--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And there was a time, you know, not so…" description: "\"“And there was a time, you know, not so long ago, as recently as my own childhood in fact, when everyone believed in the future and eagerly awaited it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/nelson-demille-3019_children_and-there-was-a-time-you-know-not-so-lon_706431.png" --- # And there was a time, you know, not so long ago, as… ![“And there was a time, you know, not so long ago, as recently as my own childhood in fact, when everyone believed in the future and eagerly awaited it or rushed to meet it. But now nearly everyone I know or used to know is trying to slow the speed of the world as the future starts to look more and…” quote by Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/nelson-demille-3019_children_and-there-was-a-time-you-know-not-so-lon_706431.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/nelson-demille-3019_children_and-there-was-a-time-you-know-not-so-lon_706431.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/nelson-demille-3019_children_and-there-was-a-time-you-know-not-so-lon_706431.png) > ““And there was a time, you know, not so long ago, as recently as my own childhood in fact, when everyone believed in the future and eagerly awaited it or rushed to meet it. But now nearly everyone I know or used to know is trying to slow the speed of the world as the future starts to look more and more like someplace you don't want to be.”” [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society once eagerly pursued the future, but now many try to slow it as it becomes undesirable. **In simple terms:** People once embraced the future, now they resist it. Key Takeaway Recognize and address why the future feels threatening. Themes future hope disillusionment Mood reflective concerned Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - policy making - personal goals Key Concepts technological change social anxiety Questions to Reflect On - What makes the future seem unappealing? - How can we reshape collective optimism? A Different Perspective Future anxiety can stem from uncertainty, not just outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“there are brief enchanted moments in history and in the short lives of men and women, there is wonder and there is cynicism, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-demille/there-are-brief-enchanted-moments-in-history-and-in-the-short-lives/) [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) > [The future starts today, not tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-future-starts-today-not-tomorrow/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [You can make the future, but it starts with leaving the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/you-can-make-the-future-but-it-starts-with-leaving-the-past/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [Your future starts today. Don’t go through life looking in the rearview mirror. Your life is filled with possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/your-future-starts-today-don-t-go-through-life-looking-in-the/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-m-always-thinking-about-creating-my-future-starts-when-i-wake-up-in/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [“Our future starts in our decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardo-luis-ivan-i-geronimo/our-future-starts-in-our-decisions/) Ricardo Luis Ivan I Geronimo > [My future starts when I wake up every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/my-future-starts-when-i-wake-up-every-morning/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [“My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/my-future-starts-when-i-wake-up-every-morning-every-day-i-find/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I regret how much I believed in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-regret-how-much-i-believed-in-the-future/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Not everyone believed in marriage then. 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My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/why-didn-t-i-learn-to-treat-everything-like-it-was-the-last-time-my/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Joe Schenck, a top 20th Century-Fox executive, once said to me that he really believed I had a future, and that was because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tierney/joe-schenck-a-top-20th-century-fox-executive-once-said-to-me-that-he/) [Gene Tierney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tierney/) ## More by Nelson DeMille > [“survived one trip into”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-demille/survived-one-trip-into/) [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) > [The meaning of life has not much to do with good and evil, right and wrong, duty, honor, country, or any of that. 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