--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Miri once told me that there were only…" description: "\"“Miri once told me that there were only four important ques­tions you could ask about any human being: How does he fill up his time? How does he feel a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/nancy-kress-28200_dark-eyes_miri-once-told-me-that-there-were-only-f_1505149.jpg" --- # Miri once told me that there were only four important… ![“Miri once told me that there were only four important ques­tions you could ask about any human being: How does he fill up his time? How does he feel about how he fills up his time? What does he love? How does he react to those he perceives as either inferior or superior to him? If you make people…” quote by Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/nancy-kress-28200_dark-eyes_miri-once-told-me-that-there-were-only-f_1505149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/nancy-kress-28200_dark-eyes_miri-once-told-me-that-there-were-only-f_1505149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/nancy-kress-28200_dark-eyes_miri-once-told-me-that-there-were-only-f_1505149.jpg) > ““Miri once told me that there were only four important ques­tions you could ask about any human being: How does he fill up his time? How does he feel about how he fills up his time? What does he love? How does he react to those he perceives as either inferior or superior to him? If you make people feel inferior, even unintentionally," she had said, her dark eyes intense, "they will be uncomfortable around you. In that situation, some people will attack. Some will ridicule, to 'cut you down to size.' But some will admire, and learn from you. If you make people feel superior, some will react by dis­missing you. Some by wielding power — just because they can — in greater or lesser ways. But some will be moved to protect and help. All this is just as true of a junior lodge clique as of a group of governments.”” [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evaluating a person involves how they use time, their feelings about that use, their passions, and their reactions to perceived hierarchy. **In simple terms:** Assess character by time use, feelings, loves, and reactions to status. Key Takeaway Observe and respect how others spend time and feel. Themes character assessment social dynamics power relations Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical psychological social When to use this quote - leadership evaluation - team building - conflict resolution - personal development Key Concepts psychology hierarchy empathy Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess someone's values without judgment? - What reactions arise when you feel superior or inferior? A Different Perspective People may misinterpret intentions, causing unintended offense. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-eyes/) [Feel Inferior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-inferior-293985/) [Feel Superior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-superior-230659/) [Interpersonal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpersonal/) [Miri Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miri-told-5527115/) [Perceives Inferior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceives-inferior-5527114/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Uncomfortable Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncomfortable-situation-1429040/) ## Related quotes > [“Of course, if your ego can’t get you to believe stories about yourself that make you feel superior, then it will look for ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-moss/of-course-if-your-ego-can-t-get-you-to-believe-stories-about-yourself/) [Richard Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-moss/) > [The struggle for the vote was an effort to bring men to feel less superior and women to feel less inferior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-chapman-catt/the-struggle-for-the-vote-was-an-effort-to-bring-men-to-feel-less/) [Carrie Chapman Catt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-chapman-catt/) > [If my sense of security lies in my reputation or in the things I have, my life will be in a constant state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/if-my-sense-of-security-lies-in-my-reputation-or-in-the-things-i-have/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I think people are interested in learning about who is shaping the way they communicate. And he has just been wonderful in what probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-think-people-are-interested-in-learning-about-who-is-shaping-the/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [Let's just say that I have a tendency if I am uncomfortable in a situation to speak my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/let-s-just-say-that-i-have-a-tendency-if-i-am-uncomfortable-in-a/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Doing music to pay bills is an uncomfortable situation. I never wanted to be in that situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nipsey-hussle/doing-music-to-pay-bills-is-an-uncomfortable-situation-i-never-wanted/) [Nipsey Hussle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nipsey-hussle/) > [You know, I feel as comfortable in an uncomfortable situation as I do when things are going smoothly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-connick-jr/you-know-i-feel-as-comfortable-in-an-uncomfortable-situation-as-i-do/) [Harry Connick, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-connick-jr/) > [“Ivy and I will deal with the uncomfortable situation like we always have…by ignoring it. It was something we were both good at.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/ivy-and-i-will-deal-with-the-uncomfortable-situation-like-we-always/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [If I'm in an uncomfortable situation, I think I can say something funny to defuse it. Sometimes you can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-whitehall/if-i-m-in-an-uncomfortable-situation-i-think-i-can-say-something/) [Jack Whitehall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-whitehall/) > [Leaving my house and getting on to a red carpet is always crazy for me, because you have to find a way to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/leaving-my-house-and-getting-on-to-a-red-carpet-is-always-crazy-for/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [I'll tell you what, I've never seen any football player more uncomfortable in a situation of having to make a one-on-one move on somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-kelce/i-ll-tell-you-what-i-ve-never-seen-any-football-player-more/) [Travis Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-kelce/) > [“Most of us lie because it is our last resort to get out of any uncomfortable situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-guishard/most-of-us-lie-because-it-is-our-last-resort-to-get-out-of-any/) [Bria Guishard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-guishard/) > [It's so valuable to learn that when you put yourself in an uncomfortable situation, you'll be fine, and you'll probably come out even stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/it-s-so-valuable-to-learn-that-when-you-put-yourself-in-an/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [Seeing the rich and famous screw up makes us feel superior, or at least not quite so inferior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/seeing-the-rich-and-famous-screw-up-makes-us-feel-superior-or-at/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [Because feeling love does make you feel superior. Until you find out you aren't loved back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaui-hart-hemmings/because-feeling-love-does-make-you-feel-superior-until-you-find-out/) [Kaui Hart Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaui-hart-hemmings/) ## More by Nancy Kress > [Characterization is not divorced from plot, not a coat of paint you slap on after the structure of events is already built. Rather characterization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/characterization-is-not-divorced-from-plot-not-a-coat-of-paint-you/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [You must learn to be three people at once: writer, character, and reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/you-must-learn-to-be-three-people-at-once-writer-character-and-reader/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [Some writers find that they don't know their themes until they've finished the first draft (I am one). They then rewrite with an eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/some-writers-find-that-they-don-t-know-their-themes-until-they-ve/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [Religious reverence for one's own job, even if the job is worth doing, is a sexual turnoff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/religious-reverence-for-one-s-own-job-even-if-the-job-is-worth-doing/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [What characters do must grow out of who they are, and who they are is, in turn, influenced by what you make happen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/what-characters-do-must-grow-out-of-who-they-are-and-who-they-are-is/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [In commercial fiction especially, everything in the story usually contributes directly to the plot The shorter the story, the truer this is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/in-commercial-fiction-especially-everything-in-the-story-usually/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [ “…Boredom \[is\] a moral failing, the mark of a mind insufficiently stocked to occupy itself.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/boredom-is-a-moral-failing-the-mark-of-a-mind-insufficiently-stocked/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. They learn something or grow into better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-significant-ways-as-a-result-of/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [Every paragraph should accomplish two goals: advance the story, and develop your characters as complex human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/every-paragraph-should-accomplish-two-goals-advance-the-story-and/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [You think intelligence and grit can succeed by themselves, but I'm telling you that's a pretty illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/you-think-intelligence-and-grit-can-succeed-by-themselves-but-i-m/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [There are two wrong reactions to a rejection slip: deciding it's a final judgment on your story and/or talent, and deciding it's no judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/there-are-two-wrong-reactions-to-a-rejection-slip-deciding-it-s-a/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [Anything said in upper-crust British automatically sounded intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/anything-said-in-upper-crust-british-automatically-sounded-intelligent/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [“Things got said, the kinds of embarrassing things that don't go away. Tempers ran high. My paternal grandfather's teak desk required a new panel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/things-got-said-the-kinds-of-embarrassing-things-that-don-t-go-away/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [“The strings in her mind grew flatter, calmer. The shapes in the hologrid had changed. She heard the man's words, and yet she didn't;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/the-strings-in-her-mind-grew-flatter-calmer-the-shapes-in-the/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [Fiction is about stuff that's screwed up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/fiction-is-about-stuff-that-s-screwed-up/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) [Explore all 19 Nancy Kress quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) ## More Dark eyes quotes > [A blue eye is a true eye; Mysterious is a dark one, Which flashes like a spark sun! A black eye is the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/a-blue-eye-is-a-true-eye-mysterious-is-a-dark-one-which-flashes-like/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) > [Hey Sydney," she said, giving me a small, crooked smile as she entered the room. Her flashing, dark eyes were friendly, but they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/hey-sydney-she-said-giving-me-a-small-crooked-smile-as-she-entered/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“there are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth – not going all the way and not starting”.’ She looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-buchanan/there-are-only-two-mistakes-one-can-make-along-the-road-to-truth-not/) [Tracy Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-buchanan/) > [“Let’s go home,” she said. He arched his brows. “Already? I thought you would want to stay for a while.” Dark eyes flashed. “No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/let-s-go-home-she-said-he-arched-his-brows-already-i-thought-you/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) > [“With a laugh exposing a kissable mouth and perfect teeth, he glances my way again, his entire demeanor tensing for a second, those dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppet/with-a-laugh-exposing-a-kissable-mouth-and-perfect-teeth-he-glances/) [Poppet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppet/) > [Sylvia's dark eyes widened. "You are more than you appear to be" "Yes. I am a monster of Darkness, a beast," he agreed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sylvia-s-dark-eyes-widened-you-are-more-than-you-appear-to-be-yes-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They were all around him, half a dozen of them, white-faced children with dark eyes, boys and girls together. And in their hands, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/they-were-all-around-him-half-a-dozen-of-them-white-faced-children/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [And all my days are trances, And all my nightly dreams Are where thy dark eye glances, And where thy footstep gleams-- In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-all-my-days-are-trances-and-all-my-nightly-dreams-are-where-thy/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“But he had the kindest face in the world, with big, dark eyes and buzzed-cut brown hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-stephens/but-he-had-the-kindest-face-in-the-world-with-big-dark-eyes-and/) [S.C. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-c-stephens/) > [“That man is such a damn turd monkey." "Grandma!" I said. "Oh, Zoeybird, did I just call your mother's husband a damn turd monkey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-c-cast/that-man-is-such-a-damn-turd-monkey-grandma-i-said-oh-zoeybird-did-i/) [P.C. Cast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-c-cast/) > [“She turned and eyed Jane, her dark eyes cool. Jane could see the thought process. Competition? Nope. Jane was dismissed after a moment without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/she-turned-and-eyed-jane-her-dark-eyes-cool-jane-could-see-the/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [“whose dark eyes narrowed to lightless almonds,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-n-holmberg/whose-dark-eyes-narrowed-to-lightless-almonds/) [Charlie N. Holmberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-n-holmberg/) > [“Bram stared into a pair of wide, dark eyes. Eyes that reflected a surprising glimmer of intelligence. This might be the rare female a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/bram-stared-into-a-pair-of-wide-dark-eyes-eyes-that-reflected-a/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [“I’d die for you, Dan. No questions asked.” “No, Vadim. No.” Dan’s dark eyes were unforgivingly intense. “You must not die for me, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-voinov/i-d-die-for-you-dan-no-questions-asked-no-vadim-no-dan-s-dark-eyes/) [Aleksandr Voinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-voinov/) > [“And then he asked me how I felt about you.” Now I put real effort into wrestling out of his choke hold, eventually succeeding.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-keyes/and-then-he-asked-me-how-i-felt-about-you-now-i-put-real-effort-into/) [Julianna Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-keyes/) [Browse all 366 Dark eyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-eyes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Miri once told me that there were only four important ques­tions you could ask about any human being: How does he fill up his time? How does he feel about how he fills up his time? What does he love? How does he react to those he perceives as either inferior or superior to him? If you make people feel inferior, even unintentionally,\" she had said, her dark eyes intense, \"they will be uncomfortable around you. In that situation, some people will attack. Some will ridicule, to 'cut you down to size.' But some will admire, and learn from you. If you make people feel superior, some will react by dis­missing you. Some by wielding power — just because they can — in greater or lesser ways. But some will be moved to protect and help. 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