---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a tiny sound but it woke me up…"
description: "\"It was a tiny sound but it woke me up because it was a human sound.\" — Miranda July"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/miranda-july-1600_humans_it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-be_158120.jpg"
---

#  It was a tiny sound but it woke me up because it was a…

![“It was a tiny sound but it woke me up because it was a human sound.” quote by Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/miranda-july-1600_humans_it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-be_158120.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/miranda-july-1600_humans_it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-be_158120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/miranda-july-1600_humans_it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-be_158120.jpg)

> “It was a tiny sound but it woke me up because it was a human sound.”

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

## About This Quote

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

A small, human-made noise can break our complacency and draw attention to reality.

**In simple terms:** Human sounds can awaken us from distraction.

Key Takeaway

Listen for subtle cues that signal presence.

Themes

awareness humanity attention distraction presence

Mood

curious alert

Type

reflective observational

When to use this quote

- daily routine
- creative work
- social interaction
- meditation

Key Concepts

psychology sensory perception mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- What subtle signals do you overlook?
- How does human presence affect your focus?

A Different Perspective

If the sound is ignored, the wake‑up effect is lost.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Woke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woke/)

## Related quotes

> [There's this bubblegum pop thing which is prevalent now that we haven't had before. People's ears are slightly de-tuned; they've been exposed to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-thompson/there-s-this-bubblegum-pop-thing-which-is-prevalent-now-that-we-haven/)

[Teddy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-thompson/)

> [“If we would think-to-speak at an adaptive, and comprehensible ear-speed of human sound, we might vastly hear so much more, than the expensive sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-bond/if-we-would-think-to-speak-at-an-adaptive-and-comprehensible-ear/)

[Tracey Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-bond/)

> [The voice is a human sound which nothing inanimate can perfectly imitate. It has an authority and an insinuating property which writing lacks. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/the-voice-is-a-human-sound-which-nothing-inanimate-can-perfectly/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [9/11 woke us up, a nuclear 9/11 could shut us down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bloom/9-11-woke-us-up-a-nuclear-9-11-could-shut-us-down/)

[Howard Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bloom/)

> [“I dreamt about you last night. Fell out of bed twice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/i-dreamt-about-you-last-night-fell-out-of-bed-twice/)

[Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/)

> [I only really woke up in India. It was my first experience of plenty, strangely enough, because everything in England was rationed. I loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/i-only-really-woke-up-in-india-it-was-my-first-experience-of-plenty/)

[Ruth Prawer Jhabvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/)

> [“I had a dream about you. You were learning to compose music like Mozart, and I was learning to listen like Beethoven. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-had-a-dream-about-you-you-were-learning-to-compose-music-like/)

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

> [Black Lives Matter started from a post that I put on Facebook after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. I woke up in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-garza/black-lives-matter-started-from-a-post-that-i-put-on-facebook-after/)

[Alicia Garza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-garza/)

> [“I had a dream about you last night. I was writing a ‘Sex for dummies-Christians That Secretly What to be Porn Stars- 1st edition.’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-hudson/i-had-a-dream-about-you-last-night-i-was-writing-a-sex-for-dummies/)

[Crystal Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-hudson/)

> [“I had a dream that my boyfriend went back to his ex…I woke up and giggled because you don’t pick up a rock after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/starley-ard/i-had-a-dream-that-my-boyfriend-went-back-to-his-ex-i-woke-up-and/)

[Starley Ard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/starley-ard/)

> [Halloween is woke, and there's nothing we can do about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-blum/halloween-is-woke-and-there-s-nothing-we-can-do-about-it/)

[Jason Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-blum/)

> [“I had a dream about you last night... you kept meowing at people and licking yourself it was not unlike you normally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-mckay/i-had-a-dream-about-you-last-night-you-kept-meowing-at-people-and/)

[Nicole McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-mckay/)

> [Yeah, I'm the Brit who isn't Lewis Hamilton that woke up and realised he was good. I got that tag because I was young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenson-button/yeah-i-m-the-brit-who-isn-t-lewis-hamilton-that-woke-up-and-realised/)

[Jenson Button](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenson-button/)

> [I woke up tired of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-woke-up-tired-of-life/)

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

> [For 11 straight years, I woke up pretty much every single day with nothing to do unless I created something to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rife/for-11-straight-years-i-woke-up-pretty-much-every-single-day-with/)

[Matt Rife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rife/)

## More by Miranda July

> [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [I like embracing kind of normal forms but am always trying to approach them as if no one's ever done that before. As if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-like-embracing-kind-of-normal-forms-but-am-always-trying-to/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [“It wasn't good, he wasn't good, he did not have good intentions. I stood there, and he stood there. He breathed out the bitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/it-wasn-t-good-he-wasn-t-good-he-did-not-have-good-intentions-i-stood/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [The whole thing of working in all these different mediums, it's just so that I can always be playing hooky from one of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/the-whole-thing-of-working-in-all-these-different-mediums-it-s-just/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [The thing I am most interested in is power relations - it is so easy in a relationship like that \[of an artist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/the-thing-i-am-most-interested-in-is-power-relations-it-is-so-easy-in/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [Are you angry? Punch a pillow. Was it satisfying? Not hardly. These days people are too angry for punching. What you might try is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/are-you-angry-punch-a-pillow-was-it-satisfying-not-hardly-these-days/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [I'm not a cinephile. My films don't reference films. I'm more interested in rhythm and feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-m-not-a-cinephile-my-films-don-t-reference-films-i-m-more/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [“We were anxious to begin our life as people who had no people. And it was easy to find an apartment because we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/we-were-anxious-to-begin-our-life-as-people-who-had-no-people-and-it/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [I'm always the kind of friend or girlfriend who suggests, when there's some cataclysmic problem in the relationship, I'm like, "Well, maybe we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-m-always-the-kind-of-friend-or-girlfriend-who-suggests-when-there-s/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [I wrestle my fears with every big decision I make. Ultimately, maybe all that wrestling does is make you sick of your own thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-wrestle-my-fears-with-every-big-decision-i-make-ultimately-maybe/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [When I had a baby, I was consumed with my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/when-i-had-a-baby-i-was-consumed-with-my-body/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [I'm quite a cerebral person. Often I feel quite stuck in that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-m-quite-a-cerebral-person-often-i-feel-quite-stuck-in-that/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [Somewhat predictably, I'm much more comfortable in front of an audience - and a big audience is even better - than faced with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/somewhat-predictably-i-m-much-more-comfortable-in-front-of-an/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [We humans are here because nothing can be perfect. There always have to be some living things that are unsatisfied, itchy, trying too hard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/we-humans-are-here-because-nothing-can-be-perfect-there-always-have/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [I definitely wanted much more normalness than what was around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-definitely-wanted-much-more-normalness-than-what-was-around-me/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

[Explore all 223 Miranda July quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

## More Humans quotes

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [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/)

> [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/)

[Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

Mak\_786

> [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

> [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/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/)

[Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/)

> [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

[Browse all 32,126 Humans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It was a tiny sound but it woke me up because it was a human sound.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Miranda July"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-because-it-was-a-human-sound/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Humans"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-because-it-was-a-human-sound/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/miranda-july-1600_humans_it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-be_158120.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/miranda-july-1600_humans_it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-be_158120.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/miranda-july-1600_humans_it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-be_158120.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It was a tiny sound but it woke me up because it was a human sound.” — Miranda July",
                "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": "Miranda July",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It was a tiny sound but...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-because-it-was-a-human-sound/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/it-was-a-tiny-sound-but-it-woke-me-up-because-it-was-a-human-sound/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
