--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the…" description: "\"“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the one marked by the futur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/pascal-mercier-4197_crossroads_because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the_416954.jpg" --- # Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still… ![“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the one marked by the future become past who wants to go back to the past, to revoke the irrevocable. And would he want to revoke it if he hadn’t suffered it?” quote by Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/pascal-mercier-4197_crossroads_because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the_416954.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/pascal-mercier-4197_crossroads_because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the_416954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/pascal-mercier-4197_crossroads_because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the_416954.jpg) > ““Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the one marked by the future become past who wants to go back to the past, to revoke the irrevocable. And would he want to revoke it if he hadn’t suffered it?”” [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People longing to reverse past suffering often cling to nostalgia, but true growth requires confronting irreversible experiences. **In simple terms:** Desire to undo past pain hinders growth. Key Takeaway Accept past, focus on present growth. Themes memory nostalgia growth acceptance time Mood melancholic introspective Type literary existential When to use this quote - grieving loss - personal development - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What past experiences shape you? - Can you find meaning without erasing history? A Different Perspective Attempting to erase past can trap one in denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crossroads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossroads/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [There comes a time in the life of every nation when it stands at the crossroads of history and must choose which way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lal-bahadur-shastri/there-comes-a-time-in-the-life-of-every-nation-when-it-stands-at-the-2/) [Lal Bahadur Shastri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lal-bahadur-shastri/) > [Thailand stands at a crossroads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thaksin-shinawatra/thailand-stands-at-a-crossroads/) [Thaksin Shinawatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thaksin-shinawatra/) > [“Any Iron bastard that wants you will have to get past me, first.' He rolled his eyes. 'And of course, the dark knight over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/any-iron-bastard-that-wants-you-will-have-to-get-past-me-first-he/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [Life has a way of moving you past wants and hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-flynn/life-has-a-way-of-moving-you-past-wants-and-hopes/) [Kevin Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-flynn/) > [Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered. What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/christmas-is-a-time-when-everybody-wants-his-past-forgotten-and-his-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life has a way of moving your past, wants and hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-has-a-way-of-moving-your-past-wants-and-hopes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being sixty-five ... became a crossroads. We said, we have nothing to lose, so we can raise hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-kuhn/being-sixty-five-became-a-crossroads-we-said-we-have-nothing-to-lose/) [Maggie Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-kuhn/) > [Sometimes a man and a woman reach a crossroads and linger there, reluctant to take either way, knowing the wrong choice will mean the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sometimes-a-man-and-a-woman-reach-a-crossroads-and-linger-there/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Like the line of love, I thought. Once crossed you can't go back. Like the line between past and future. Or maybe really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin-belmondo-style/like-the-line-of-love-i-thought-once-crossed-you-can-t-go-back-like/) Adam Berlin Belmondo Style > [“I envy the trees that grow at crossroads. They are never forced to decide which way to go...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-envy-the-trees-that-grow-at-crossroads-they-are-never-forced-to/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“What was it Danilov told me before I left? Something about how one day I would stand at a crossroads where I could choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-fogtdal/what-was-it-danilov-told-me-before-i-left-something-about-how-one-day/) Peter H. Fogtdal > [Here we are at the crossroads once again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-we-are-at-the-crossroads-once-again/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“From this point forward, you don’t even know how to quit in life.” ~ Aaron Lauritsen, ‘100 Days Drive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lauritsen/from-this-point-forward-you-don-t-even-know-how-to-quit-in-life-aaron/) [Aaron Lauritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lauritsen/) > [At each point in our lives, we are at a crossroads. We are the fruit of our past and we are the architects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/at-each-point-in-our-lives-we-are-at-a-crossroads-we-are-the-fruit-of/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) > [I stood at a crossroads and fate came to meet me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-greene/i-stood-at-a-crossroads-and-fate-came-to-meet-me/) Liz Greene ## More by Pascal Mercier > [To live for the moment: it sounds so right and so beautiful. But the more I want to, the less I understand what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/to-live-for-the-moment-it-sounds-so-right-and-so-beautiful-but-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“One who would really like to know himself would have to be a restless, fanatical collector of disappointments, and seeking disappointing experiences must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/one-who-would-really-like-to-know-himself-would-have-to-be-a-restless/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [SOLIDAO, LONELINESS. What is it that we call loneliness. It can't simply be the absence of others, you can be alone and not lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/solidao-loneliness-what-is-it-that-we-call-loneliness-it-can-t-simply/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Then there was a silence he had never before experienced: in it, you could hear the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/then-there-was-a-silence-he-had-never-before-experienced-in-it-you/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“For that is the meaning of a farewell in the full, important sense of the word: that the two people, because they part, come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/for-that-is-the-meaning-of-a-farewell-in-the-full-important-sense-of/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Gregorius was never to forget this scene. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. That words could cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/gregorius-was-never-to-forget-this-scene-they-were-his-first/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“After a while, he understood that he was experiencing a great liberation; the liberation from his self-imposed limitation, from a slowness and heaviness expressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/after-a-while-he-understood-that-he-was-experiencing-a-great/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“We can be sure that we will hold on to the deathbed as part of the last balance sheet – and this part will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/we-can-be-sure-that-we-will-hold-on-to-the-deathbed-as-part-of-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“NOBREZA SILENCIOSA. SILENT NOBILITY. It is a mistake to believe that the crucial moments of a life when its habitual direction changes forever must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/nobreza-silenciosa-silent-nobility-it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [It is not the pain and the wounds that are the worst. The worst is the humiliation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-not-the-pain-and-the-wounds-that-are-the-worst-the-worst-is-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Isn't it true that it's not people who meet, but rather the shadows cast by their imaginations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/isn-t-it-true-that-it-s-not-people-who-meet-but-rather-the-shadows/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Loyalty... A will, a decision, a resolution of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/loyalty-a-will-a-decision-a-resolution-of-the-soul/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-decisive-moments-of-a-life-when/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Should we be grateful for the protection that guards us from the strangeness of one another? And for the freedom it makes possible? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/should-we-be-grateful-for-the-protection-that-guards-us-from-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) [Explore all 69 Pascal Mercier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## More Crossroads quotes > [I stood at a crossroads and fate came to meet me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-greene/i-stood-at-a-crossroads-and-fate-came-to-meet-me/) Liz Greene > [At each point in our lives, we are at a crossroads. We are the fruit of our past and we are the architects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/at-each-point-in-our-lives-we-are-at-a-crossroads-we-are-the-fruit-of/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) > [“From this point forward, you don’t even know how to quit in life.” ~ Aaron Lauritsen, ‘100 Days Drive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lauritsen/from-this-point-forward-you-don-t-even-know-how-to-quit-in-life-aaron/) [Aaron Lauritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lauritsen/) > [Here we are at the crossroads once again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-we-are-at-the-crossroads-once-again/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What was it Danilov told me before I left? Something about how one day I would stand at a crossroads where I could choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-fogtdal/what-was-it-danilov-told-me-before-i-left-something-about-how-one-day/) Peter H. Fogtdal > [“I envy the trees that grow at crossroads. They are never forced to decide which way to go...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-envy-the-trees-that-grow-at-crossroads-they-are-never-forced-to/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“Like the line of love, I thought. Once crossed you can't go back. Like the line between past and future. Or maybe really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin-belmondo-style/like-the-line-of-love-i-thought-once-crossed-you-can-t-go-back-like/) Adam Berlin Belmondo Style > [Sometimes a man and a woman reach a crossroads and linger there, reluctant to take either way, knowing the wrong choice will mean the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sometimes-a-man-and-a-woman-reach-a-crossroads-and-linger-there/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Being sixty-five ... became a crossroads. We said, we have nothing to lose, so we can raise hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-kuhn/being-sixty-five-became-a-crossroads-we-said-we-have-nothing-to-lose/) [Maggie Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-kuhn/) > [I just get focused on whatever is in front of me. When I was filming Crossroads, it had all my focus. Now I'm all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taryn-manning/i-just-get-focused-on-whatever-is-in-front-of-me-when-i-was-filming/) [Taryn Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taryn-manning/) > [“Goodness was daily choice, endless possibility, a decision at every crossroads.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-f-whitten/goodness-was-daily-choice-endless-possibility-a-decision-at-every/) Hannah F. Whitten > [I've been really fortunate that I've been at a lot of critical crossroads in my musical journey. When I look back, there are some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-robertson/i-ve-been-really-fortunate-that-i-ve-been-at-a-lot-of-critical/) [Robbie Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-robertson/) > [Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point--a great crossroads in our life. From that point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/not-often-but-every-once-in-a-while-god-brings-us-to-a-major-turning/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“Here's the way it works. You're going to find yourself at a crossroads.. There's going to be a dcision you'll have to make, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-s-the-way-it-works-you-re-going-to-find-yourself-at-a-crossroads/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Without struggle, success has no value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lauritsen/without-struggle-success-has-no-value/) [Aaron Lauritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lauritsen/) [Browse all 269 Crossroads quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossroads/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the one marked by the future become past who wants to go back to the past, to revoke the irrevocable. 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