--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it is curious how you can see that an…" description: "\"“But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it. So I still act as tho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/lydia-davis-3244_feelings_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_1147316.png" --- # But it is curious how you can see that an idea is… ![“But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it. So I still act as though my feelings were the center of everything, and they still cause me to end up alone by the living-room window late at night.” quote by Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/lydia-davis-3244_feelings_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_1147316.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/lydia-davis-3244_feelings_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_1147316.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/lydia-davis-3244_feelings_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_1147316.png) > ““But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it. So I still act as though my feelings were the center of everything, and they still cause me to end up alone by the living-room window late at night.”” [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True ideas can be intellectually accepted yet lack emotional conviction, leading to isolation. **In simple terms:** Knowing something isn’t enough without feeling it. Key Takeaway Bridge belief and feeling to act. Themes belief emotion loneliness Mood introspective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal decision making - creative projects - relationship discussions Key Concepts cognitive dissonance self‑reflection motivation Questions to Reflect On - Why do you doubt the truth you know? - How can feeling guide action? A Different Perspective Intellectual acceptance may not translate into practical change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) ## Related quotes > [I do not wish you to act from these truths; no, still and always act from your feelings; only meditate often on these truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/i-do-not-wish-you-to-act-from-these-truths-no-still-and-always-act/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-an-idea-is-absolutely-true-and-2/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [There is a boundary to men's passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-is-a-boundary-to-men-s-passions-when-they-act-from-feelings-but/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [A great part of the disaster of contemporary life lies in the fact that it is organized around feelings. People nearly always act on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/a-great-part-of-the-disaster-of-contemporary-life-lies-in-the-fact/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [“You can’t choose who you fall in love with, but you can choose whether you act on those feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-johnson/you-can-t-choose-who-you-fall-in-love-with-but-you-can-choose-whether/) [Missy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-johnson/) > [Love is a cognitive, willful act. Feelings have very little to do with it, particularly around three o'clock in the morning when the baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-leman/love-is-a-cognitive-willful-act-feelings-have-very-little-to-do-with/) [Kevin Leman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-leman/) > [Consecration is not the act of our feelings but of our WILL.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-b-meyer/consecration-is-not-the-act-of-our-feelings-but-of-our-will/) [F.B. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [A feeling is a wonderful thing for a person to feel.. At times we hardly control how we feel for others.. Like they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/refilwemotaung2/a-feeling-is-a-wonderful-thing-for-a-person-to-feel-at-times-we/) RefilweMotaung2 > [I do believe deeply in perfection. I'm never satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-do-believe-deeply-in-perfection-i-m-never-satisfied/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [“Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the light,even though for the moment you do not see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wilson/believe-more-deeply-hold-your-face-up-to-the-light-even-though-for/) [Bill Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wilson/) > [I believe deeply that children are more powerful than oil, more beautiful than rivers, more precious than any other natural resource a country can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-kaye/i-believe-deeply-that-children-are-more-powerful-than-oil-more/) [Danny Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-kaye/) > [I have always been driven. I have always believed in what I believe very deeply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-campbell/i-have-always-been-driven-i-have-always-believed-in-what-i-believe/) [Alastair Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-campbell/) > [...I believe deeply that we canot solve the challenges of your time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-believe-deeply-that-we-canot-solve-the-challenges-of-your-time/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I have come to believe, deeply and firmly, that we can create a poverty free world if we want to. I came to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/i-have-come-to-believe-deeply-and-firmly-that-we-can-create-a-poverty/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [I believe deeply in therapy. There's no one in the world who wouldn't benefit from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/i-believe-deeply-in-therapy-there-s-no-one-in-the-world-who-wouldn-t/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) ## More by Lydia Davis > [Heart weeps. Head tries to help heart. Head tells heart how it is, again: You will lose the ones you love. They will all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/heart-weeps-head-tries-to-help-heart-head-tells-heart-how-it-is-again/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-even-begin-to-feel-interested-in/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I always interrupt work with other work, either in a small way or big way, so that's normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-always-interrupt-work-with-other-work-either-in-a-small-way-or-big/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-struggle-against-allegory-i-let-the-readers-do/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“because she couldn’t write the name of what she was: a wa wam owm owamn womn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/because-she-couldn-t-write-the-name-of-what-she-was-a-wa-wam-owm/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“Everything was sharper, clearer, and closer, as though, before, I had been seeing only little bits at a time, not all of it, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/everything-was-sharper-clearer-and-closer-as-though-before-i-had-been/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He did not know exactly when to thank his hostess after attending a dinner or a weekend party. In his uncertainty, he would thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-did-not-know-exactly-when-to-thank-his-hostess-after-attending-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“There was no confusion of our bodies. I knew which arm was his and which mine, and which leg, and which shoulder. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/there-was-no-confusion-of-our-bodies-i-knew-which-arm-was-his-and/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“So it’s not really $100 a shot because it goes on all day, from the start when you wake up and feel her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/so-it-s-not-really-100-a-shot-because-it-goes-on-all-day-from-the/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“The people of the town, though, remained strangers: I could not realize that I must be seeing some of them over and over again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-people-of-the-town-though-remained-strangers-i-could-not-realize/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He does not trust her: she will claim to be in a bad mood when she is not, and then require him to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-does-not-trust-her-she-will-claim-to-be-in-a-bad-mood-when-she-is/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I would recommend, definitely, developing a 'day job' that you like - don't expect to make money writing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-would-recommend-definitely-developing-a-day-job-that-you-like-don-t/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [the translator, a lonely sort of acrobat, becomes confused in a labyrinth of paradox, or climbs a pyramid of dependent clauses and has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-translator-a-lonely-sort-of-acrobat-becomes-confused-in-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) [Explore all 135 Lydia Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## More Feelings quotes > [I have a strong feeling about this quick movement and changing of society and populations growing - something scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/i-have-a-strong-feeling-about-this-quick-movement-and-changing-of/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [We never realize the importance of any our action until we be the hunt of same situation in reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fadi/we-never-realize-the-importance-of-any-our-action-until-we-be-the/) [Fadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fadi/) > [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/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If someone really loves you, no matter how many other people they meet, their feelings for you wouldn't change. A real lover cant be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someone-really-loves-you-no-matter-how-many-other-people-they-meet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“I urge you: don't cut short these thought-trains of yours. Follow them through to their end. Your thoughts and your feelings. Follow them through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-urge-you-don-t-cut-short-these-thought-trains-of-yours-follow-them/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Good girls don't hurt other people's feelings. Good girls are not overly aggressive, competitive, or boastful. Good girls please others. But what good girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jane-gilman/good-girls-don-t-hurt-other-people-s-feelings-good-girls-are-not/) [Susan Jane Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jane-gilman/) > [You will never fully understand how much you mean to me, because there are no amount of words that can begin to describe my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-fully-understand-how-much-you-mean-to-me-because-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 21,172 Feelings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it. 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