--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And it occurred to me then how it took…" description: "\"“And it occurred to me then how it took hours, sometimes day, for the surface of a river to freeze over-to hold in its skin the perfect and crystalline..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/nam-le-37373_quote_and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-h_1949856.jpg" --- # And it occurred to me then how it took hours, sometimes… ![“And it occurred to me then how it took hours, sometimes day, for the surface of a river to freeze over-to hold in its skin the perfect and crystalline world-and how that world could be shattered by a small stone dropped like a single syllable.” quote by Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/nam-le-37373_quote_and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-h_1949856.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/nam-le-37373_quote_and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-h_1949856.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/nam-le-37373_quote_and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-h_1949856.jpg) > ““And it occurred to me then how it took hours, sometimes day, for the surface of a river to freeze over-to hold in its skin the perfect and crystalline world-and how that world could be shattered by a small stone dropped like a single syllable.”” [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) ## 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 how fragile, beautiful moments can be easily broken by a seemingly insignificant action. **In simple terms:** Small actions can destroy delicate beauty. Key Takeaway Handle delicate things with care. Themes fragility beauty impermanence Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - relationships - art creation - personal memories - environmental observation Key Concepts ephemerality cause and effect Questions to Reflect On - What fragile moments in your life have you taken for granted? - How can you protect delicate aspects of your world? A Different Perspective Even small actions can have disproportionate impact, especially when the system is already vulnerable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ## Related quotes > [“A shooting star, a cloud, or some sign from the Goddess…? One second later, the world shattered. Her father's grumbling voice was suddenly cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-shreffler/a-shooting-star-a-cloud-or-some-sign-from-the-goddess-one-second/) [T.L. Shreffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-shreffler/) > [Ethan thought he was doing the right thing. He knew it was crazy. And he didn’t want to go, but he had to anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/ethan-thought-he-was-doing-the-right-thing-he-knew-it-was-crazy-and/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [He saved the world, but he shattered mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-stohl/he-saved-the-world-but-he-shattered-mine/) [Margaret Stohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-stohl/) > [My heart shattered. My world shattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/my-heart-shattered-my-world-shattered/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [When your world has shattered, ain't nothing else matters. It ain't over, it's only love and that's all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-adams/when-your-world-has-shattered-ain-t-nothing-else-matters-it-ain-t/) [Bryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-adams/) > [When we are young we are like a flowing river - and then we freeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-lewin/when-we-are-young-we-are-like-a-flowing-river-and-then-we-freeze/) [Kurt Lewin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-lewin/) > [A small stone may make a ripple at first, but someday it will be a wave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-small-stone-may-make-a-ripple-at-first-but-someday-it-will-be-a-wave/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After all, when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/after-all-when-a-stone-is-dropped-into-a-pond-the-water-continues/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“When a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/when-a-stone-is-dropped-into-a-pond-the-water-continues-quivering/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“She stooped for a stone and dropped it down. 'Fancy being where that is now,' she said, peering into the blackness; 'fancy going round…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-w-jacobs/she-stooped-for-a-stone-and-dropped-it-down-fancy-being-where-that-is/) W.W. Jacobs > [“This is now, Zipper said, as she picked up a small stone and slid it in her pocket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-richardson/this-is-now-zipper-said-as-she-picked-up-a-small-stone-and-slid-it-in/) [C.S. Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-richardson/) > [“no matter how small a stone she was, she’d make her own ripples in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-duncan/no-matter-how-small-a-stone-she-was-she-d-make-her-own-ripples-in-the/) Leigh Duncan > [A poet wants only one small stone on which to carve his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-walsh-anglund/a-poet-wants-only-one-small-stone-on-which-to-carve-his-life/) [Joan Walsh Anglund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-walsh-anglund/) > [A small stone close to the eye makes it look like a mountain and so are the problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uma-maheswar-nakka/a-small-stone-close-to-the-eye-makes-it-look-like-a-mountain-and-so/) Uma Maheswar Nakka > [“the woman who remove a mountain begins by taking away small stone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevwe-eyagbe/the-woman-who-remove-a-mountain-begins-by-taking-away-small-stone/) Kevwe Eyagbe ## More by Nam Le > [“The thing is not to write what no one else could have written, but to write what only you could have written.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/the-thing-is-not-to-write-what-no-one-else-could-have-written-but-to/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“I do believe that you can never know yourself let alone the person next to you let alone the person halfway across the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/i-do-believe-that-you-can-never-know-yourself-let-alone-the-person/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“The thing is not to write what no one else has written but to write what only you could have written.' I found this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/the-thing-is-not-to-write-what-no-one-else-has-written-but-to-write/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“-honor won in youth grows with age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/honor-won-in-youth-grows-with-age/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“That was the problem with Alison Fischer: you never knew which part of her to look at. He looked at her face”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/that-was-the-problem-with-alison-fischer-you-never-knew-which-part-of/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“Art, after all, is - at its best - a lie that tells us the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/art-after-all-is-at-its-best-a-lie-that-tells-us-the-truth/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“...how necessary it was to stay on the surface of things. Because beneath the surface was either dread or delirium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/how-necessary-it-was-to-stay-on-the-surface-of-things-because-beneath/) [nam le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“You couldn't think of after, you only thought of now, and come to think of it, you didn't do that either- you were left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/you-couldn-t-think-of-after-you-only-thought-of-now-and-come-to-think/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“If you ask me why I came to Iowa, I would say that Iowa is beautiful in the way that any place is beautiful:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/if-you-ask-me-why-i-came-to-iowa-i-would-say-that-iowa-is-beautiful/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“He looked out the open window. So this was what it was like. He looked through the green foliage, over the ocean, and felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/he-looked-out-the-open-window-so-this-was-what-it-was-like-he-looked/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) > [“I write under not only the presumption that everything I write is deeply conditioned by everything I’ve already written, but that everything I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/i-write-under-not-only-the-presumption-that-everything-i-write-is/) [Nam Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) [Explore all 12 Nam Le quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/) ## More River quotes > [The least unhappy persons do, in so fickle and so tempestuous a sea as this world, meet with many more either cross winds or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/the-least-unhappy-persons-do-in-so-fickle-and-so-tempestuous-a-sea-as/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [One of the unique things is that whether we were out at sea or in the middle of the water tank, a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/one-of-the-unique-things-is-that-whether-we-were-out-at-sea-or-in-the/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Life is like the ocean. It can be calm and still or rough and rigid but in the end, it is always beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-the-ocean-it-can-be-calm-and-still-or-rough-and-rigid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always like to look for adventure when I go away. I have gone on several horse adventures with my wife - from Guangxi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-always-like-to-look-for-adventure-when-i-go-away-i-have-gone-on/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I've never been far from the river. I'm sort of like a Thames-nymph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-ve-never-been-far-from-the-river-i-m-sort-of-like-a-thames-nymph/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [“Mungu akikubariki kipaji chako watu watasema ni laana. Maisha yako ni sawa na mto. Unakoelekea ni baharini. Lakini sasa umefika kwenye mlango wa bahari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-akikubariki-kipaji-chako-watu-watasema-ni-laana-maisha-yako-ni/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [Little leaks sink the ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/little-leaks-sink-the-ship/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ships-at-a-distance-have-every-man-s-wish-on-board-for-some-they-come/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [If you ask an actor what he'd prefer to act on, he'd probably say a tangible, real set, or even better, a real location…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/if-you-ask-an-actor-what-he-d-prefer-to-act-on-he-d-probably-say-a/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [In the road ships must ride in 30, 40, or 50 fathom water, not above half a mile from the shore at farthest: and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dampier/in-the-road-ships-must-ride-in-30-40-or-50-fathom-water-not-above/) [William Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dampier/) > [I finished 'Hell or High Water' and started writing 'Wind River' literally the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-sheridan/i-finished-hell-or-high-water-and-started-writing-wind-river/) [Taylor Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-sheridan/) [Browse all 3,638 River quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And it occurred to me then how it took hours, sometimes day, for the surface of a river to freeze over-to hold in its skin the perfect and crystalline world-and how that world could be shattered by a small stone dropped like a single syllable.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nam Le" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-hours-sometimes-day-for-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "River" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-hours-sometimes-day-for-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/nam-le-37373_quote_and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-h_1949856.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/nam-le-37373_quote_and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-h_1949856.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/nam-le-37373_quote_and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-h_1949856.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And it occurred to me then how it took hours, sometimes day, for the surface of a river to freeze over-to…” — Nam Le", "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": "Nam Le", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-le/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And it occurred to me then...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-hours-sometimes-day-for-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-le/and-it-occurred-to-me-then-how-it-took-hours-sometimes-day-for-the/#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 } } ] } ```