--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But time … how time first grounds us and…" description: "\"“But time … how time first grounds us and then confounds us. We thought we were being mature when we were only being safe. We imagined we were being re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/julian-barnes-522_enough-time_but-time-how-time-first-grounds-us-and-t_1839664.png" --- # But time … how time first grounds us and then confounds… ![“But time … how time first grounds us and then confounds us. We thought we were being mature when we were only being safe. We imagined we were being responsible but were only being cowardly. What we called realism turned out to be a way of avoiding things rather than facing them. Time … give us…” quote by Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/julian-barnes-522_enough-time_but-time-how-time-first-grounds-us-and-t_1839664.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/julian-barnes-522_enough-time_but-time-how-time-first-grounds-us-and-t_1839664.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/julian-barnes-522_enough-time_but-time-how-time-first-grounds-us-and-t_1839664.png) > ““But time … how time first grounds us and then confounds us. We thought we were being mature when we were only being safe. We imagined we were being responsible but were only being cowardly. What we called realism turned out to be a way of avoiding things rather than facing them. Time … give us enough time and our best-supported decisions will seem wobbly, our certainties whimsical.”” [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time reveals true motives, exposing pretenses and shifting certainties. **In simple terms:** Time shows what’s real versus safe. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions over time. Themes time realism certainty Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career planning - relationships - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does time change your view of decisions? - What does “realism” mean to you? A Different Perspective Time can also distort perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-realism-1820414/) [Confounds Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confounds-thought-2338551/) [Enough time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough-time/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Realism Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism-turned-2338550/) [Thought Mature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-mature-1273251/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We thought we were being mature when we were only being safe. We imagined we were being responsible but were only being cowardly. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/we-thought-we-were-being-mature-when-we-were-only-being-safe-we/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I remember a period in late adolescence when my mind would make itself drunk with images of adventurousness. This is how it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-remember-a-period-in-late-adolescence-when-my-mind-would-make/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Art is beauty, and every exposition of art, whether it be music, painting, or the drama, should be subservient to that one great end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-marlowe/art-is-beauty-and-every-exposition-of-art-whether-it-be-music/) [Julia Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-marlowe/) > [I'm definitely a big believer in the notion that a heightened style can get you closer to an authentic human experience than so-called realism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rian-johnson/i-m-definitely-a-big-believer-in-the-notion-that-a-heightened-style/) [Rian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rian-johnson/) > [Ideologically, I have a lot of problems with that, especially when people toss around that form of story as realism. What's called "realism" is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-corin/ideologically-i-have-a-lot-of-problems-with-that-especially-when/) [Lucy Corin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-corin/) > [“She was irritated, briefly, by the thought that she might be becoming more mature. Why should she become a better person when no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/she-was-irritated-briefly-by-the-thought-that-she-might-be-becoming/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [Will America be the death of English? I'm glad I asked me that. 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'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I was under the influence of the early modern masters, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck and Hemingway, especially, when I was a kid. I reacted against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/i-was-under-the-influence-of-the-early-modern-masters-fitzgerald-and/) [Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/) > [There is no realism in American films. No realism, but something much better, great truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-renoir/there-is-no-realism-in-american-films-no-realism-but-something-much/) [Jean Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-renoir/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“When love carries us away on its brittle wings, we are too intoxicated to comprehend its power. We just want to soar and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balroop-singh/when-love-carries-us-away-on-its-brittle-wings-we-are-too-intoxicated/) [Balroop Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balroop-singh/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) ## More by Julian Barnes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I settled into a contented routine of working, spending my free time with Veronica and, back in my student room, wanking explosively to fantasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-settled-into-a-contented-routine-of-working-spending-my-free-time/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-greatest-patriotism-is-to-tell-your-country-when-it-is-behaving/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is only good vodka and very good vodka—there is no such thing as bad vodka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/there-is-only-good-vodka-and-very-good-vodka-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Alice Munro can move characters through time in a way that no other writer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/alice-munro-can-move-characters-through-time-in-a-way-that-no-other/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Also, when you are young, you think you can predict the likely pains and bleaknesses that age might bring. You imagine yourself being lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/also-when-you-are-young-you-think-you-can-predict-the-likely-pains/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-by-yesterday-and-the-day/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“My train was late, slowed by the usual Sunday engineering work. I got home in the early evening. I remember that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/my-train-was-late-slowed-by-the-usual-sunday-engineering-work-i-got/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [In life, every ending is just the start of another story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-life-every-ending-is-just-the-start-of-another-story/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Indeed, isn’t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that everyone else is exculpated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/indeed-isn-t-the-whole-business-of-ascribing-responsibility-kind-of-a/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/some-of-the-freckles-i-once-loved-are-now-closer-to-liver-spots-but/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“And what percentage of people take up the option to die off?’ She looked at me, her glance telling me to be calm. ‘Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-what-percentage-of-people-take-up-the-option-to-die-off-she/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Explore all 454 Julian Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More Enough time quotes > [If I died If I died tonight would you notice? Would you even care? If I died tonight would you find it humorous? Would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-died-if-i-died-tonight-would-you-notice-would-you-even-care-if-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. 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Which is rather ridiculous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/satire-is-tragedy-plus-time-you-give-it-enough-time-the-public-the/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) [Browse all 941 Enough time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But time … how time first grounds us and then confounds us. We thought we were being mature when we were only being safe. We imagined we were being responsible but were only being cowardly. What we called realism turned out to be a way of avoiding things rather than facing them. 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