--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Meantime do you see me as still working…" description: "\"“Meantime do you see me as still working on the book, still trying to answer such questions as: Is there any ultimate reality, external, conscious and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/malcolm-lowry-8442_books_meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working_797696.jpg" --- # Meantime do you see me as still working on the book, still… ![“Meantime do you see me as still working on the book, still trying to answer such questions as: Is there any ultimate reality, external, conscious and ever-present etc. etc. that can be realised by any such means that may be acceptable to all creeds and religions and suitable to all climes and…” quote by Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/malcolm-lowry-8442_books_meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working_797696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/malcolm-lowry-8442_books_meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working_797696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/malcolm-lowry-8442_books_meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working_797696.jpg) > ““Meantime do you see me as still working on the book, still trying to answer such questions as: Is there any ultimate reality, external, conscious and ever-present etc. etc. that can be realised by any such means that may be acceptable to all creeds and religions and suitable to all climes and countries? Or do you find me between Mercy and Understanding, between Chesed and Binah (but still at Chesed)—my equilibrium, and equilibrium is all, precarious—balancing, teetering over the awful unbridgeable void, the all-but unretraceable path of God’s lightning back to God?...Though it is perhaps a good idea under the circumstances to pretend at least to be proceeding with one's great work on "Secret Knowledge," then one can always say when it never comes out that the title explains this deficiency.”” [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on the endless quest for universal truth, balancing between mercy and understanding, while acknowledging the precariousness of such pursuits. **In simple terms:** Seeking ultimate reality is a fragile, balancing act. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and keep questioning. Themes philosophy spirituality existential search for meaning Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - personal meditation - interfaith dialogue - creative writing Key Concepts metaphysics theology balance human condition Questions to Reflect On - What does “equilibrium” mean to you? - Can true understanding be universal? A Different Perspective The pursuit may be endless and never fully satisfy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Ultimate reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate-reality/) ## Related quotes > [To have as one's ever-present friend, and to be conscious that one has as his ever-present friend, the Holy Spirit and to surrender one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-torrey/to-have-as-one-s-ever-present-friend-and-to-be-conscious-that-one-has/) [R. A. Torrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-torrey/) > [Become intensely conscious of the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/become-intensely-conscious-of-the-present-moment/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Instead of 'watching the thinker,' you can also create a gap in the mind stream simply by directing the focus of your attention into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/instead-of-watching-the-thinker-you-can-also-create-a-gap-in-the-mind/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“An important consequence of these observations is that our consciousness of unexpected events lags considerably behind the real world. Not only do we consciously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/an-important-consequence-of-these-observations-is-that-our/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [The best way to prepare for any moment in the future is to be fully conscious in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-best-way-to-prepare-for-any-moment-in-the-future-is-to-be-fully/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The answer is, who you are cannot be defined through thinking or mental labels or definitions, because it's beyond that. It is the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-answer-is-who-you-are-cannot-be-defined-through-thinking-or/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The person who conveys, 'I am nothing. Make me something,' may all his life have people trying to answer his hidden plea, but their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-coudert/the-person-who-conveys-i-am-nothing-make-me-something-may-all-his/) [Jo Coudert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-coudert/) > [“Do we still remember the question we are trying to answer? Or have we substituted an easier one?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/do-we-still-remember-the-question-we-are-trying-to-answer-or-have-we/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [You are not trying to find the answer to a question, you are simply trying to confirm something you desperately want to believe; That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-are-not-trying-to-find-the-answer-to-a-question-you-are-simply-2/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You are not trying to find the answer to a question, you are simply trying to confirm something you desperately want to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-are-not-trying-to-find-the-answer-to-a-question-you-are-simply/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It's trying to answer that age-old question that if we, as human beings, had the chance, would we do a better job the second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-durance/it-s-trying-to-answer-that-age-old-question-that-if-we-as-human/) [Erica Durance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-durance/) > [When the mind is exhausted in trying to find the answer, the answer dawns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/when-the-mind-is-exhausted-in-trying-to-find-the-answer-the-answer/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [“For thousands of years humanity has been trying to answer the question: “Do we have life after death?” Maybe for the first time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu-ph-d/for-thousands-of-years-humanity-has-been-trying-to-answer-the/) [Dragos Bratasanu, Ph.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu-ph-d/) > [Short answers seem like you don't care even if you are trying to answer. I get the same flack for my short texting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/short-answers-seem-like-you-don-t-care-even-if-you-are-trying-to/) [Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) ## More by Malcolm Lowry > [“Night: and once again, the nightly grapple with death, the room shaking with daemonic orchestras, the snatches of fearful sleep, the voices outside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/night-and-once-again-the-nightly-grapple-with-death-the-room-shaking/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [War is being declared to-morrow here so perhaps you can understand that I have been working under difficulties, but difficulties negligible compared with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/war-is-being-declared-to-morrow-here-so-perhaps-you-can-understand/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“He was safe here; this was the place he loved - sanctuary, the paradise of his despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/he-was-safe-here-this-was-the-place-he-loved-sanctuary-the-paradise/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [What I have absolutely no sympathy with is the legislator, the man who seeks, for his own profit, to exploit the weaknesses of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/what-i-have-absolutely-no-sympathy-with-is-the-legislator-the-man-who/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“The will of man is unconquerable. Even God cannot conquer it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/the-will-of-man-is-unconquerable-even-god-cannot-conquer-it/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“and as they stood in silence before her, prayed again. "Nothing is altered and in spite of God's mercy I am still alone. Though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/and-as-they-stood-in-silence-before-her-prayed-again-nothing-is/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“Far above him a few white clouds were racing windily after a pale gibbous moon. Drink all morning, they said to him, drink all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/far-above-him-a-few-white-clouds-were-racing-windily-after-a-pale/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [Adiós," she added in Spanish, "I have no house only a shadow. But whenever you are in need of a shadow, my shadow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/adi-s-she-added-in-spanish-i-have-no-house-only-a-shadow-but-whenever/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“They were the cars at the fair that were whirling around her; no, they were the planets, while the sun stood, burning and spinning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/they-were-the-cars-at-the-fair-that-were-whirling-around-her-no-they/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“When I should have been producing obscure volumes of verse entitled the Triumph of Humpty Dumpty or the Nose with the Luminous Dong! Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/when-i-should-have-been-producing-obscure-volumes-of-verse-entitled/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“My lover. Oh come to me again as once in May.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/my-lover-oh-come-to-me-again-as-once-in-may/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“I have no house only a shadow. But whenever you are in need of a shadow, my shadow is yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/i-have-no-house-only-a-shadow-but-whenever-you-are-in-need-of-a/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“Indeed, on the face of it, this man of abnormal strength and constitution and obscure ambition, whom Hugh would never know, could never deliver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/indeed-on-the-face-of-it-this-man-of-abnormal-strength-and/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [“Under the Volcano” embraces everything from Dante to Freud to the cabala. Here it shambles like Cervantes, there it rages like Ahab, and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/under-the-volcano-embraces-everything-from-dante-to-freud-to-the/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [War is being declared tomorrow here so perhaps you can understand that I have been working under difficulties, but difficulties negligible compared with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/war-is-being-declared-tomorrow-here-so-perhaps-you-can-understand/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) [Explore all 78 Malcolm Lowry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Meantime do you see me as still working on the book, still trying to answer such questions as: Is there any ultimate reality, external, conscious and ever-present etc. etc. that can be realised by any such means that may be acceptable to all creeds and religions and suitable to all climes and countries? Or do you find me between Mercy and Understanding, between Chesed and Binah (but still at Chesed)—my equilibrium, and equilibrium is all, precarious—balancing, teetering over the awful unbridgeable void, the all-but unretraceable path of God’s lightning back to God?...Though it is perhaps a good idea under the circumstances to pretend at least to be proceeding with one's great work on \"Secret Knowledge,\" then one can always say when it never comes out that the title explains this deficiency.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Malcolm Lowry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working-on-the-book-still-trying-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working-on-the-book-still-trying-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/malcolm-lowry-8442_books_meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working_797696.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/malcolm-lowry-8442_books_meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working_797696.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/malcolm-lowry-8442_books_meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working_797696.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Meantime do you see me as still working on the book, still trying to answer such questions as: Is there any…” — Malcolm Lowry", "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": "Malcolm Lowry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Meantime do you see me as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working-on-the-book-still-trying-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/meantime-do-you-see-me-as-still-working-on-the-book-still-trying-to/#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 } } ] } ```