--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can pretend that your life is going…" description: "\"“You can pretend that your life is going on when really, all along, you’re trapped in a moment you’ll never be able to change.”\" — Lee Martin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/lee-martin-30710_life_you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going_815394.jpg" --- # You can pretend that your life is going on when really… ![“You can pretend that your life is going on when really, all along, you’re trapped in a moment you’ll never be able to change.” quote by Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/lee-martin-30710_life_you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going_815394.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/lee-martin-30710_life_you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going_815394.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/lee-martin-30710_life_you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going_815394.jpg) > ““You can pretend that your life is going on when really, all along, you’re trapped in a moment you’ll never be able to change.”” [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) ## 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 reflects feeling stuck in an unchangeable present, pretending life moves while being trapped in a static moment. **In simple terms:** Feeling stuck while pretending life moves forward. Key Takeaway Recognize and break out of stagnant patterns. Themes stagnation illusion selfawareness Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - mental health - life coaching Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What moments feel unchangeable? - How can you shift perception? A Different Perspective It may overlook agency to change circumstances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I feel really trapped as a comedian - someone who is supposed to be funny and light, making jokes all the time. But I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-cummings/i-feel-really-trapped-as-a-comedian-someone-who-is-supposed-to-be/) [Whitney Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-cummings/) > [I've been allowed to grow over the past twenty years. I've managed to avoid being trapped in one moment of my career and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-ribisi/i-ve-been-allowed-to-grow-over-the-past-twenty-years-i-ve-managed-to/) [Giovanni Ribisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-ribisi/) > [They tell him that there is no why, since the moment simply is and since all of them are trapped in the moment, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-tell-him-that-there-is-no-why-since-the-moment-simply-is-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Just go on to what you pretend is your life but please don't die on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rise-against/just-go-on-to-what-you-pretend-is-your-life-but-please-don-t-die-on-me/) [Rise Against](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rise-against/) > [“I’m too caught up in this…pretend life I’m so completely submersed in. And you know what? I like it. I love it. Even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-murphy/i-m-too-caught-up-in-this-pretend-life-i-m-so-completely-submersed-in/) [Monica Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-murphy/) > [There is no WHY, since the moment simply is, and since all of us are simply trapped in the moment, like bugs in Amber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-is-no-why-since-the-moment-simply-is-and-since-all-of-us-are/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“When you’re born a light is switched on, a light which shines up through your life. As you get older the light still reaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/when-you-re-born-a-light-is-switched-on-a-light-which-shines-up/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) > [“The catchers delight in the moment so frozen but soon discover that the nightingale expires, its clear flutelike song diminishes to silence, the trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/the-catchers-delight-in-the-moment-so-frozen-but-soon-discover-that/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“If you pretend that LIFE is exciting, it will be. That's just how our hearts work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-foley/if-you-pretend-that-life-is-exciting-it-will-be-that-s-just-how-our/) Kay Foley > [So I'll continue to continue to pretend my life will never end, and flowers never bend with the rainfall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/so-i-ll-continue-to-continue-to-pretend-my-life-will-never-end-and/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [Honestly, I'm not perfect & I don't pretend to be. But I only have one life to live & I'm going to take every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/honestly-i-m-not-perfect-i-don-t-pretend-to-be-but-i-only-have-one/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Let us again pretend that life is a solid substance, shaped like a globe, which we turn about in our fingers. Let us pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/let-us-again-pretend-that-life-is-a-solid-substance-shaped-like-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [There was a positive side to not trying at something: you could always pretend that your life would have been different if you had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/there-was-a-positive-side-to-not-trying-at-something-you-could-always/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [I am going to pretend that all life is just a game which I must play as skilfully and fairly as I can. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-am-going-to-pretend-that-all-life-is-just-a-game-which-i-must-play/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [“I know you don't want to scare her, but you can't pretend that her life isn't going to be hard. It's not fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/i-know-you-don-t-want-to-scare-her-but-you-can-t-pretend-that-her/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) ## More by Lee Martin > [“That dream was still in my head, that crazy dream about Katie and me on Dumbo the elephant and Mr. Dees walking in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/that-dream-was-still-in-my-head-that-crazy-dream-about-katie-and-me/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“Uncertainty is a good thing at the end of a narrative. A simultaneous gain and loss captures the complexity of human existence. The way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/uncertainty-is-a-good-thing-at-the-end-of-a-narrative-a-simultaneous/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“When someone you love disappears, it's like the light goes dim, and you're in the shadows. You try to do what people tell you:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/when-someone-you-love-disappears-it-s-like-the-light-goes-dim-and-you/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“That's the way it was, always will be. nothing we can do to make it different. It's a story now, and stories have endings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/that-s-the-way-it-was-always-will-be-nothing-we-can-do-to-make-it/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“Is it too late?" I asked Margot Cherry that afternoon. It's been more than thirty years and still I can remember how my voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/is-it-too-late-i-asked-margot-cherry-that-afternoon-it-s-been-more/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [ “\[sic\]Keep looking up, Mama used to tell me. There's nothing on the ground but your feet.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/sic-keep-looking-up-mama-used-to-tell-me-there-s-nothing-on-the/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“Some folks can't hide things. They don't have enough, not enough money or influence or shame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/some-folks-can-t-hide-things-they-don-t-have-enough-not-enough-money/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“I thought to myself then that it didn't matter where I ended up; I'd always be living that summer in that town, wishing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/i-thought-to-myself-then-that-it-didn-t-matter-where-i-ended-up-i-d/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“... in a snap the world can fall down around you and leave you, for years and years, trying to get back to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/in-a-snap-the-world-can-fall-down-around-you-and-leave-you-for-years/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“The measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/the-measure-of-a-man-s-character-is-what-he-would-do-if-he-knew-he/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“Later, while she was sleeping, she woke to the sound of Ray moving through the house. At first she confused. She thought she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/later-while-she-was-sleeping-she-woke-to-the-sound-of-ray-moving/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“I think it was this: like most of us, he was carrying a misery in his soul. I don't say it to forgive what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/i-think-it-was-this-like-most-of-us-he-was-carrying-a-misery-in-his/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“But there was a flip side to his fastidiousness. He saw that now. It was a nose-in-the-air way of moving through the world. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/but-there-was-a-flip-side-to-his-fastidiousness-he-saw-that-now-it/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“Life had gone on. It always did. that's what you learned as you got older. Time. It kept moving. You wished you could change.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/life-had-gone-on-it-always-did-that-s-what-you-learned-as-you-got/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) > [“The only thing I know now is that we're all connected, everyone of us, even people we don't know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/the-only-thing-i-know-now-is-that-we-re-all-connected-everyone-of-us/) [Lee Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) [Explore all 17 Lee Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You can pretend that your life is going on when really, all along, you’re trapped in a moment you’ll never be able to change.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Martin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going-on-when-really-all-along-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going-on-when-really-all-along-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/lee-martin-30710_life_you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going_815394.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/lee-martin-30710_life_you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going_815394.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/lee-martin-30710_life_you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going_815394.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can pretend that your life is going on when really, all along, you’re trapped in a moment you’ll never…” — Lee Martin", "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": "Lee Martin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-martin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You can pretend that your life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going-on-when-really-all-along-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-martin/you-can-pretend-that-your-life-is-going-on-when-really-all-along-you/#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 } } ] } ```