A great piece of literature encompasses all that is and all that will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/a-great-piece-of-literature-encompasses-all-that-is-and-all-that-will/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [The people who invented race, who grouped us together as "black," were inventing and categorizing their ability to do something vicious and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/the-people-who-invented-race-who-grouped-us-together-as-black-were/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) [Explore all 228 Jamaica Kincaid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## More Around the corner quotes > [I feel excited about getting older as an actress, too. I think there are some amazing opportunities around the corner and I don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/i-feel-excited-about-getting-older-as-an-actress-too-i-think-there/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [You'll never see me coming around the corner not smiling... I mean, I enjoy every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquem-griffin/you-ll-never-see-me-coming-around-the-corner-not-smiling-i-mean-i/) [Shaquem Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquem-griffin/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'd never think of taking a cab if you had to walk a mile down Chicago's Michigan Avenue. 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And then Pritkin ran back around the corner followed by half a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/a-courteous-war-mage-the-world-really-was-coming-to-an-end-and-then/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [You don't know what's coming for you in life, and you don't know what's around the corner. When you're in a great deal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-wyman/you-don-t-know-what-s-coming-for-you-in-life-and-you-don-t-know-what/) [J.H. Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-wyman/) > [Brooklyn, where I grew up, is a competitive burg - there's always a pretty boy around the corner there, and you gotta look better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophilus-london/brooklyn-where-i-grew-up-is-a-competitive-burg-there-s-always-a/) [Theophilus London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophilus-london/) > [One thing that's certain: around the corner from every ugly thing, there's something really beautiful. 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Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [And as I reinvent myself and I'm constantly curious about everything, I can't wait to see what's around the corner in newfound art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-grier/and-as-i-reinvent-myself-and-i-m-constantly-curious-about-everything/) [Pam Grier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-grier/) > [I know what is around the corner - I just don't know where the corner is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keegan/i-know-what-is-around-the-corner-i-just-don-t-know-where-the-corner-is/) [Kevin Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keegan/) > [I love being the age I am, because if there's enough pain or grief, I have enough experience now to realize that there's joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gilbert/i-love-being-the-age-i-am-because-if-there-s-enough-pain-or-grief-i/) [Sara Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gilbert/) [Browse all 569 Around the corner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-corner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Observing any human being from infancy, seeing someone come into existence, like a new flower in bud, each petal first tightly furled around another, and then the natural loosening and unfurling, the opening into a bloom, the life of that bloom, must be something wonderful to behold; to see experience collect in the eyes, around the corners of the mouth, the weighing down of the brow, the heaviness in heart and soul, the thick gathering around the waist, the breasts, the slowing down of footsteps not from old age but only with the caution of life-all this is something so wonderful to observe, so wonderful to behold; the pleasure for the observer, the beholder, is an invisible current between the two, observed and observer, beheld and beholder, and I believe that no life is complete, no life is really whole, without this invisible current, which is in many ways a definition of love.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jamaica Kincaid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-seeing-someone-come-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Around the corner" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-seeing-someone-come-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/jamaica-kincaid-1540_around-the-corner_observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-s_1514086.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/jamaica-kincaid-1540_around-the-corner_observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-s_1514086.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/jamaica-kincaid-1540_around-the-corner_observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-s_1514086.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Observing any human being from infancy, seeing someone come into existence, like a new flower in bud, each…” — Jamaica Kincaid", "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": "Jamaica Kincaid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Observing any human being from infancy,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-seeing-someone-come-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/observing-any-human-being-from-infancy-seeing-someone-come-into/#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 } } ] } ```