--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It all began when... they're funny, those…" description: "\"It all began when... they're funny, those words. Everyone uses them, without thinking what they mean. When does anything begin? With everyone it begins..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/john-marsden-3782_ancestor_it-all-began-when-they-re-funny-those-wo_2159152.png" --- # It all began when... they're funny, those words. Everyone… ![“It all began when... they're funny, those words. Everyone uses them, without thinking what they mean. When does anything begin? With everyone it begins when you're born. Or before that, when your parents got married. Or before that, when your parents were born. Or when your ancestors colonised the…” quote by John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/john-marsden-3782_ancestor_it-all-began-when-they-re-funny-those-wo_2159152.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/john-marsden-3782_ancestor_it-all-began-when-they-re-funny-those-wo_2159152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/john-marsden-3782_ancestor_it-all-began-when-they-re-funny-those-wo_2159152.png) > “It all began when... they're funny, those words. Everyone uses them, without thinking what they mean. When does anything begin? With everyone it begins when you're born. Or before that, when your parents got married. Or before that, when your parents were born. Or when your ancestors colonised the place. Or when humans came squishing out of the mud and slime, dropped off their flippers and fins, and started to walk. But all the same, all that aside, for what's happened to us there was quite a definite beginning” [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on the layered origins of existence, tracing identity from individual birth back through familial and ancestral histories, questioning when true beginnings occur. **In simple terms:** It ponders where life truly starts, from birth to ancestors. Key Takeaway Consider the deeper roots of your own story. Themes identity origin history philosophy Mood thoughtful contemplative Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - family storytelling - cultural education Key Concepts genealogy existentialism anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How do you define your own beginning? - What influences shape your sense of identity? A Different Perspective Origins are complex and often subjective, not a single moment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [When, as an undergraduate, I began experiments on these slime molds in 1940, only one other person, Kenneth Raper, was working on them at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tyler-bonner/when-as-an-undergraduate-i-began-experiments-on-these-slime-molds-in/) [John Tyler Bonner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tyler-bonner/) > [Our souls demand Purgatory, don't they? 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