--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Have you never noticed how absorbed…" description: "\"“Have you never noticed how absorbed people look as they climb from floor to floor? So many resolutions reached, so many anxious questions to which the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/julien-green-13685_dreams_have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-peop_1006280.jpg" --- # Have you never noticed how absorbed people look as they… ![“Have you never noticed how absorbed people look as they climb from floor to floor? So many resolutions reached, so many anxious questions to which the answers lie in wait behind the door that is about to open! Here on the stairs is the time and the place for making up your mind, that final moment…” quote by Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/julien-green-13685_dreams_have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-peop_1006280.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/julien-green-13685_dreams_have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-peop_1006280.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/julien-green-13685_dreams_have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-peop_1006280.jpg) > ““Have you never noticed how absorbed people look as they climb from floor to floor? So many resolutions reached, so many anxious questions to which the answers lie in wait behind the door that is about to open! Here on the stairs is the time and the place for making up your mind, that final moment for reflection before you take the plunge. As a result there appears to linger, in some of those great circular stairwells, a residue of the dreams that they have sheltered, a memory, as it were, of the meditations in which love, lust, and world-weariness fought for the hearts of all the nameless people who ever passed that way.”” [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Climbing stairs symbolizes progressive decisions; each step invites reflection before committing, mixing hope, desire, and weariness. **In simple terms:** Stairs represent choices and reflection before big decisions. Key Takeaway Pause to reflect before major commitments. Themes decision making reflection journey hope desire weariness Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - relationship decisions - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What does each “step” represent in your life? - How do you balance hope and weariness? A Different Perspective Reflection may delay action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) ## Related quotes > [“A moment of reflection would bring the light closer so that you could better see the red flag waving in front of your blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-w-allison/a-moment-of-reflection-would-bring-the-light-closer-so-that-you-could/) [Calvin W. Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-w-allison/) > [“For instance, when I flung the cat out of an upper window (though I did it from no ill-feeling, and it didn't hurt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/for-instance-when-i-flung-the-cat-out-of-an-upper-window-though-i-did/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [“Beyond a certain age, a journey across the city becomes uncomfortably reflective...One day I too will prompt a moment's reflection in the passenger of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/beyond-a-certain-age-a-journey-across-the-city-becomes-uncomfortably/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Even a moment's reflection will help you see that the problem of using your time well is not a problem of the mind but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/even-a-moment-s-reflection-will-help-you-see-that-the-problem-of/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [A moment's reflection shows that Liberalism is entirely negative. It is not a formative force, but always and only a disintegrating force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-parker-yockey/a-moment-s-reflection-shows-that-liberalism-is-entirely-negative-it/) [Francis Parker Yockey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-parker-yockey/) > [Sometimes we were together today, not even a moment's reflection to me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/sometimes-we-were-together-today-not-even-a-moment-s-reflection-to-me/) Mak\_786 > [“An increased power of reflection like an increased knowledge only adds to man's affliction, and above all it is certain that for the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/an-increased-power-of-reflection-like-an-increased-knowledge-only/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [“A moment's reflection will convince any one that prosperity cannot come from continued plunging into debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mellon/a-moment-s-reflection-will-convince-any-one-that-prosperity-cannot/) [Andrew Mellon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mellon/) > [When I saw 'Breakfast at Tiffany's,' and Audrey Hepburn was standing in front of Tiffany's in this Givenchy dress, or when I saw 'All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-whitfield/when-i-saw-breakfast-at-tiffany-s-and-audrey-hepburn-was-standing-in/) [Lynn Whitfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-whitfield/) > [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [I'm neurotic in the sense that I can have a crowd of 300 people cheering you, applauding you, standing O, but one guy come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-m-neurotic-in-the-sense-that-i-can-have-a-crowd-of-300-people/) [Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/) > [When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. And this drives me crazy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/when-i-go-to-my-health-club-and-it-s-in-the-basement-you-have-to-take/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“We headed down a narrow flight of stairs that ended at a low arch. Beyond the arch was yet another murky room. Did these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/we-headed-down-a-narrow-flight-of-stairs-that-ended-at-a-low-arch/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [I'd think the house was the source of great sadness or pressure. I knew it wasn't. I knew it was just where I lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-granduciel/i-d-think-the-house-was-the-source-of-great-sadness-or-pressure-i/) [Adam Granduciel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-granduciel/) > [The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-girard/the-elevator-to-success-is-out-of-order-you-ll-have-to-use-the-stairs/) [Joe Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-girard/) ## More by Julien Green > [“The novelist is like a scout commissioned to go and see what is happening in the depth of the soul. He comes back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/the-novelist-is-like-a-scout-commissioned-to-go-and-see-what-is/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [Perhaps the greatest consolation of the oppressed is to consider themselves superior to their tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/perhaps-the-greatest-consolation-of-the-oppressed-is-to-consider/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [I have always thought that by observing things with a great deal of attention you eventually wrest some of their secrets from them, making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/i-have-always-thought-that-by-observing-things-with-a-great-deal-of/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“It has become somewhat trite, nowadays, to say that after so many years of destruction it is a kind of miracle that Paris is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/it-has-become-somewhat-trite-nowadays-to-say-that-after-so-many-years/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [The secret is to write just anything, to dare to write just anything, because when you write just anything, you begin to say what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/the-secret-is-to-write-just-anything-to-dare-to-write-just-anything/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“Sometimes we do things, without thinking, that make no sense to us until much later, and yet appear to have been prompted by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/sometimes-we-do-things-without-thinking-that-make-no-sense-to-us/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [If people only knew what lies at the heart of my novels! What a tumult of desires these carefully written pages conceal! I sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/if-people-only-knew-what-lies-at-the-heart-of-my-novels-what-a-tumult/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“What we give the world, we have borrowed from no one; it is ours. It may be taken from us, stolen from us, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/what-we-give-the-world-we-have-borrowed-from-no-one-it-is-ours-it-may/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/the-greatest-explorer-on-this-earth-never-takes-voyages-as-long-as/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [A dish around which I see too many people doesn't tempt me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/a-dish-around-which-i-see-too-many-people-doesn-t-tempt-me/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“Things we could not tell each other with the width of the Atlantic between us we communicated from heart to heart in those imaginary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/things-we-could-not-tell-each-other-with-the-width-of-the-atlantic/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“I am the road running through Paris," says the Seine. 'I have carried off many images since you were a child and reflected many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/i-am-the-road-running-through-paris-says-the-seine-i-have-carried-off/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“A novelist is like a scout commissioned to go and see what is happening in the depth of the soul. He comes back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/a-novelist-is-like-a-scout-commissioned-to-go-and-see-what-is/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [I enter the world called real as one enters a mist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/i-enter-the-world-called-real-as-one-enters-a-mist/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [Thought flies and words go on foot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/thought-flies-and-words-go-on-foot/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) [Explore all 35 Julien Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) ## 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": "“Have you never noticed how absorbed people look as they climb from floor to floor? So many resolutions reached, so many anxious questions to which the answers lie in wait behind the door that is about to open! Here on the stairs is the time and the place for making up your mind, that final moment for reflection before you take the plunge. As a result there appears to linger, in some of those great circular stairwells, a residue of the dreams that they have sheltered, a memory, as it were, of the meditations in which love, lust, and world-weariness fought for the hearts of all the nameless people who ever passed that way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julien Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-people-look-as-they-climb-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-people-look-as-they-climb-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/julien-green-13685_dreams_have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-peop_1006280.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/julien-green-13685_dreams_have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-peop_1006280.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/julien-green-13685_dreams_have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-peop_1006280.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Have you never noticed how absorbed people look as they climb from floor to floor? So many resolutions…” — Julien Green", "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": "Julien Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Have you never noticed how absorbed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-people-look-as-they-climb-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/have-you-never-noticed-how-absorbed-people-look-as-they-climb-from/#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 } } ] } ```