--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are ordinarily so indifferent to…" description: "\"We are ordinarily so indifferent to people that when we have invested one of them with the possibility of giving us joy, or suffering, it seems as if h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/marcel-proust-114_giving_we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-peop_3041027.jpg" --- # We are ordinarily so indifferent to people that when we… ![“We are ordinarily so indifferent to people that when we have invested one of them with the possibility of giving us joy, or suffering, it seems as if he must belong to some other universe, he is imbued with poetry.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/marcel-proust-114_giving_we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-peop_3041027.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/marcel-proust-114_giving_we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-peop_3041027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/marcel-proust-114_giving_we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-peop_3041027.jpg) > “We are ordinarily so indifferent to people that when we have invested one of them with the possibility of giving us joy, or suffering, it seems as if he must belong to some other universe, he is imbued with poetry.” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When we invest emotionally in someone, we elevate them to an almost otherworldly status, seeing them through a poetic lens. **In simple terms:** Emotional investment makes people seem extraordinary. Key Takeaway Recognize the poetry in everyday relationships. Themes empathy connection subjectivity Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - friendship - romantic love - family dynamics - artistic inspiration Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does idealization affect intimacy? - Can you balance appreciation with realism? A Different Perspective Idealizing can obscure realistic expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Imbued Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imbued-poetry-5012715/) [Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent/) [Indifferent People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent-people-754038/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-poetry/) [Ordinarily Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinarily-indifferent-5012713/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Belong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-belong-5012714/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [It's fashionable to be indifferent to other people's suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/it-s-fashionable-to-be-indifferent-to-other-people-s-suffering/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Indifferent people are afraid of the world and the repercussions of their own choices. That’s why they don’t make any meaningful choices. They hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/indifferent-people-are-afraid-of-the-world-and-the-repercussions-of/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [Sometimes we have to behave indifferent towards people who proclaim their love to us, just to see if they are really different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-we-have-to-behave-indifferent-towards-people-who-proclaim/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Well, let her—she should see that he could be as indifferent as some other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/well-let-her-she-should-see-that-he-could-be-as-indifferent-as-some/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A different world cannot be built by indifferent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/a-different-world-cannot-be-built-by-indifferent-people/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [Ultimately, whenever you have a new opportunity, do it with gusto and fun and be wholly indifferent to what other people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rinder/ultimately-whenever-you-have-a-new-opportunity-do-it-with-gusto-and/) [Robert Rinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rinder/) > [Nigerian nun Bernadette Duru says the African church hierarchy is indifferent to people in rural areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-poggioli/nigerian-nun-bernadette-duru-says-the-african-church-hierarchy-is/) [Sylvia Poggioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-poggioli/) > [“Because if you walk in a city you’re jostled by hundreds of indifferent people with indifferent eyes that look at you as if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-stevenson/because-if-you-walk-in-a-city-you-re-jostled-by-hundreds-of/) [D.E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-stevenson/) > [We cannot be indifferent to people's life and business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-rouhani/we-cannot-be-indifferent-to-people-s-life-and-business/) [Hassan Rouhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-rouhani/) > [Be with those who help your being. Don't sit with indifferent people, whose breath comes cold out of their mouths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/be-with-those-who-help-your-being-don-t-sit-with-indifferent-people/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“The story Grandpa told us helped me realize that people cannot be divided into groups by ethnicity, religion, or any other feature, only into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savo-heleta/the-story-grandpa-told-us-helped-me-realize-that-people-cannot-be/) [Savo Heleta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savo-heleta/) > [In the love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/in-the-love-poetry-of-every-age-the-woman-longs-to-be-weighed-down-by/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I've had it with these cheap sons of bitches who claim they love poetry but never buy a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/i-ve-had-it-with-these-cheap-sons-of-bitches-who-claim-they-love/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“There are seven billion faces smiling in as many ways But if I don’t see yours, I consider it a wasted day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-wetch/there-are-seven-billion-faces-smiling-in-as-many-ways-but-if-i-don-t/) [Justin Wetch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-wetch/) > [“No! I don’t love you! I just like you, a little. Your lips are sweet, and your eyes are precious to me. No! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zorica-savron/no-i-don-t-love-you-i-just-like-you-a-little-your-lips-are-sweet-and/) [Zorica Savron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zorica-savron/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [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/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are ordinarily so indifferent to people that when we have invested one of them with the possibility of giving us joy, or suffering, it seems as if he must belong to some other universe, he is imbued with poetry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcel Proust" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-people-that-when-we-have-invested/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Giving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-people-that-when-we-have-invested/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/marcel-proust-114_giving_we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-peop_3041027.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/marcel-proust-114_giving_we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-peop_3041027.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/marcel-proust-114_giving_we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-peop_3041027.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are ordinarily so indifferent to people that when we have invested one of them with the possibility of…” — Marcel Proust", "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": "Marcel Proust", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are ordinarily so indifferent to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-people-that-when-we-have-invested/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-people-that-when-we-have-invested/#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 } } ] } ```