--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If just looking could be so satisfying…" description: "\"“If just looking could be so satisfying, why was I always striving to have things or to get things done? Certainly I had never suspected that the key t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/marion-milner-18189_quote_if-just-looking-could-be-so-satisfying-w_2058944.jpg" --- # If just looking could be so satisfying, why was I always… ![“If just looking could be so satisfying, why was I always striving to have things or to get things done? Certainly I had never suspected that the key to my private reality might lie in so apparently simple a skill as the ability to let the senses roam unfettered by purposes. I began to wonder…” quote by Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/marion-milner-18189_quote_if-just-looking-could-be-so-satisfying-w_2058944.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/marion-milner-18189_quote_if-just-looking-could-be-so-satisfying-w_2058944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/marion-milner-18189_quote_if-just-looking-could-be-so-satisfying-w_2058944.jpg) > ““If just looking could be so satisfying, why was I always striving to have things or to get things done? Certainly I had never suspected that the key to my private reality might lie in so apparently simple a skill as the ability to let the senses roam unfettered by purposes. I began to wonder whether eyes and ears might not have a wisdom of their own.”” [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True fulfillment comes from observing without agenda, allowing senses to guide us rather than constant goal‑chasing. **In simple terms:** Seeing without purpose brings deeper peace. Key Takeaway Practice mindful observation. Themes mindfulness perception inner peace Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - nature walks - creative work - stress relief Key Concepts sensory awareness non‑attachment presence Questions to Reflect On - How can you create space for purposeless observation? - What does your mind notice when you stop planning? A Different Perspective It can be hard to quiet the mind and resist productivity pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ears Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears-wisdom-3918127/) [Let Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-senses-3918128/) [Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking/) [Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [We have all heard what we wanted to hear truth that sounds right to our ears but what wisdom is there within us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/as-i-lay-dying/we-have-all-heard-what-we-wanted-to-hear-truth-that-sounds-right-to-2/) [As I Lay Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/as-i-lay-dying/) > [“When we limit our experience to what we perceive, we let our senses define our existence. Unless we are willing to step out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vint-virga/when-we-limit-our-experience-to-what-we-perceive-we-let-our-senses/) [Vint Virga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vint-virga/) > [“It does not do to let the senses fall asleep, whether in the shade of the sacred tree or in the shadow of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-does-not-do-to-let-the-senses-fall-asleep-whether-in-the-shade-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-must-live-in-the-present-launch-yourself-on-every-wave-find-your/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The language of gardening fuels the senses: talk with your hands, observe with your ears and listen with your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/costa-georgiadis/the-language-of-gardening-fuels-the-senses-talk-with-your-hands/) [Costa Georgiadis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/costa-georgiadis/) > [We don't have a language for the senses. Feelings are images, sensations are like musical sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-don-t-have-a-language-for-the-senses-feelings-are-images/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Out in the field I try not to hold expectations. I try to achieve an openness. The senses heighten so that I am totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-lazelle/out-in-the-field-i-try-not-to-hold-expectations-i-try-to-achieve-an/) [Keith Lazelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-lazelle/) > [An odd thing happens when we die, our senses vanish. Taste, touch, smell and sound become a distant memory, but our sight? Ah, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desperate-housewives/an-odd-thing-happens-when-we-die-our-senses-vanish-taste-touch-smell/) [Desperate Housewives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desperate-housewives/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [A counted number of pulses only is given to us of a variegated, dramatic life. How may we see in them all that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/a-counted-number-of-pulses-only-is-given-to-us-of-a-variegated/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) [Cruce Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cruce-stark/) ## More by Marion Milner > [Sometimes I find that in my happy moments I could not believe that I had ever been miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/sometimes-i-find-that-in-my-happy-moments-i-could-not-believe-that-i/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“By continual watching and expression I must learn to observe my thought and maintain a vigilance, not against “wrong” thoughts, but against refusal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/by-continual-watching-and-expression-i-must-learn-to-observe-my/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [Happiness not only needs no justification, but it is also the only final test of whether what I am doing is right for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/happiness-not-only-needs-no-justification-but-it-is-also-the-only/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [Love is not getting, but giving. It is sacrifice. And sacrifice is glorious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/love-is-not-getting-but-giving-it-is-sacrifice-and-sacrifice-is/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“Blind thinking… could make me pretend I was being true to myself when really I was only being true to an infantile fear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/blind-thinking-could-make-me-pretend-i-was-being-true-to-myself-when/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [until you have, once at least, faced everything you know - the whole universe - with utter giving in, and let all that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/until-you-have-once-at-least-faced-everything-you-know-the-whole/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [Perhaps if one really knew when one was happy one would know the things that were necessary in one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/perhaps-if-one-really-knew-when-one-was-happy-one-would-know-the/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“Let no one think it is an easy way because it is concerned with moments of happiness rather than with stern duty or high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/let-no-one-think-it-is-an-easy-way-because-it-is-concerned-with/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [It's weak and despicable to go on wanting things and not trying to get them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/it-s-weak-and-despicable-to-go-on-wanting-things-and-not-trying-to/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“If emotion and fatigue lowered the potency of thought, what raised it? I began to reconsider my moments of delight in terms of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/if-emotion-and-fatigue-lowered-the-potency-of-thought-what-raised-it/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“I had just begun to ponder over the fact that all the things which I had found to be sources of happiness seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/i-had-just-begun-to-ponder-over-the-fact-that-all-the-things-which-i/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“It struck me as odd that it had taken me so long to reach a feeling of sureness that there was something in me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/it-struck-me-as-odd-that-it-had-taken-me-so-long-to-reach-a-feeling/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“Here then was a deadlock. I wanted to get the most out of life, but the more I tried to grasp, the more I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/here-then-was-a-deadlock-i-wanted-to-get-the-most-out-of-life-but-the/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [“I had been continually exhorted to define my purpose in life, but I was now beginning to doubt whether life might not be too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/i-had-been-continually-exhorted-to-define-my-purpose-in-life-but-i/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) > [I want to feel myself part of things, of the great drift and swirl: not cut off, missing things, like being sent to bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-milner/i-want-to-feel-myself-part-of-things-of-the-great-drift-and-swirl-not/) [Marion Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) [Explore all 35 Marion Milner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-milner/) ## More Looking quotes > [I'm tired of looking for the perfect guy. From now on.. he can look for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-tired-of-looking-for-the-perfect-guy-from-now-on-he-can-look-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [Once you stop looking for what you what you find exactly what you need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia/once-you-stop-looking-for-what-you-what-you-find-exactly-what-you-need/) [Cynthia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia/) > [I'm looking to fight the best guys in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yair-rodriguez/i-m-looking-to-fight-the-best-guys-in-the-world/) [Yair Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yair-rodriguez/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Nothing is really broke, so it's not like I can fix it. I just have to keep trying to find what I'm looking for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/nothing-is-really-broke-so-it-s-not-like-i-can-fix-it-i-just-have-to/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [The hard-working Mexican tries to get up here looking for opportunities because America's one of the greatest countries in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-ruiz-jr/the-hard-working-mexican-tries-to-get-up-here-looking-for/) [Andy Ruiz Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-ruiz-jr/) > [Whenever I was flying commercial, I would land in Chicago, and they would announce, 'Get your passports out.' It happened so often, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-khan/whenever-i-was-flying-commercial-i-would-land-in-chicago-and-they/) [Shahid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-khan/) > [If it comes, it comes, but its not like a main focus. If you go looking for something youre never gone find what youre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akon/if-it-comes-it-comes-but-its-not-like-a-main-focus-if-you-go-looking/) [Akon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akon/) > [I've played a mother before, but it's always been a very young child, which is closer to what I can imagine my own life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-riseborough/i-ve-played-a-mother-before-but-it-s-always-been-a-very-young-child/) [Andrea Riseborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-riseborough/) > [“I’ve been looking for you my whole damn life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/i-ve-been-looking-for-you-my-whole-damn-life/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“God isn't looking for perfect people. He is looking to perfect people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hileman/god-isn-t-looking-for-perfect-people-he-is-looking-to-perfect-people/) [John Hileman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hileman/) > [The woman who gave birth to me, I don't have a relationship with. I'm not looking for one, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-fisher/the-woman-who-gave-birth-to-me-i-don-t-have-a-relationship-with-i-m/) [Jordan Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-fisher/) > [It's very important to me that I look good when I go out publicly. I like looking at my clothes rack in the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wintour/it-s-very-important-to-me-that-i-look-good-when-i-go-out-publicly-i/) [Anna Wintour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wintour/) [Browse all 5,428 Looking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If just looking could be so satisfying, why was I always striving to have things or to get things done? Certainly I had never suspected that the key to my private reality might lie in so apparently simple a skill as the ability to let the senses roam unfettered by purposes. 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