--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Walking along past the store windows…" description: "\"Walking along past the store windows, into which she peers with her usual eagerness, her usual sense that maybe, today, she will discover behind them s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/margaret-atwood-40_behinds_walking-along-past-the-store-windows-int_980024.jpg" --- # Walking along past the store windows, into which she peers… ![“Walking along past the store windows, into which she peers with her usual eagerness, her usual sense that maybe, today, she will discover behind them something that will truly be worth seeing, she feels as if her feet are not on cement at all but on ice. The blade of the skate floats, she knows…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/margaret-atwood-40_behinds_walking-along-past-the-store-windows-int_980024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/margaret-atwood-40_behinds_walking-along-past-the-store-windows-int_980024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/margaret-atwood-40_behinds_walking-along-past-the-store-windows-int_980024.jpg) > “Walking along past the store windows, into which she peers with her usual eagerness, her usual sense that maybe, today, she will discover behind them something that will truly be worth seeing, she feels as if her feet are not on cement at all but on ice. The blade of the skate floats, she knows, on a thin film of water, which it melts by pressure and which freezes behind it. This is the freedom of the present tense, this sliding edge.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living fully in the present feels like gliding on thin ice, constantly creating and reshaping reality. **In simple terms:** The present moment offers a fragile, dynamic freedom. Key Takeaway Embrace the now and let it shape your path. Themes presence freedom uncertainty growth Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative work - public speaking - decision making - adventure sports Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of impermanence affect your choices? - What does “sliding edge” mean to you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize risk, ignoring potential danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eagerness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eagerness/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ice/) [Olympics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olympics/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Present tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-tense/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“Imagine walking past the place where you lost someone, every single day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/imagine-walking-past-the-place-where-you-lost-someone-every-single-day/) [Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/) > [I like what I see when I’m looking at me when I’m walking past the mirror,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-like-what-i-see-when-i-m-looking-at-me-when-i-m-walking-past-the/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [One day ill be ok with us just walking past each other as if we've never known each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-day-ill-be-ok-with-us-just-walking-past-each-other-as-if-we-ve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you keep walking past the barbers, eventually you'll get a haircut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/if-you-keep-walking-past-the-barbers-eventually-you-ll-get-a-haircut/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [“Some of the best things are done by those with nowhere to turn, by those who don't have time, by those who truly understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/some-of-the-best-things-are-done-by-those-with-nowhere-to-turn-by-2/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Some of the best things are done by those with nowhere to turn, by those who don't have time, by those who truly understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/some-of-the-best-things-are-done-by-those-with-nowhere-to-turn-by/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The I AM statements recorded in Scripture reveal the depths of the Christian life and how God’s children can go deeper by living with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/the-i-am-statements-recorded-in-scripture-reveal-the-depths-of-the/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [Chronocanine Envy: Sadness experienced when one realized that, unlike one's dog, one cannot live only in the present tense. As Kierkegaard said, "Life must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/chronocanine-envy-sadness-experienced-when-one-realized-that-unlike/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [There's a desire for me in the work, even when I'm looking at the past, to be looking from the present. 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Everything that was once present tense is now in the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-reese/that-s-probably-the-worst-thing-about-death-is-turns-into-was/) [Caleb Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-reese/) > [My last defense / Is the present tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/my-last-defense-is-the-present-tense/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? 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All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Walking along past the store windows, into which she peers with her usual eagerness, her usual sense that maybe, today, she will discover behind them something that will truly be worth seeing, she feels as if her feet are not on cement at all but on ice. The blade of the skate floats, she knows, on a thin film of water, which it melts by pressure and which freezes behind it. 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