Childhood Quote by Karen E. Bender
““It was not their first choice, and they did not know if they would ever feel at home there, but they could afford, finally, a small house as well as a car. They had found their own happiness, weighted by resignation: that they were who they were, that they could never truly know the thoughts of another person, that their love was bruised by the carelessness of their own parents (his mother, her father); that they would wander the world in their dreams with ghostly, intangible lovers, that their children would move from adoration of them to fury, that they and their parents would die in different cities, that they would never accomplish anything that would leave any lasting mark on the world. They had longed for this, from the first lonely moment of their childhoods when they realized they could not marry their fathers or mothers, through the burning romanticism of their teens, to the bustling search of their twenties, and there was the faint regret that this tumult and exhaustion was what they had longed for too, and soon it would be gone.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: "The Longing" by Karen E. Bender, 2023
People seek belonging and love despite resignation, but their lives may leave little lasting impact.
In simple terms: Life is a mix of longing and resignation.
Embrace moments, not legacy.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal relationships
- career choices
- creative pursuits
- family dynamics
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What gives your life meaning?
- How do you cope with unfulfilled dreams?
Acceptance of impermanence can be painful.