---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And meanwhile time goes about its…"
description: "\"“And meanwhile time goes about its immemorial work of making everyone look and feel like shit.”\" — Martin Amis"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/martin-amis-704_age_and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemo_1190642.jpg"
---

#  And meanwhile time goes about its immemorial work of…

![“And meanwhile time goes about its immemorial work of making everyone look and feel like shit.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/martin-amis-704_age_and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemo_1190642.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/martin-amis-704_age_and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemo_1190642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/martin-amis-704_age_and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemo_1190642.jpg)

> ““And meanwhile time goes about its immemorial work of making everyone look and feel like shit.””

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Time relentlessly erodes everyone, eventually leaving all feeling degraded and miserable.

**In simple terms:** Time makes everyone feel terrible eventually.

Key Takeaway

Accept impermanence and seek meaning.

Themes

time existential decay human condition

Mood

melancholic critical

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- aging
- career burnout
- relationship breakdown
- creative blocks

Key Concepts

mortality philosophical pessimism social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we find hope amidst inevitable decline?
- What practices help mitigate the feeling of being “shit”?

A Different Perspective

May be overly bleak.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“And meanwhile time goes about its immemorial work of making everyone look and feel like shit. You got that? And meanwhile time goes about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemorial-work-of-making-everyone-2/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [If your gonna talk like you kno shit, if your gonna act like your shit if, your gonna try to be shit, your gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-your-gonna-talk-like-you-kno-shit-if-your-gonna-act-like-your-shit/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Neil, does it seriously make your day to treat me like shit?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/neil-does-it-seriously-make-your-day-to-treat-me-like-shit/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“And Kyle says, "It's like when I'm with her, all the shit from my past doesn't even matter. Nothing does. I don't think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-myers/and-kyle-says-it-s-like-when-i-m-with-her-all-the-shit-from-my-past/)

[Jason Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-myers/)

> [Morning texts, I like that shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/morning-texts-i-like-that-shit/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I always look like shit when I wake up:/ might as well just through me in a big pile of shit -.-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/i-always-look-like-shit-when-i-wake-up-might-as-well-just-through-me/)

Patience

> [“It’s all about attitude. You act like you’re the shit and guys are so dumb they’ll totally believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/it-s-all-about-attitude-you-act-like-you-re-the-shit-and-guys-are-so/)

[Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/)

> [“The Dilligas is perhaps the ugliest boat I've ever been on... Dilligas is an acronym: Do I Look Like I Give A Shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/the-dilligas-is-perhaps-the-ugliest-boat-i-ve-ever-been-on-dilligas/)

[Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/)

> [“Don't trust me. Don't like me. I could give a shit. But don't you ever lie to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/don-t-trust-me-don-t-like-me-i-could-give-a-shit-but-don-t-you-ever/)

[J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/)

> [“Sometimes I act like I have my shit together more than I do. Sometimes I act like I don’t have my shit together as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/sometimes-i-act-like-i-have-my-shit-together-more-than-i-do-sometimes/)

[Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/)

> [It's 12 am and I look like shit but I don't care !!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsia/it-s-12-am-and-i-look-like-shit-but-i-don-t-care/)

[Chelsia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsia/)

> [“You can’t treat people like shit and expect them to still love you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dosher/you-can-t-treat-people-like-shit-and-expect-them-to-still-love-you/)

[Sarah Dosher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dosher/)

> [“I felt like shit, but it was happy shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-felt-like-shit-but-it-was-happy-shit/)

[Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/)

> [“He did not like that shit; he did not need that shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/he-did-not-like-that-shit-he-did-not-need-that-shit/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [Cheating is like eating fast food. You do it, you enjoy it, and then you end up feeling like shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/cheating-is-like-eating-fast-food-you-do-it-you-enjoy-it-and-then-you/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

## More by Martin Amis

> [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

[Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“And meanwhile time goes about its immemorial work of making everyone look and feel like shit.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Martin Amis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemorial-work-of-making-everyone/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemorial-work-of-making-everyone/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/martin-amis-704_age_and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemo_1190642.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/martin-amis-704_age_and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemo_1190642.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/martin-amis-704_age_and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemo_1190642.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And meanwhile time goes about its immemorial work of making everyone look and feel like shit.” — Martin Amis",
                "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": "Martin Amis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“And meanwhile time goes about its...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemorial-work-of-making-everyone/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/and-meanwhile-time-goes-about-its-immemorial-work-of-making-everyone/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
