---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was, I would later realise, a planet…"
description: "\"This was, I would later realise, a planet of things wrapped inside things. Food inside wrappers. Bodies inside clothes. Contempt inside smiles. Everyth..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/matt-haig-1036_body_this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet_463902.jpg"
---

#  This was, I would later realise, a planet of things…

![“This was, I would later realise, a planet of things wrapped inside things. Food inside wrappers. Bodies inside clothes. Contempt inside smiles. Everything was hidden away.” quote by Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/matt-haig-1036_body_this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet_463902.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/matt-haig-1036_body_this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet_463902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/matt-haig-1036_body_this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet_463902.jpg)

> “This was, I would later realise, a planet of things wrapped inside things. Food inside wrappers. Bodies inside clothes. Contempt inside smiles. Everything was hidden away.”

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

## About This Quote

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

The quote illustrates how everyday life layers conceal deeper truths, urging awareness of hidden complexities beneath surface appearances.

**In simple terms:** Things hide deeper meanings.

Key Takeaway

Look beyond appearances.

Themes

perception layers hidden truth everyday life

Mood

thoughtful introspective

Type

literary observational

When to use this quote

- shopping
- social interactions
- personal reflection
- media consumption

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

- What do you assume is hidden behind a smile?
- How can you uncover what lies beneath everyday objects?

A Different Perspective

Surface observations can miss underlying causes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/)

## Related quotes

> [So if you're a robot and you're living on this planet, you can do things that you can't do in real life - things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-joyce/so-if-you-re-a-robot-and-you-re-living-on-this-planet-you-can-do/)

[William Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-joyce/)

> [“What fool can't appreciate dark things wrapped in pretty packages?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-j-cole/what-fool-can-t-appreciate-dark-things-wrapped-in-pretty-packages/)

[Stevie J. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-j-cole/)

> [Sometimes when we forget to do things for others, it's because we're too wrapped up in our own problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/sometimes-when-we-forget-to-do-things-for-others-it-s-because-we-re/)

[Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/)

> [“But I like labels,” she admitted. “They make everything so much clearer.” Her sister Bree always told her she liked things to be wrapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-von-ziegesar/but-i-like-labels-she-admitted-they-make-everything-so-much-clearer/)

[Cecily von Ziegesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-von-ziegesar/)

> [The blues have hope wrapped inside them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-davis-pinkney/the-blues-have-hope-wrapped-inside-them/)

[Andrea Davis Pinkney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-davis-pinkney/)

> [“Wrapped inside one is love. Wrapped inside another is hate. What do you think is wrapped inside the third? If you answered meat, beans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/wrapped-inside-one-is-love-wrapped-inside-another-is-hate-what-do-you/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [There is nothing that feels as good as you wrapped inside my arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-that-feels-as-good-as-you-wrapped-inside-my-arms/)

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

> [“here it was the whole world wrapped inside my arms And I let it all slip away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rascal-flatts/here-it-was-the-whole-world-wrapped-inside-my-arms-and-i-let-it-all/)

[Rascal Flatts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rascal-flatts/)

> [Enlightenment is already there inside us and all things. All we have to do is get something out of the way that is causing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightenment-is-already-there-inside-us-and-all-things-all-we-have/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [...and she said we all had to find God inside ourselves, in the things we loved most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-wittlinger/and-she-said-we-all-had-to-find-god-inside-ourselves-in-the-things-we/)

[Ellen Wittlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-wittlinger/)

> [“Just one thing worse than the dark, ain't there? And that's what's inside it - the things that call it home ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-delaney/just-one-thing-worse-than-the-dark-ain-t-there-and-that-s-what-s/)

[Joseph Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-delaney/)

> [Because even when there is no hope, somehow you can still find a place to pin inside the things that you need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-howard/because-even-when-there-is-no-hope-somehow-you-can-still-find-a-place/)

[Chris Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-howard/)

> [My memories are inside me - they're not things or a place - I can take them anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/my-memories-are-inside-me-they-re-not-things-or-a-place-i-can-take/)

[Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/)

> [“Simple things are found in ordinariness - but extraordinary things live inside things that are loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-chouette/simple-things-are-found-in-ordinariness-but-extraordinary-things-live-2/)

[Laura Chouette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-chouette/)

> [It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-was-very-sad-he-thought-the-things-men-carried-inside-the-things/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

## More by Matt Haig

> [“Maybe that is what growing up was all about. It was about changing your mind. Opening it right up. Admitting to yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-that-is-what-growing-up-was-all-about-it-was-about-changing/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“It felt civilised and modern. It felt refined and tantalising, all at once, like a polite collective pre-orgasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-felt-civilised-and-modern-it-felt-refined-and-tantalising-all-at/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [If you can't give children optimism, then what are you doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-can-t-give-children-optimism-then-what-are-you-doing/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“He just wanted to live inside a moment of that life with her forever, to pluck it like a flower and press it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/he-just-wanted-to-live-inside-a-moment-of-that-life-with-her-forever/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“That is one of the patterns: when nothing is happening, nothing continues to happen, but after a while the lull becomes too much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-is-one-of-the-patterns-when-nothing-is-happening-nothing/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [The single biggest act of bravery or madness anyone can do is the act of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/the-single-biggest-act-of-bravery-or-madness-anyone-can-do-is-the-act/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. I think, 'If you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-me-as-a-writer-i-desperately-want-to-be-read-i-m-very-conscious/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“It’s not you. It’s them. (No, really. It is.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-s-not-you-it-s-them-no-really-it-is/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“We are all so weird that, really, none of us are. There are seven billion versions of strange on this freak wonder of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/we-are-all-so-weird-that-really-none-of-us-are-there-are-seven/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“Sa asculti muzica, mi-am dat eu seama, nu era altceva decat placerea de a numara fara sa iti dai seama ca numeri.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/sa-asculti-muzica-mi-am-dat-eu-seama-nu-era-altceva-decat-placerea-de/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“Beauty--be not caused," said Emily Dickinson. "It is." In one way she was wrong. The scattering of light over a long distance creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/beauty-be-not-caused-said-emily-dickinson-it-is-in-one-way-she-was/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [I'm a firm believer in the connection between the body and the mind: feed one, feed both. I like to run, but only short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-the-connection-between-the-body-and-the-mind/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [Look at the sky; remind yourself of the cosmos. Seek vastness at every opportunity in order to see the smallness of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/look-at-the-sky-remind-yourself-of-the-cosmos-seek-vastness-at-every/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [A book is a map. There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

[Explore all 294 Matt Haig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

## More Body quotes

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/)

[Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/)

> [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [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/)

> [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/)

Jennifer Siebel Newsom

> [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/)

[Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/)

> [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/)

> [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/)

[Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/)

> [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/)

[Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/)

> [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/)

[Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/)

> [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/)

[Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/)

> [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/)

[Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/)

> [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

[Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "This was, I would later realise, a planet of things wrapped inside things. Food inside wrappers. Bodies inside clothes. Contempt inside smiles. Everything was hidden away.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Matt Haig"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet-of-things-wrapped-inside/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Body"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet-of-things-wrapped-inside/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/matt-haig-1036_body_this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet_463902.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/matt-haig-1036_body_this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet_463902.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/matt-haig-1036_body_this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet_463902.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This was, I would later realise, a planet of things wrapped inside things. Food inside wrappers. Bodies…” — Matt Haig",
                "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": "Matt Haig",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "This was, I would later realise,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet-of-things-wrapped-inside/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/this-was-i-would-later-realise-a-planet-of-things-wrapped-inside/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
