--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: when you are old and realize that time is…" description: "\"when you are old and realize that time is running out, you start imagining that you have the cure for all the ills of the world in your hand, and get f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/jos-saramago-208_attention_when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-i_3060596.jpg" --- # when you are old and realize that time is running out, you… ![“when you are old and realize that time is running out, you start imagining that you have the cure for all the ills of the world in your hand, and get frustrated because no one pays you any attention.” quote by Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/jos-saramago-208_attention_when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-i_3060596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/jos-saramago-208_attention_when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-i_3060596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/jos-saramago-208_attention_when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-i_3060596.jpg) > “when you are old and realize that time is running out, you start imagining that you have the cure for all the ills of the world in your hand, and get frustrated because no one pays you any attention.” [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing mortality spurs urgency, yet frustration arises when efforts go unnoticed. **In simple terms:** Time pressure creates urgency and frustration. Key Takeaway Channel urgency into purposeful action. Themes mortality urgency recognition Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career deadlines - creative projects - advocacy campaigns Key Concepts existentialism human desire Questions to Reflect On - What drives you when unnoticed? - How can you find meaning beyond external validation? A Different Perspective Not all efforts gain attention; patience is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Cure Ills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cure-ills-1554803/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Frustrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustrated/) [Hand Frustrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hand-frustrated-5132096/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Imagining Cure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagining-cure-5132095/) [Old Realize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-realize-1812704/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Realize Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-time-282383/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time is running out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-is-running-out/) [Time running out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-running-out/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Call immediately. Time is running out. We both need to do something monstrous before we die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-steadman/call-immediately-time-is-running-out-we-both-need-to-do-something/) [Ralph Steadman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-steadman/) > [Time is running out for Iran to address the international community's growing concerns about its nuclear program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/time-is-running-out-for-iran-to-address-the-international-community-s/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There are many disturbing news. We believe that the production of conventional petroleum reached peak oil already in 2006. The oil fields in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatih-birol/there-are-many-disturbing-news-we-believe-that-the-production-of/) [Fatih Birol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatih-birol/) > [That you've got to do anything that you feel is precious. I especially believe that about cultures and languages. You've got to be really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenno/that-you-ve-got-to-do-anything-that-you-feel-is-precious-i-especially/) [Gwenno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenno/) > [Time is running out fast. I think we have maybe a few months -- it could be weeks, it could be days -- before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-buiter/time-is-running-out-fast-i-think-we-have-maybe-a-few-months-it-could/) [Willem Buiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-buiter/) > [People are usually pretty hungry after a funeral. I guess it's because we all realize that time is running out and we better eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/people-are-usually-pretty-hungry-after-a-funeral-i-guess-it-s-because/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [Time is running out for nature and wildlife around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-morgan/time-is-running-out-for-nature-and-wildlife-around-the-world/) [Jennifer Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-morgan/) > [A level of no more than 350 ppm is still feasible, with the help of reforestation and improved agricultural practices, but just barely -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/a-level-of-no-more-than-350-ppm-is-still-feasible-with-the-help-of/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [When time is running out and the score is close, most players are thinking, I don't want to be the one to lose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-west/when-time-is-running-out-and-the-score-is-close-most-players-are/) [Jerry West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-west/) > [Time is running out for us But you just move the hands upon the clock You throw coins in the wishing well For us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/time-is-running-out-for-us-but-you-just-move-the-hands-upon-the-clock/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [Time is running out to deal with climate change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-guilbeault/time-is-running-out-to-deal-with-climate-change/) [Steven Guilbeault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-guilbeault/) > [The place to cure most of the ills of society is in the homes of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/the-place-to-cure-most-of-the-ills-of-society-is-in-the-homes-of-the/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [It is a strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/it-is-a-strangely-irrational-notion-that-there-is-something-in-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Anarchism? You bet your sweet betsy. The only cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy. Much more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/anarchism-you-bet-your-sweet-betsy-the-only-cure-for-the-ills-of/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [There is no short and easy road, no magic cure for those ills which have afflicted mankind from the dawn of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-kellogg/there-is-no-short-and-easy-road-no-magic-cure-for-those-ills-which/) [Frank B. Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-kellogg/) ## More by Jose Saramago > [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? Seriam eles capazes de aprender realmente o que há…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/e-se-as-hist-rias-para-crian-as-passassem-a-ser-de-leitura-obrigat/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-a-king-modesty-would-be-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“the inmates of the second ward in the right wing have decided, at long last, to bury their dead, at least we shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-inmates-of-the-second-ward-in-the-right-wing-have-decided-at-long/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Stretching one arm behind him, the man passed his hand over the horse's coat, his own skin transformed, or skin which had transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/stretching-one-arm-behind-him-the-man-passed-his-hand-over-the-horse/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Explore all 487 Jose Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "when you are old and realize that time is running out, you start imagining that you have the cure for all the ills of the world in your hand, and get frustrated because no one pays you any attention.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Saramago" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-is-running-out-you-start/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-is-running-out-you-start/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/jos-saramago-208_attention_when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-i_3060596.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/jos-saramago-208_attention_when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-i_3060596.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/jos-saramago-208_attention_when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-i_3060596.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“when you are old and realize that time is running out, you start imagining that you have the cure for all…” — Jose Saramago", "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": "Jose Saramago", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "when you are old and realize...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-is-running-out-you-start/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/when-you-are-old-and-realize-that-time-is-running-out-you-start/#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 } } ] } ```