---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How is it that one day life is orderly…"
description: "\"“How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just so, and then without warning you find the s..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jeanette-winterson-166_day-life_how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-a_1193631.png"
---

#  How is it that one day life is orderly and you are…

![“How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just so, and then without warning you find the solid floor is a trapdoor and you are now in another place whose geography is uncertain and whose customs are strange? Travellers at least have a…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jeanette-winterson-166_day-life_how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-a_1193631.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jeanette-winterson-166_day-life_how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-a_1193631.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jeanette-winterson-166_day-life_how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-a_1193631.png)

> ““How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just so, and then without warning you find the solid floor is a trapdoor and you are now in another place whose geography is uncertain and whose customs are strange? Travellers at least have a choice. Those who set sail know know that things will not be the same as at home. Explorers are prepared. But for us, who travel to cities of the interior by chance, there is no preparation. We who are fluent find life is a foreign language. Somewhere between the swamp and the mountains. Somewhere between fear and sex. Somewhere between God and the Devil passion is and the way there is sudden and the way back worse.””

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life can shift abruptly from familiar to alien, demanding adaptability and courage to navigate unknown terrains.

**In simple terms:** Life can change suddenly, requiring flexibility.

Key Takeaway

Embrace uncertainty and keep learning.

Themes

change uncertainty adaptation exploration identity

Mood

reflective curious determined

Type

narrative philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- moving to a new city
- starting a new job
- relationship changes
- cultural immersion

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you respond when familiar structures collapse?
- What can you learn from unfamiliar environments?

A Different Perspective

Assumes all change is negative; may overlook growth opportunities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Foreign language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [“Travellers at least have a choice. Those who set sail know that things will not be the same as at home. Explorers are prepared.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/travellers-at-least-have-a-choice-those-who-set-sail-know-that-things/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just so, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-and-you-are-content-a-little-2/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/life-is-a-foreign-language-all-men-mispronounce-it/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [Jennifer Morrison is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, in a foreign country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/jennifer-morrison-is-the-person-i-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life/)

[Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/)

> [“Entire civilizations in history had ceased to exist. How had life in them felt in the last decades and days? Russia and the Russians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/entire-civilizations-in-history-had-ceased-to-exist-how-had-life-in/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [“I'd Begin to imagine my life in a foreign country, some faraway land where, if things went wrong, i could always blame somebody else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-d-begin-to-imagine-my-life-in-a-foreign-country-some-faraway-land/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [“So a war begins. Into a peace-time life, comes an announcement, a threat. A bomb drops somewhere, potential traitors are whisked off quietly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-a-war-begins-into-a-peace-time-life-comes-an-announcement-a-threat-2/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [All of life is a foreign country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/all-of-life-is-a-foreign-country/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [“That pretty much describes the life of a foreign man living in Bangkok. Except instead of pressing a lever, he’s digging into his wallet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/that-pretty-much-describes-the-life-of-a-foreign-man-living-in/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [...one of the reasons I like classes and structured learning is that they encourage -and contribute to-the belief that life is orderly, that things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-roby/one-of-the-reasons-i-like-classes-and-structured-learning-is-that/)

James Roby

> [Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make it so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/life-is-not-orderly-no-matter-how-we-try-to-make-it-so-right-in-the/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a huge liberation and freedom. I can do what I like. There's nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fiction-there-is-a-huge/)

[Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/)

> [The closest you will ever come in this life to an orderly universe is a good library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/the-closest-you-will-ever-come-in-this-life-to-an-orderly-universe-is/)

[Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/)

> [“Life here is so orderly, so predictable-so painless. It's what they've chosen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/life-here-is-so-orderly-so-predictable-so-painless-it-s-what-they-ve/)

[Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/)

> [Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/life-is-not-orderly-no-matter-how-we-try-to-make-life-so-right-in-the/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

## More by Jeanette Winterson

> [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

[Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

## More Day life quotes

> [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/)

[Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/)

> [“Let’s say you have an ax. Just a cheap one, from Home Depot. On one bitter winter day, you use said ax to behead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/let-s-say-you-have-an-ax-just-a-cheap-one-from-home-depot-on-one/)

[David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/)

> [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/)

[Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/)

> [On my podcast, I got to interview Will Ferrell, Sam Hunt, Colin Cowherd - all these different names - and it was just really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-darnold/on-my-podcast-i-got-to-interview-will-ferrell-sam-hunt-colin-cowherd/)

[Sam Darnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-darnold/)

> [In daily or everyday life, I am so impressed with tiny details, like when I look up at a street lamp falling on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/in-daily-or-everyday-life-i-am-so-impressed-with-tiny-details-like/)

[Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/)

> [My first bill to become law repeals regulations to make everyday life easier and more affordable for Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/my-first-bill-to-become-law-repeals-regulations-to-make-everyday-life/)

[Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/)

> [“There is a powerful difference between picturing an image that does not relate to you, and recalling something specific that you are connected with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-houge/there-is-a-powerful-difference-between-picturing-an-image-that-does/)

[Adam Houge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-houge/)

> [Ultimately, we want to provide people with a unique experience, and an unexpected one as well. We'd like people to leave the theater having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rania-attieh/ultimately-we-want-to-provide-people-with-a-unique-experience-and-an/)

Rania Attieh

> [Families are like friends at school, at first you have no idea about them, but right after you talk talking and getting attach to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asiya-sasika-khan/families-are-like-friends-at-school-at-first-you-have-no-idea-about/)

Asiya Sasika Khan

> [Design should do the same thing in everyday life that art does when encountered: amaze us, scare us or delight us, but certainly open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-betsky/design-should-do-the-same-thing-in-everyday-life-that-art-does-when/)

Aaron Betsky

> [ This is the industry that wants \[music\], the rap industry. You have to be on deck all the time, but you do not have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-thug/this-is-the-industry-that-wants-music-the-rap-industry-you-have-to-be/)

[Young Thug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-thug/)

> [As your awareness of the riches available to you in your everyday life grows, you are on the way to becoming the laughing Buddha.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/as-your-awareness-of-the-riches-available-to-you-in-your-everyday/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/)

[Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/)

> [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/)

[Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/)

Browse all 1,479 Day life quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just so, and then without warning you find the solid floor is a trapdoor and you are now in another place whose geography is uncertain and whose customs are strange? Travellers at least have a choice. Those who set sail know know that things will not be the same as at home. Explorers are prepared. But for us, who travel to cities of the interior by chance, there is no preparation. We who are fluent find life is a foreign language. Somewhere between the swamp and the mountains. Somewhere between fear and sex. Somewhere between God and the Devil passion is and the way there is sudden and the way back worse.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jeanette Winterson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-and-you-are-content-a-little/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Day life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-and-you-are-content-a-little/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jeanette-winterson-166_day-life_how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-a_1193631.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jeanette-winterson-166_day-life_how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-a_1193631.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jeanette-winterson-166_day-life_how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-a_1193631.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just…” — Jeanette Winterson",
                "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": "Jeanette Winterson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“How is it that one day...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-and-you-are-content-a-little/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-and-you-are-content-a-little/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
