--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What else? Was this what came from…" description: "\"“What else? Was this what came from thoughts of time running out and death: that all of a sudden you didn’t know anymore what you wanted? That you didn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/pascal-mercier-4197_death_what-else-was-this-what-came-from-though_2513576.jpg" --- # What else? Was this what came from thoughts of time… ![“What else? Was this what came from thoughts of time running out and death: that all of a sudden you didn’t know anymore what you wanted? That you didn’t know your own will anymore? That you lost the obvious familiarity with your own wishes? And in this way became strange and a problem to yourself?” quote by Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/pascal-mercier-4197_death_what-else-was-this-what-came-from-though_2513576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/pascal-mercier-4197_death_what-else-was-this-what-came-from-though_2513576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/pascal-mercier-4197_death_what-else-was-this-what-came-from-though_2513576.jpg) > ““What else? Was this what came from thoughts of time running out and death: that all of a sudden you didn’t know anymore what you wanted? That you didn’t know your own will anymore? That you lost the obvious familiarity with your own wishes? And in this way became strange and a problem to yourself?”” [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. When time feels finite, we may lose clarity about our desires, leading to inner alienation. **In simple terms:** Running out of time clouds our wishes. Key Takeaway Reflect on what truly matters. Themes existence identity time uncertainty Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - career crossroads - personal loss - midlife questioning - creative blocks Key Concepts self‑awareness philosophical introspection existential crisis Questions to Reflect On - What wish feels most authentic now? - How can you reconnect with your inner self? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Tell them you came, and saw, and looked into my eyes and saw the shadow of the guard receding. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“When I got here my first thought was: Maybe I achieved such an effort with my thoughts that time has made a complete revolution;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/when-i-got-here-my-first-thought-was-maybe-i-achieved-such-an-effort/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [20,000 leagues away, catch up to you on the same day. Travel at the speed of light, thinking the same thoughts at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-timberlake/20-000-leagues-away-catch-up-to-you-on-the-same-day-travel-at-the/) [Justin Timberlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-timberlake/) > [Forget the past and live in the present hour. Now is the time to work, the time to fill The soul with noblest thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-knowles-bolton/forget-the-past-and-live-in-the-present-hour-now-is-the-time-to-work/) [Sarah Knowles Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-knowles-bolton/) > [“It’s time for a spring cleaning of your thoughts, it’s time to stop to just existing it’s time to start living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/it-s-time-for-a-spring-cleaning-of-your-thoughts-it-s-time-to-stop-to/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Just wanted to let you know... You're in my thoughts... all the time!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-wanted-to-let-you-know-you-re-in-my-thoughts-all-the-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hume applied his skeptical rigor to the concept of time. It made no sense, he said, to speak of time as having an absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/hume-applied-his-skeptical-rigor-to-the-concept-of-time-it-made-no/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The Bad-Moon Girls appear on days when Dad doesn't know what he is thinking, or even if he is thinking. Those days can weigh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-campbell/the-bad-moon-girls-appear-on-days-when-dad-doesn-t-know-what-he-is/) Joanna Campbell > [“There must have been about two minutes during which I assumed that I was killed. And that too was interesting -- I mean it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/there-must-have-been-about-two-minutes-during-which-i-assumed-that-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## 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/) > [“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the-one-who-still-untouched-by/) [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/) [Explore all 69 Pascal Mercier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. 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