---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I saw then how I had changed. I did not…"
description: "\"“I saw then how I had changed. I did not mind anymore that I lost when we raced and I lost when we swam out to the rocks and I lost when we tossed spea..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf5/madeline-miller-2938_achilles_i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-m_2793184.jpg"
---

#  I saw then how I had changed. I did not mind anymore that…

![“I saw then how I had changed. I did not mind anymore that I lost when we raced and I lost when we swam out to the rocks and I lost when we tossed spears or skipped stones. For who can be ashamed to lose to such beauty? It was enough to watch him win, to see the soles of his feet flashing as they…” quote by Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf5/madeline-miller-2938_achilles_i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-m_2793184.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf5/madeline-miller-2938_achilles_i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-m_2793184.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf5/madeline-miller-2938_achilles_i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-m_2793184.jpg)

> ““I saw then how I had changed. I did not mind anymore that I lost when we raced and I lost when we swam out to the rocks and I lost when we tossed spears or skipped stones. For who can be ashamed to lose to such beauty? It was enough to watch him win, to see the soles of his feet flashing as they kicked up sand, or the rise and fall of his shoulders as he pulled through the salt. It was enough.””

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Change is accepted when one stops fearing loss and appreciates beauty in competition.

**In simple terms:** Accept change, appreciate beauty.

Key Takeaway

Embrace change, value beauty.

Themes

change acceptance beauty

Mood

thoughtful inspired

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- relationships
- sports
- nature
- personal growth

Key Concepts

growth perspective

Questions to Reflect On

- What losses have taught you?
- How do you find beauty in competition?

A Different Perspective

Loss can still bring insight.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Achilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achilles/) [Greek mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek-mythology/) [Patrochilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patrochilles/) [Patroclus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patroclus/) [Rise and fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-and-fall/) [The-song-of-achilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-song-of-achilles/)

## Related quotes

> [“I conjure the boy I knew. Achilles, grinning as the figs blur in his hands. His green eyes laughing into mine. Catch, he says.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-conjure-the-boy-i-knew-achilles-grinning-as-the-figs-blur-in-his/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“who can be ashamed to lose to such beauty? It was enough to watch him win, to see the soles of his feet flashing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/who-can-be-ashamed-to-lose-to-such-beauty-it-was-enough-to-watch-him/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Above us, the constellations spun and the moon paced her weary course. We lay stricken and sleepless as the hours passed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/above-us-the-constellations-spun-and-the-moon-paced-her-weary-course/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Name one hero who was happy." "You can't." He was sitting up now, leaning forward. "I can't." "I know. They never let you be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/name-one-hero-who-was-happy-you-can-t-he-was-sitting-up-now-leaning/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

## More by Madeline Miller

> [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“This was a man who moved like the gods were watching: every gesture he made was upright and correct. There was no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/this-was-a-man-who-moved-like-the-gods-were-watching-every-gesture-he/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/patroclus-he-says-patroclus-patroclus-over-and-over-until-it-is-sound/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“True is what men believe, and they believe this of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/true-is-what-men-believe-and-they-believe-this-of-you/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Strange that such a small kindness felt like grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/strange-that-such-a-small-kindness-felt-like-grace/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Briseis is kneeling by my body. She has brought water and cloth, and washes the blood and dirt from my skin. Her hands are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/briseis-is-kneeling-by-my-body-she-has-brought-water-and-cloth-and/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [Odysseus inclines his head. "True. But fame is a strange thing. Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/odysseus-inclines-his-head-true-but-fame-is-a-strange-thing-some-men/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“I would like to say that all the while I waited to break out, but the truth is, I'm afraid I might have floated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-would-like-to-say-that-all-the-while-i-waited-to-break-out-but-the/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“I gaped at the cold shock of his beauty, deep-green eyes, features fine as a girl's. It struck from me a sudden, springing dislike.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-gaped-at-the-cold-shock-of-his-beauty-deep-green-eyes-features-fine/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [I found myself grinning until my cheeks hurt, my scalp prickling till I thought it might lift off my head. My tongue ran away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-found-myself-grinning-until-my-cheeks-hurt-my-scalp-prickling-till/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/when-he-died-all-things-soft-and-beautiful-and-bright-would-be-buried/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Bring him back to me,' he told them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bring-him-back-to-me-he-told-them/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Her mouth was a gash of red, like the torn-open stomach of a sacrifice, bloody and oracular. Behind it her teeth shone sharp and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/her-mouth-was-a-gash-of-red-like-the-torn-open-stomach-of-a-sacrifice/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [and her skin shone luminous and impossibly pale, as if it drank light from the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/and-her-skin-shone-luminous-and-impossibly-pale-as-if-it-drank-light/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

[Explore all 142 Madeline Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

## More Achilles quotes

> [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [“Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/patroclus-he-says-patroclus-patroclus-over-and-over-until-it-is-sound/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [There comes a point where certain things are becoming my Achilles heel; you know when you start repeating yourself and saying the same anecdotes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elson/there-comes-a-point-where-certain-things-are-becoming-my-achilles/)

[Karen Elson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elson/)

> [To reveal imprudently the spot where we are most sensitive and vulnerable is to invite a blow. The demigod Achilles admitted no one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/to-reveal-imprudently-the-spot-where-we-are-most-sensitive-and/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/)

[Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/)

> [And overpowered by memory Both men gave way to grief. Priam wept freely For man - killing Hector, throbbing, crouching Before Achilles' feet as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-overpowered-by-memory-both-men-gave-way-to-grief-priam-wept/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [“Briseis is kneeling by my body. She has brought water and cloth, and washes the blood and dirt from my skin. Her hands are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/briseis-is-kneeling-by-my-body-she-has-brought-water-and-cloth-and/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [When we consider the weak and nerveless periods of some literary men, who perchance in feet and inches come up to the standard oftheir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-we-consider-the-weak-and-nerveless-periods-of-some-literary-men/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Personal integrity in Achilles achieves the form and authority of immanent divinity, with its inviolable, lonely singleness, half repellent because of its almost inhuman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-h-whitman/personal-integrity-in-achilles-achieves-the-form-and-authority-of/)

[Cedric H Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-h-whitman/)

> [As the Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe has presciently pointed out, neoliberal corporate globalism threatens to exploit that advantage like never before, and it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/as-the-cameroonian-philosopher-achille-mbembe-has-presciently-pointed/)

[Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/)

> [“I listened and did not speak. Achilles’ eyes were bright in the firelight, his face drawn sharply by the flickering shadows. I would know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-listened-and-did-not-speak-achilles-eyes-were-bright-in-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [At Achilles tomb, O fortunate youth, to have found Homer as the herald of your glory!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/at-achilles-tomb-o-fortunate-youth-to-have-found-homer-as-the-herald/)

[Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/)

> [The Achilles Heel of the Americas was the lack of cultural confidence typical of new settlers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-erickson/the-achilles-heel-of-the-americas-was-the-lack-of-cultural-confidence/)

[Arthur Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-erickson/)

[Browse all 180 Achilles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achilles/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I saw then how I had changed. I did not mind anymore that I lost when we raced and I lost when we swam out to the rocks and I lost when we tossed spears or skipped stones. For who can be ashamed to lose to such beauty? It was enough to watch him win, to see the soles of his feet flashing as they kicked up sand, or the rise and fall of his shoulders as he pulled through the salt. It was enough.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Madeline Miller"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-mind-anymore-that-i-lost-when/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Achilles"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-mind-anymore-that-i-lost-when/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf5/madeline-miller-2938_achilles_i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-m_2793184.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf5/madeline-miller-2938_achilles_i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-m_2793184.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf5/madeline-miller-2938_achilles_i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-m_2793184.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I saw then how I had changed. I did not mind anymore that I lost when we raced and I lost when we swam out…” — Madeline Miller",
                "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": "Madeline Miller",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I saw then how I had...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-mind-anymore-that-i-lost-when/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-saw-then-how-i-had-changed-i-did-not-mind-anymore-that-i-lost-when/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```