--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were moments when one's past came…" description: "\"“There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d5/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_there-were-moments-when-one-s-past-came_855158.jpg" --- # There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it… ![“There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence…” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d5/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_there-were-moments-when-one-s-past-came_855158.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d5/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_there-were-moments-when-one-s-past-came_855158.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d5/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_there-were-moments-when-one-s-past-came_855158.jpg) > ““There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence. And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention. It looked at you with a vengeful aspect.”” [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## 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 describes how past memories can intrude as unsettling dreams, creating a feeling of oppressive stillness rather than peace, suggesting a relentless, unknowable force watching us. **In simple terms:** Memories can become unsettling dreams that feel oppressive. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront lingering past influences. Themes memory dreams inner conflict existential dread Mood reflective somber introspective Type literary philosophical existential When to use this quote - nighttime reflection - creative writing - therapy sessions - philosophical discussions Key Concepts psychology nostalgia existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What unresolved memories shape your present? - How can you transform oppressive stillness into purposeful action? A Different Perspective The stillness may also bring moments of clarity and insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Serenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serenity/) [Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness/) [Strange world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-world/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/what-will-really-release-the-kundalini-is-creating-a-stillness-in/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Start each day in my peace and stillness, then you can go forth and face whatever the day may bring in perfect peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-caddy/start-each-day-in-my-peace-and-stillness-then-you-can-go-forth-and/) [Eileen Caddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-caddy/) > [“In the utter peace and stillness the world seemed holding its breath, a little apprehensively, drawing near to the fire to warm itself. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/in-the-utter-peace-and-stillness-the-world-seemed-holding-its-breath/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [“The years of stillness, with a life of illness taught me how to fly. Ironic really, they clipped my wings to try and trap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/the-years-of-stillness-with-a-life-of-illness-taught-me-how-to-fly/) [Nikki rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [We meditate so we can see miracles unfolding. Without stillness life is a blur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/we-meditate-so-we-can-see-miracles-unfolding-without-stillness-life/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [Walk in nature. Take the time to be still. Practicing arts, arranging flowers, doing some drawing, working on a computer, brings a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/walk-in-nature-take-the-time-to-be-still-practicing-arts-arranging/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Ann, I know it’s hard to understand, but in that wonderful stillness, life becomes a dream and God becomes real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rector/ann-i-know-it-s-hard-to-understand-but-in-that-wonderful-stillness/) Joseph Rector > [It is in that inner peace and stillness that things begin to happen, and it was in that peace and stillness that I began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-caddy/it-is-in-that-inner-peace-and-stillness-that-things-begin-to-happen/) [Eileen Caddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-caddy/) > [Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/blessed-are-the-single-hearted-for-they-shall-enjoy-much-peace-if-you/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) > [Build pockets of stillness into your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/build-pockets-of-stillness-into-your-life/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) > [“Take this great thought, and dwell upon it: There is nothing to fear in all of the universe! You have the power of control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-this-great-thought-and-dwell-upon-it-there-is-nothing-to-fear-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The sun, like a golden knife, was steadily paring away the edge of the shade beside the walls.The streets were enclosed between old, whitewashed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/the-sun-like-a-golden-knife-was-steadily-paring-away-the-edge-of-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [“The dead are orphans. No company but the silence like a moth's wing. An end to the agony of movement, to the long nightmare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bachman/the-dead-are-orphans-no-company-but-the-silence-like-a-moth-s-wing-an/) [Richard Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bachman/) ## More by Joseph Conrad > [“Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/hunters-for-gold-or-pursuers-of-fame-they-all-had-gone-out-on-that/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Let the earth and the sea each have its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/let-the-earth-and-the-sea-each-have-its-own/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t-get-away/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“A fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-fool-what-with-sheer-fright-and-fine-sentiments-is-always-safe/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-mind-of-man-is-capable-of-anything-because-everything-is-in-it/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive and wild -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/perhaps-on-some-quiet-night-the-tremor-of-far-off-drums-sinking/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“All that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-that-mysterious-life-of-the-wilderness-that-stirs-in-the-forest/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-s-only-those-who-do-nothing-that-make-no-mistakes-i-suppose/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I found myself back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-found-myself-back-in-the-sepulchral-city-resenting-the-sight-of/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Society was calling to its accomplished child to come, to be taken care of, to be instructed, to be judged, to be condemned; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/society-was-calling-to-its-accomplished-child-to-come-to-be-taken/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-was-constantly-watching-myself-my-secret-self-as-dependent-on-my/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Explore all 645 Joseph Conrad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence. And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention. 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