--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It says, I think, that at root that we're…" description: "\"It says, I think, that at root that we're children, or we'd like to be. And the best of us each keep as much of that childhood with us as we grow into ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/john-thorn-14783_able_it-says-i-think-that-at-root-that-we-re_1206136.png" --- # It says, I think, that at root that we're children, or… ![“It says, I think, that at root that we're children, or we'd like to be. And the best of us each keep as much of that childhood with us as we grow into adulthood, as we can muster... And even after we're past the point of being able to play the game with any skill, if we love it, then it's like…” quote by John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/john-thorn-14783_able_it-says-i-think-that-at-root-that-we-re_1206136.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/john-thorn-14783_able_it-says-i-think-that-at-root-that-we-re_1206136.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/john-thorn-14783_able_it-says-i-think-that-at-root-that-we-re_1206136.png) > “It says, I think, that at root that we're children, or we'd like to be. And the best of us each keep as much of that childhood with us as we grow into adulthood, as we can muster... And even after we're past the point of being able to play the game with any skill, if we love it, then it's like Peter Pan - we remain boys forever, we don't die.” [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) ## 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 the idea that retaining childlike wonder and love for a game keeps the spirit alive, even when skill declines, likening it to eternal youth. **In simple terms:** Keeping childlike love for a game preserves its magic. Key Takeaway Cherish the joy of play. Themes nostalgia playfulness eternal youth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - sports coaching - creative hobbies - community games - personal growth Key Concepts psychology of play lifelong learning Questions to Reflect On - What activities keep you feeling youthful? - How can you balance childlike joy with adult responsibilities? A Different Perspective May overlook the need for skill development and realistic expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Honey, people never grow up. Adulthood is just high school with Restylane. You of all people should know that by now. Toodles, bitch!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sororityproblem/honey-people-never-grow-up-adulthood-is-just-high-school-with/) SororityProblem > [To tell the truth, fishermen remain always boys as far as their amusement goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-russell/to-tell-the-truth-fishermen-remain-always-boys-as-far-as-their/) [Harold Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-russell/) > [“Just like a newborn child, when we are born again, it takes time to grow to adulthood. Along the way, we will fall many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-gillette/just-like-a-newborn-child-when-we-are-born-again-it-takes-time-to/) Britt Gillette > [“Men are like that... They remain boys...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/men-are-like-that-they-remain-boys/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Some people mature too fast, some too slow. Some never had a childhood, some never grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-mature-too-fast-some-too-slow-some-never-had-a-childhood/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most artists probably feel lonely or set apart in childhood. But they grow up and find people who share their interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-solomon/most-artists-probably-feel-lonely-or-set-apart-in-childhood-but-they/) [Deborah Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-solomon/) > [I got bullied a lot when I was a kid, and because of that I thought for the most part that I didn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-koyczan/i-got-bullied-a-lot-when-i-was-a-kid-and-because-of-that-i-thought/) [Shane Koyczan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-koyczan/) > [Most places we leave in childhood grow less, not more, fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/most-places-we-leave-in-childhood-grow-less-not-more-fancy/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I use all my skills that I can muster up, but the fun thing is that I find some untapped skills every once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-use-all-my-skills-that-i-can-muster-up-but-the-fun-thing-is-that-i/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Movies are one of the bad habits that have corrupted our century. They have slipped into the American mind more misinformation in one evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hecht/movies-are-one-of-the-bad-habits-that-have-corrupted-our-century-they/) [Ben Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hecht/) > [Will you keep going when you don't know why? When you can't get any answers that would make the pain go away, will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/will-you-keep-going-when-you-don-t-know-why-when-you-can-t-get-any/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [No man can hope to accomplish anything great in this world until he throws his whole soul, flings the force of his whole life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/no-man-can-hope-to-accomplish-anything-great-in-this-world-until-he/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [I have noticed that no sooner do people embark on a course of action which they do not find wholly satisfactory than they muster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morice/i-have-noticed-that-no-sooner-do-people-embark-on-a-course-of-action/) Anne Morice > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) ## More by John Thorn > [In over 160 years of recorded baseball history, no team had ever won a championship this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/in-over-160-years-of-recorded-baseball-history-no-team-had-ever-won-a/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [One of the first lessons he or she learns is that in baseball anything, absolutely anything, can happen. Just two days ago as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/one-of-the-first-lessons-he-or-she-learns-is-that-in-baseball/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Life is more about losing than winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/life-is-more-about-losing-than-winning/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Why we play as children is not because it is our work or because it is how we learn, though both statements are true;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/why-we-play-as-children-is-not-because-it-is-our-work-or-because-it/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [We are fans because the game also appeals to our local pride, our pleasure in thinking of ourselves as, yes, Americans but nonetheless different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/we-are-fans-because-the-game-also-appeals-to-our-local-pride-our/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Pursuing employment or climatic relief, we live in voluntary exile from our extended families and our longer past, but in an involuntary exile from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/pursuing-employment-or-climatic-relief-we-live-in-voluntary-exile/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [There was much woe and lamentation in the seventies that the game was dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/there-was-much-woe-and-lamentation-in-the-seventies-that-the-game-was/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [The heroes of our youth grow old - 'the boys of summer in their ruin,' in Dylan Thomas's verse - yet we seem the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/the-heroes-of-our-youth-grow-old-the-boys-of-summer-in-their-ruin-in/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Finally, for all of us but a lucky few, the dream of playing big-time baseball is relinquished so we can get on with grown-up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/finally-for-all-of-us-but-a-lucky-few-the-dream-of-playing-big-time/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [If I haven't made myself clear, this worrisome chain of events describes the game of the nineteenth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/if-i-haven-t-made-myself-clear-this-worrisome-chain-of-events/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [My egotistical concern was less that I would fail to relate to my classmates than that they would know nothing of my uniquely tortured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/my-egotistical-concern-was-less-that-i-would-fail-to-relate-to-my/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [More fundamentally, it is a dream that does not die with the onset of manhood: the dream is to play endlessly, past the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/more-fundamentally-it-is-a-dream-that-does-not-die-with-the-onset-of/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Yes, we've seen it all before. And yes, those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it. But no, the sky is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/yes-we-ve-seen-it-all-before-and-yes-those-who-do-not-study-history/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [We know these men are professionals whose services are up for bid and whose bags are packed, and yet we call them our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/we-know-these-men-are-professionals-whose-services-are-up-for-bid-and/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [The National League was born the following year, as an attempt to exert the control of capital over labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/the-national-league-was-born-the-following-year-as-an-attempt-to/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) [Explore all 45 John Thorn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It says, I think, that at root that we're children, or we'd like to be. And the best of us each keep as much of that childhood with us as we grow into adulthood, as we can muster... 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