Certainty Quote by Leif Enger
““Don't you ever doubt it?" Davy asked. And in fact I have. And perhaps will again. But here is what happens. I look out the window at the red farm--for here we live, Sara and I, in a new house across the meadow, a house built by capable arms and open lungs and joyous sweat. Maybe I see our daughter, home from school, picking plums or apples for Roxanna; maybe one of our sons. reading on the grass or painting an upended canoe. Or maybe Sara comes into the room--my darling Sara--with Mr. Cassidy's beloved rolls on a steaming plate. Then I breathe deeply, and certainty enters into me like light, like a piece of science, and curious music seems to hum inside my fingers. Is there a single person on whom I can press belief? No sir. All I can do is say, Here's how it went. Here's what I saw. I've been there and am going back. Make of it what you will.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Good People, 2016
The narrator reflects on fleeting certainty, finding comfort in describing lived experience rather than absolute belief.
In simple terms: Finding comfort in sharing what we see.
Key Takeaway
Share observations to ground yourself.
Themes
uncertainty
observation
family
comfort
Mood
contemplative
reflective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- family dinner
- writing
- daily reflection
- parenting
- home life
Key Concepts
existentialism
narrative truth
subjective reality
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you cope when certainty fades?
- What role does storytelling play in your confidence?
A Different Perspective
Reliance on personal narrative may still leave deeper doubts unresolved.
![“[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics, in so far as disposed through it we are able to reach certainty in other sciences and truth by the exclusion of error.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d13/roger-bacon-15067_able_i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-a_24209.jpg)