Every day Quote by Miriam Toews
““She says isn't it funny how every second, every minute, every day, month, year, is accounted for, capable of being named - when time, or life, is so unwieldy, so intangible and slippery? This makes her feel compassion towards the people who invented the concept of "telling time." How hopeful, she says. How beautifully futile. How perfectly human.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: All My Friends Are Superheroes by Miriam Toews, 2019
The quote reflects on humanity’s paradox of trying to quantify the endless flow of time, finding both awe and futility in that effort, and feeling compassion for those who created timekeeping.
In simple terms: We try to name endless time, which feels both hopeful and futile.
Key Takeaway
Embrace the mystery of time rather than over‑control it.
Themes
time
humanity
compassion
paradox
mortality
Mood
reflective
melancholic
hopeful
Type
literary
philosophical
existential
When to use this quote
- daily planning
- historical research
- personal meditation
- creative writing
- teaching about time
Key Concepts
philosophy
existentialism
literary reflection
Questions to Reflect On
- How does naming time affect your perception of life?
- Can we find meaning without precise measurement?
A Different Perspective
Time cannot be fully captured; attempts may distract from living fully.
![“This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day [as a Fairfax Justice of the Peace] since I have been at Home. I wish I knew where to get a good one myself; for I find cold Sheets extreamly disagreeable.” quote by George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b92/george-mason-8435_bedfellows_this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young_3953.jpg)
