--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was silence. Something real was…" description: "\"“There was silence. Something real was happening: this was, as it were, her life. If she could keep that in mind she would be able to play it through, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/joan-didion-497_heart_there-was-silence-something-real-was-hap_2472479.jpg" --- # There was silence. Something real was happening: this was… ![“There was silence. Something real was happening: this was, as it were, her life. If she could keep that in mind she would be able to play it through, do the right thing, whatever that meant.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/joan-didion-497_heart_there-was-silence-something-real-was-hap_2472479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/joan-didion-497_heart_there-was-silence-something-real-was-hap_2472479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/joan-didion-497_heart_there-was-silence-something-real-was-hap_2472479.jpg) > ““There was silence. Something real was happening: this was, as it were, her life. If she could keep that in mind she would be able to play it through, do the right thing, whatever that meant.”” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In moments of silence, authentic life unfolds; staying mindful lets us act rightly despite ambiguity. **In simple terms:** Silence reveals life; stay aware to act. Key Takeaway Cultivate mindfulness in uncertainty. Themes mindfulness authenticity decision-making Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative work - ethical dilemmas - emotional turmoil Key Concepts existential awareness inner truth Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay present in confusion? - What does “the right thing” mean to you? A Different Perspective Clarity may still be elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [Even with or without the show I'm always thinking of the next thing. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. That's kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-rasuk/even-with-or-without-the-show-i-m-always-thinking-of-the-next-thing/) [Victor Rasuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-rasuk/) > [But my silence is real. If I hid it from you, you would find it again a little farther on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/but-my-silence-is-real-if-i-hid-it-from-you-you-would-find-it-again-a/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [Without silence, there cannot be any real appreciation in life, which is as delicate in its inner fabric as a closed rosebud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/without-silence-there-cannot-be-any-real-appreciation-in-life-which/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I decided it is better to scream. . . . Silence is the real crime against humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadezhda-mandelstam/i-decided-it-is-better-to-scream-silence-is-the-real-crime-against/) [Nadezhda Mandelstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadezhda-mandelstam/) > [“Silence is the real crime against humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mcelroy/silence-is-the-real-crime-against-humanity/) [Joseph McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mcelroy/) > [The experience of silence alone is the real and perfect knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-experience-of-silence-alone-is-the-real-and-perfect-knowledge/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Global warming is real. It is happening today. It is being charted by our satellites. It is being charted by our scientists. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/global-warming-is-real-it-is-happening-today-it-is-being-charted-by/) [Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/) > [This is not something insignificant. This is real. This is happening, and this is ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/this-is-not-something-insignificant-this-is-real-this-is-happening/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Realness is something in such short supply; you can't believe anything anyone is saying when you turn on the television, and then during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaska/realness-is-something-in-such-short-supply-you-can-t-believe-anything/) [Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaska/) > [Even though I was concentrating on that two-week period from September 11th to September 20th, I was seeing the policy for real, happening, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-bottoms/even-though-i-was-concentrating-on-that-two-week-period-from/) [Timothy Bottoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-bottoms/) > [“Lauren: Like how many people you're...like how many times your life is gonna totally change and then, like, start all over again? And you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/lauren-like-how-many-people-you-re-like-how-many-times-your-life-is/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [How can I look at it and say, there it is - it's real. This is what is happening. It might even be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-willis/how-can-i-look-at-it-and-say-there-it-is-it-s-real-this-is-what-is/) [Brad Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-willis/) > [“The last time you came to see me there were anchors in your eyes, hardback books in your posture. You were the five star…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-nettifee/the-last-time-you-came-to-see-me-there-were-anchors-in-your-eyes/) Mindy Nettifee > [“For it is beautiful only to do the thing we are meant for”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hugh-clough/for-it-is-beautiful-only-to-do-the-thing-we-are-meant-for/) [Arthur Hugh Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hugh-clough/) > [“We dreamed a lot of good stuff. Marriage and forever and ever and that kind of thing. It meant everything to me. Not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/we-dreamed-a-lot-of-good-stuff-marriage-and-forever-and-ever-and-that/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Heart quotes > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My heart jumps out of its cage to see what the fuss is about. Damn thing. Always so hopeful, but my voice hides it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wylie/my-heart-jumps-out-of-its-cage-to-see-what-the-fuss-is-about-damn/) [Sarah Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wylie/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) Rena Kornreich Gelissen > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/always-have-the-fear-of-god-in-your-heart-and-remember-that-god-is/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Browse all 45,172 Heart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was silence. Something real was happening: this was, as it were, her life. If she could keep that in mind she would be able to play it through, do the right thing, whatever that meant.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Didion" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/there-was-silence-something-real-was-happening-this-was-as-it-were/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heart" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/there-was-silence-something-real-was-happening-this-was-as-it-were/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/joan-didion-497_heart_there-was-silence-something-real-was-hap_2472479.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/joan-didion-497_heart_there-was-silence-something-real-was-hap_2472479.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/joan-didion-497_heart_there-was-silence-something-real-was-hap_2472479.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was silence. Something real was happening: this was, as it were, her life. If she could keep that in…” — Joan Didion", "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": "Joan Didion", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There was silence. Something real was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/there-was-silence-something-real-was-happening-this-was-as-it-were/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/there-was-silence-something-real-was-happening-this-was-as-it-were/#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 } } ] } ```