--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The desire to know the future gnaws at…" description: "\"“The desire to know the future gnaws at our bones. That is where it started, and might have ended, years ago. I had cast the stones, seeing their faces..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/pamela-freeman-60367_death_the-desire-to-know-the-future-gnaws-at-o_1901643.jpg" --- # The desire to know the future gnaws at our bones. That is… ![“The desire to know the future gnaws at our bones. That is where it started, and might have ended, years ago. I had cast the stones, seeing their faces flicker and fall: Death, Love, Murder, Treachery, Hope. We are a treacherous people - half of our stones show betrayal and violence and death from…” quote by Pamela Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/pamela-freeman-60367_death_the-desire-to-know-the-future-gnaws-at-o_1901643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/pamela-freeman-60367_death_the-desire-to-know-the-future-gnaws-at-o_1901643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/pamela-freeman-60367_death_the-desire-to-know-the-future-gnaws-at-o_1901643.jpg) > ““The desire to know the future gnaws at our bones. That is where it started, and might have ended, years ago. I had cast the stones, seeing their faces flicker and fall: Death, Love, Murder, Treachery, Hope. We are a treacherous people - half of our stones show betrayal and violence and death from those close, death from those far away. It is not so with other peoples. I have seen other sets that show only natural disasters: death from sickness, from age, the pain of a broken heart, loss in childbirth. And those stones are more than half full with pleasure and joy and plain, solid warnings like "You reap what you sow" and "Victory is not the same as satisfaction." Of course, we live in a land taken by force, by battle and murder and invasion. It is not so surprising that our stones reflect our history.”” [Pamela Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-freeman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human societies project their darkest and brightest experiences onto symbolic objects, revealing collective trauma and hope. **In simple terms:** People see their history in symbols, both painful and hopeful. Key Takeaway Recognize patterns in cultural symbols to understand shared values. Themes history symbolism human nature collective memory Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - historical analysis - conflict resolution - community healing Key Concepts psychology mythology cultural studies Questions to Reflect On - How do our personal biases shape the symbols we create? - What can we learn from the balance of darkness and light in cultural narratives? A Different Perspective Symbols can oversimplify complex events, leading to misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fortune telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune-telling/) [Half full](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-full/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Natural disasters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-disasters/) [Reap What You Sow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reap-what-you-sow/) ## Related quotes > [Genius is to other gifts what the carbuncle is to the precious stones. 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Not even that person, who have also a broken heart. Except our own self!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irradiant-oman/nobody-can-understand-the-pain-of-a-broken-heart-not-even-that-person/) Irradiant (Oman > [Your House is Burning around you...,so what do you do? You might want to leave that House..before the Flames consume You. You have smelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/your-house-is-burning-around-you-so-what-do-you-do-you-might-want-to/) [Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/) > [“What poet was it who wrote there's no pain worse than the pain of a broken heart? Sentimental shit. He should have spent more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/what-poet-was-it-who-wrote-there-s-no-pain-worse-than-the-pain-of-a/) [joe abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [Some meet the love of their life and are never tested. They never experience the pain of a broken heart during youth. But some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mly-ab/some-meet-the-love-of-their-life-and-are-never-tested-they-never/) MlY AB > [“She taught me how to wear a Tangail saree, she taught me Julius Caesar. She taught me how to deal with the pain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/she-taught-me-how-to-wear-a-tangail-saree-she-taught-me-julius-caesar/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“She spoke without feeling, unburdened by love or dreams or the pain of a broken heart. It was a new day in Hearts, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/she-spoke-without-feeling-unburdened-by-love-or-dreams-or-the-pain-of/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) ## More by Pamela Freeman > [“The road is long and the end is death, he thought, remembering all the times his mother had said that. If we're lucky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-freeman/the-road-is-long-and-the-end-is-death-he-thought-remembering-all-the/) [Pamela Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-freeman/) > [“The fact that she was still alive felt wrong, out of balance. She didn't feel special, or protected, or gods-bound. She thought the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-freeman/the-fact-that-she-was-still-alive-felt-wrong-out-of-balance-she-didn/) [Pamela Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-freeman/) > [“There were worse things than death. 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I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The desire to know the future gnaws at our bones. That is where it started, and might have ended, years ago. I had cast the stones, seeing their faces flicker and fall: Death, Love, Murder, Treachery, Hope. We are a treacherous people - half of our stones show betrayal and violence and death from those close, death from those far away. It is not so with other peoples. I have seen other sets that show only natural disasters: death from sickness, from age, the pain of a broken heart, loss in childbirth. And those stones are more than half full with pleasure and joy and plain, solid warnings like \"You reap what you sow\" and \"Victory is not the same as satisfaction.\" Of course, we live in a land taken by force, by battle and murder and invasion. 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