--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is it, I thought. This is the part…" description: "\"“This is it, I thought. This is the part of us that makes our brief, improbable little lives worth living: the ability to reach through our own isolati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/martha-beck-961_human-beings_this-is-it-i-thought-this-is-the-part-of_208781.jpg" --- # This is it, I thought. This is the part of us that makes… ![“This is it, I thought. This is the part of us that makes our brief, improbable little lives worth living: the ability to reach through our own isolation and find strength, and comfort, and warmth for and in each other. This is what human beings do. This is what we live for, the way horses live to…” quote by Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/martha-beck-961_human-beings_this-is-it-i-thought-this-is-the-part-of_208781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/martha-beck-961_human-beings_this-is-it-i-thought-this-is-the-part-of_208781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/martha-beck-961_human-beings_this-is-it-i-thought-this-is-the-part-of_208781.jpg) > ““This is it, I thought. This is the part of us that makes our brief, improbable little lives worth living: the ability to reach through our own isolation and find strength, and comfort, and warmth for and in each other. This is what human beings do. This is what we live for, the way horses live to run.”” [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human connection gives meaning, turning isolated, brief lives into shared, purposeful experiences. **In simple terms:** Finding purpose through connection with others. Key Takeaway Seek community to enrich life. Themes connection purpose humanity shared experience meaning solitude Mood reflective hopeful empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - teamwork - family gatherings - online communities Key Concepts existentialism social psychology collective resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you cultivate deep bonds in a busy world? - What role does vulnerability play in connection? A Different Perspective Isolation can still dominate despite connections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-live-385959/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lives Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-worth-1489102/) [Living Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-ability-2160452/) [Worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-living/) ## Related quotes > [This is the part of us that makes our brief, improbable little lives worth living: the ability to reach through our own isolation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/this-is-the-part-of-us-that-makes-our-brief-improbable-little-lives/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Tell others When you love them. This will really make their lives Worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/tell-others-when-you-love-them-this-will-really-make-their-lives/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [By the numbers, by all the official records, here at the confluence of history, of racism, of poverty, and economic power, this is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-numbers-by-all-the-official-records-here-at-the-confluence-of/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [Patriotism is the belief that not all human lives are worth the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/patriotism-is-the-belief-that-not-all-human-lives-are-worth-the-same/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [I know many lives worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-know-many-lives-worth-living/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Israeli lives are worth more than Palestinian ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-olmert/israeli-lives-are-worth-more-than-palestinian-ones/) [Ehud Olmert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-olmert/) > [“No person ever really lives until he has found something worth dying for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-allen/no-person-ever-really-lives-until-he-has-found-something-worth-dying/) [Charles Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-allen/) > [What we most need in our lives, though, is something worth doing, worth it because we care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/what-we-most-need-in-our-lives-though-is-something-worth-doing-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [...it's not enough to fight for a better world; we also have to live lives worth fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-greitens/it-s-not-enough-to-fight-for-a-better-world-we-also-have-to-live/) [Eric Greitens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-greitens/) > [“Nearly half of all human beings live on less than US$2 a day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/nearly-half-of-all-human-beings-live-on-less-than-us-2-a-day/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [As social beings we live with our eyes upon our reflection, but have no assurance of the tranquillity of the waters in which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/as-social-beings-we-live-with-our-eyes-upon-our-reflection-but-have/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [“1. First, human beings are linguistic beings and, as we’ll show, live in concerns unavoidable for linguistic beings.        2. Second, human beings live in history:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-flores/1-first-human-beings-are-linguistic-beings-and-as-we-ll-show-live-in/) [Fernando Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-flores/) > [...one interior life in which all beings live with God, themselves are God, existing in the mighty whole, indistinguishable as the cloudless east is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/one-interior-life-in-which-all-beings-live-with-god-themselves-are/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Human beings cannot live without stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-douglas/human-beings-cannot-live-without-stories/) [Ann Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-douglas/) > [“Gardens by their very nature are fragile beings that live in the two dimensions of time and care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-eck/gardens-by-their-very-nature-are-fragile-beings-that-live-in-the-two/) [Joe Eck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-eck/) ## More by Martha Beck > [Imagine what you'd do if it absolutely didn't matter what people thought of you. Got it? Good. Never go back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/imagine-what-you-d-do-if-it-absolutely-didn-t-matter-what-people/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [In one century, we've added 28 years to our average life span - a change so rapid that our brains couldn't possibly have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/in-one-century-we-ve-added-28-years-to-our-average-life-span-a-change/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [If I tell a man he needs to quit his soul-sucking job, he has to go home and fight with his wife or fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/if-i-tell-a-man-he-needs-to-quit-his-soul-sucking-job-he-has-to-go/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [I was learning to track rhinoceroses in Africa and tracked right up on an animal that really I thought was going to kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/i-was-learning-to-track-rhinoceroses-in-africa-and-tracked-right-up/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [There has never been, and never will be, anyone who sees, thinks, or responds exactly the way you do. Whether you’re revolutionizing physics or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/there-has-never-been-and-never-will-be-anyone-who-sees-thinks-or/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Loneliness is proof that your innate search for connection is intact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/loneliness-is-proof-that-your-innate-search-for-connection-is-intact/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Most of my clients don't realize that the way they look and the way they think about their looks are two separate issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/most-of-my-clients-don-t-realize-that-the-way-they-look-and-the-way/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [The power to bring me out of solitude - or to push me back into it - had never belonged to another person. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-power-to-bring-me-out-of-solitude-or-to-push-me-back-into-it-had/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Learning to quit while you're not ahead, when the dull ooze of depression tells you things are not going to get any better, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/learning-to-quit-while-you-re-not-ahead-when-the-dull-ooze-of/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [The important thing is to tell yourself a life story in which you, the hero, are primarily a problem solver rather than a helpless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-important-thing-is-to-tell-yourself-a-life-story-in-which-you-the/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [A joyful life isn’t about others; it’s about the brightness that is associated with being alive. Your path to it is through anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/a-joyful-life-isn-t-about-others-it-s-about-the-brightness-that-is/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured. Without it, we wouldn't even know what it means to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/fear-is-the-raw-material-from-which-courage-is-manufactured-without/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Many people think passion is a fuzzy feeling that makes taking action effortless. In fact, it's the gritty courage and tenacity to forge onward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/many-people-think-passion-is-a-fuzzy-feeling-that-makes-taking-action/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Angels come in many shapes and sizes, and most of them are not invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/angels-come-in-many-shapes-and-sizes-and-most-of-them-are-not/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Truth itself is something you live, not something you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/truth-itself-is-something-you-live-not-something-you-think/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) [Explore all 318 Martha Beck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) ## More Human beings quotes > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [“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/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Browse all 6,948 Human beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is it, I thought. 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