---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a child I often wondered whether I…"
description: "\"As a child I often wondered whether I would be allowed to live such moments- to inhabit the slow, majestic ballet of the snowflakes, to be released at ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/muriel-barbery-1092_ballet_as-a-child-i-often-wondered-whether-i-wo_2278028.jpg"
---

#  As a child I often wondered whether I would be allowed to…

![“As a child I often wondered whether I would be allowed to live such moments- to inhabit the slow, majestic ballet of the snowflakes, to be released at last from the dreary frenzy of time. Is that what it feels to be naked? All one's clothes are gone, yet one's mind is overladen with finery.” quote by Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/muriel-barbery-1092_ballet_as-a-child-i-often-wondered-whether-i-wo_2278028.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/muriel-barbery-1092_ballet_as-a-child-i-often-wondered-whether-i-wo_2278028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/muriel-barbery-1092_ballet_as-a-child-i-often-wondered-whether-i-wo_2278028.jpg)

> “As a child I often wondered whether I would be allowed to live such moments- to inhabit the slow, majestic ballet of the snowflakes, to be released at last from the dreary frenzy of time. Is that what it feels to be naked? All one's clothes are gone, yet one's mind is overladen with finery.”

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

## 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 reflects on yearning for pure, unhurried existence free from societal pressures, comparing it to the delicate, timeless dance of snowflakes and the vulnerability of being stripped of material distractions.

**In simple terms:** Longing for simple, timeless moments away from daily chaos.

Key Takeaway

Seek moments of stillness and authenticity.

Themes

loneliness beauty existence vulnerability time nature

Mood

contemplative melancholic hopeful

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- winter walks
- meditation
- creative writing
- mindful breathing
- digital detox

Key Concepts

existentialism mindfulness aesthetic appreciation

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you create space for stillness daily?
- What does “being naked” mean to you beyond the literal?

A Different Perspective

Such moments may be fleeting and hard to sustain in modern life.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Ballet Snowflakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet-snowflakes-5305249/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Feels Naked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-naked-3828288/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Majestic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majestic/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Naked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naked/) [Snowflake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowflake/) [Snowflakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowflakes/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-feels-604522/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/)

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> [I love you because no two snowflakes are alike, and it is possible, if you stand tippy-toe, to walk between the raindrops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-love-you-because-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike-and-it-is-possible-if/)

[Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/)

> [People (a group that in my opinion has always attracted an undue amount of attention) have often been likened to snowflakes. This analogy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/people-a-group-that-in-my-opinion-has-always-attracted-an-undue/)

[Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/)

> [No human being is the same; we are like snowflakes, none of us are the same but we are all COOL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/no-human-being-is-the-same-we-are-like-snowflakes-none-of-us-are-the/)

[Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/)

> [ How full of the creative genius is the air in which these \[snowflakes\] are generated! I should hardly admire them more if real stars… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-full-of-the-creative-genius-is-the-air-in-which-these-snowflakes/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-bentley/under-the-microscope-i-found-that-snowflakes-were-miracles-of-beauty/)

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> [Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes-each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched in my hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-m-draper/words-have-always-swirled-around-me-like-snowflakes-each-one-delicate-2/)

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> [“I leaned out one last time and caught a snowflake on my tongue. They tasted so good, so pure and so divine, like nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-a-thompson/i-leaned-out-one-last-time-and-caught-a-snowflake-on-my-tongue-they/)

[Shannon A. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-a-thompson/)

> [Sadly, my socks are like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sadly-my-socks-are-like-snowflakes-no-two-are-exactly-alike/)

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

> [Silently, like thoughts that come and go, the snowflakes fall, each one a gem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hamilton-gibson/silently-like-thoughts-that-come-and-go-the-snowflakes-fall-each-one/)

[William Hamilton Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hamilton-gibson/)

> [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/)

[Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/)

## More by Muriel Barbery

> [“Those who can, do; those who can't, teach; those who can't teach, teach the teachers; and those who can't teach the teachers go into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/those-who-can-do-those-who-can-t-teach-those-who-can-t-teach-teach/)

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> [“A terroir only exists by virtue of one's childhood mythology . . . we have invented these words of tradition rooted deep in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/a-terroir-only-exists-by-virtue-of-one-s-childhood-mythology-we-have/)

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

> [“The tea ritual: such a precise repetition of the same gestures and the same tastes; accession to simple,authentic and refined sensations, a license given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/the-tea-ritual-such-a-precise-repetition-of-the-same-gestures-and-the/)

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

> [As always, I am saved by the inability of living creatures to believe anything that might cause the walls of their little mental assumptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/as-always-i-am-saved-by-the-inability-of-living-creatures-to-believe/)

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> [“I wonder if I am not turning into a contemplative . . . But those roses . They were something else. I was having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-wonder-if-i-am-not-turning-into-a-contemplative-but-those-roses/)

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> [Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/personally-i-think-that-grammar-is-a-way-to-attain-beauty/)

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> [I may know that the world is an ugly place, I still don't want to see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-may-know-that-the-world-is-an-ugly-place-i-still-don-t-want-to-see/)

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

> [“Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain Beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you’ve said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/personally-i-think-that-grammar-is-a-way-to-attain-beauty-when-you/)

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

[Explore all 250 Muriel Barbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

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> [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/)

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> [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/)

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> [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/)

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> [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/)

[Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/)

> [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/)

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