--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All of them had a restlessness in common." description: "\"All of them had a restlessness in common.\" — John Steinbeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/john-steinbeck-71_common_all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common_1933626.jpg" --- # All of them had a restlessness in common. ![“All of them had a restlessness in common.” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/john-steinbeck-71_common_all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common_1933626.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/john-steinbeck-71_common_all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common_1933626.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/john-steinbeck-71_common_all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common_1933626.jpg) > “All of them had a restlessness in common.” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters share a common restlessness, driving them toward change and new experiences throughout the narrative. **In simple terms:** Restlessness fuels change. Key Takeaway Channel restless energy into purposeful action. Themes restlessness change adventure Mood anxious motivated Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - Career transitions - creative projects - travel planning - personal reinvention Key Concepts Existentialism human drive psychology Questions to Reflect On - What drives your restlessness? - How can you harness it constructively? A Different Perspective Restlessness may cause instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Restlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restlessness/) [Restlessness Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restlessness-common-3040785/) ## Related quotes > [When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/when-the-virus-of-restlessness-begins-to-take-possession-of-a-wayward/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I would like to sit still for a while but I'm restless you know and sitting still is only an ideal like celibacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-would-like-to-sit-still-for-a-while-but-i-m-restless-you-know-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The moving van is a symbol of more than our restlessness, it is the most conclusive evidence possible of our progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/the-moving-van-is-a-symbol-of-more-than-our-restlessness-it-is-the/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [So even if the hot loneliness is there, and for 1.6 seconds we sit with that restlessness when yesterday we couldn't sit for even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/so-even-if-the-hot-loneliness-is-there-and-for-1-6-seconds-we-sit/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Never a ship sails out of bay but carries my heart as a stowaway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselle-mercier-montgomery/never-a-ship-sails-out-of-bay-but-carries-my-heart-as-a-stowaway/) [Roselle Mercier Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselle-mercier-montgomery/) > [“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-calm-and-modest-life-brings-more-happiness-than-the-pursuit-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“I’ve come across people who say that there is a sort of inborn restlessness in the human spirit and an urge to change one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/i-ve-come-across-people-who-say-that-there-is-a-sort-of-inborn/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“I didn’t want the same things that they wanted, and they should know this. They should know my difference, they should sense my unfathomable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ling-ma/i-didn-t-want-the-same-things-that-they-wanted-and-they-should-know/) [Ling Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ling-ma/) > [There is so much restlessness and chaos in the society, and that's what music depicts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-mitchell/there-is-so-much-restlessness-and-chaos-in-the-society-and-that-s/) [Liz Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-mitchell/) > [Not everyone can wait: neither the sated nor the satisfied nor those without respect can wait. The only ones who can wait are people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/not-everyone-can-wait-neither-the-sated-nor-the-satisfied-nor-those/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Feelings of guilt dominate our work as peacemakers we cannot last long. But when we have opened each other's eyes to the great human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/feelings-of-guilt-dominate-our-work-as-peacemakers-we-cannot-last/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [It is your restlessness that causes chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/it-is-your-restlessness-that-causes-chaos/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately fill up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-a-transformative-experience-to-simply-pause-instead-of/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I am a person who is unhappy with things as they stand. We cannot accept the world as it is. Each day we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-claus/i-am-a-person-who-is-unhappy-with-things-as-they-stand-we-cannot/) [Hugo Claus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-claus/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All of them had a restlessness in common.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Steinbeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/john-steinbeck-71_common_all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common_1933626.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/john-steinbeck-71_common_all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common_1933626.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/john-steinbeck-71_common_all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common_1933626.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All of them had a restlessness in common.” — John Steinbeck", "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": "John Steinbeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All of them had a restlessness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/all-of-them-had-a-restlessness-in-common/#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 } } ] } ```