--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now we are longtime outcasts, flying…" description: "\"“Now we are longtime outcasts, flying through the emptiness of time in a straight line. Yet somewhere deep down a thin thread still ties us to that far..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/milan-kundera-120_straight-line_now-we-are-longtime-outcasts-flying-thro_1746036.jpg" --- # Now we are longtime outcasts, flying through the emptiness… ![“Now we are longtime outcasts, flying through the emptiness of time in a straight line. Yet somewhere deep down a thin thread still ties us to that far-off misty Paradise, where Adam leans over a well and, unlike Narcissus, never even suspects that the pale yellow blotch appearing in it is he…” quote by Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/milan-kundera-120_straight-line_now-we-are-longtime-outcasts-flying-thro_1746036.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/milan-kundera-120_straight-line_now-we-are-longtime-outcasts-flying-thro_1746036.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8aa/milan-kundera-120_straight-line_now-we-are-longtime-outcasts-flying-thro_1746036.jpg) > ““Now we are longtime outcasts, flying through the emptiness of time in a straight line. Yet somewhere deep down a thin thread still ties us to that far-off misty Paradise, where Adam leans over a well and, unlike Narcissus, never even suspects that the pale yellow blotch appearing in it is he himself. The longing for Paradise is man's longing not to be man.”” [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human longing for an idealized Paradise reflects a desire to transcend ordinary existence, but this yearning can distance us from our humanity. **In simple terms:** We long for an ideal beyond ourselves. Key Takeaway Recognize the tension between yearning and being. Themes longing existence transcendence Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - spiritual quests - creative inspiration - existential reflection Key Concepts philosophy myth identity Questions to Reflect On - What does “Paradise” represent for you? - How does yearning shape your sense of self? A Different Perspective Idealizing can lead to dissatisfaction with reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-man-1544744/) [Longing Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-paradise-1339552/) [Man Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-longing-1561413/) [Paradise Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise-adam-968082/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The longing for Paradise is man's longing not to be man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-longing-for-paradise-is-man-s-longing-not-to-be-man/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The longing for paradise is paradise itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-longing-for-paradise-is-paradise-itself/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“Alas! there comes the time when man will no longer launch the arrow of his longing beyond man…. 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Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She pretended not to notice the look of longing in his eyes. It didn’t mean anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-brien/she-pretended-not-to-notice-the-look-of-longing-in-his-eyes-it-didn-t/) [Kevin O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-brien/) > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“My only enemy is the miles of distance that's there between us, my favorite place is the road that leads me to you -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/my-only-enemy-is-the-miles-of-distance-that-s-there-between-us-my/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Do the kind of things that come from the heart, When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-the-kind-of-things-that-come-from-the-heart-when-you-do-you-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And how do you really feel? Like I'll never recover. 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Each is touched by it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/the-greatest-tales-well-told-awaken-the-fears-and-longings-of-the/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) [Browse all 2,553 Longing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now we are longtime outcasts, flying through the emptiness of time in a straight line. Yet somewhere deep down a thin thread still ties us to that far-off misty Paradise, where Adam leans over a well and, unlike Narcissus, never even suspects that the pale yellow blotch appearing in it is he himself. 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