---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He thought of these years as another life…"
description: "\"“He thought of these years as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to carry. A small box. A handkerchief. A stone...."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/paul-yoon-39503_another-life_he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-lif_1014742.jpg"
---

#  He thought of these years as another life within the one…

![“He thought of these years as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to carry. A small box. A handkerchief. A stone.” quote by Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/paul-yoon-39503_another-life_he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-lif_1014742.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/paul-yoon-39503_another-life_he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-lif_1014742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/paul-yoon-39503_another-life_he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-lif_1014742.jpg)

> ““He thought of these years as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to carry. A small box. A handkerchief. A stone.””

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Reflecting on past experiences as a portable, tangible memory, like a small personal artifact.

**In simple terms:** Memories are carried like objects.

Key Takeaway

Cherish and reflect on personal history.

Themes

memory reflection identity

Mood

melancholic introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- journaling
- therapy
- creative writing

Key Concepts

nostalgia personal narrative

Questions to Reflect On

- What does this memory teach you now?
- How can you integrate past lessons without being trapped?

A Different Perspective

Over‑identifying with past may hinder present growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Another life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [“He thought of these yers as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to carry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-yers-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“Some things you found just when you needed them, and Solo thought of the years that had passed so swiftly with his friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/some-things-you-found-just-when-you-needed-them-and-solo-thought-of/)

[Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/)

> [Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop for awhile, take a trip, do things-the next time I thought of this, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought-i-would-stop-for-awhile-take/)

[Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/)

> [“she thought of all the years that had led up to this—all those seconds and minutes and hours, spent elsewhere, with others, doing other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-barnett/she-thought-of-all-the-years-that-had-led-up-to-this-all-those/)

[Laura Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-barnett/)

> [A lot of my movies have come to be thought about only years after the fact, and I'm sad about that but also happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/a-lot-of-my-movies-have-come-to-be-thought-about-only-years-after-the/)

[Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/)

> [When I started working on 'Stay With Me,' I thought it would take two years to complete the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayobami-adebayo/when-i-started-working-on-stay-with-me-i-thought-it-would-take-two/)

[Ayobami Adebayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayobami-adebayo/)

> [I used to think that cyberspace was fifty years away. What I thought was fifty years away, was only ten years away. And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/i-used-to-think-that-cyberspace-was-fifty-years-away-what-i-thought/)

[Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/)

> [I have thought for years environmental issues need to be depoliticized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-r-wheeler/i-have-thought-for-years-environmental-issues-need-to-be-depoliticized/)

[Andrew R. Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-r-wheeler/)

> [“Despite everything he had or might have (except, of course, another human being), life gave no promise of improvement or even of change. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-matheson/despite-everything-he-had-or-might-have-except-of-course-another/)

[Richard Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-matheson/)

> [“I thought of all the years I had spent thinking about him, wondering if he would ever come back to me. And I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-shannon/i-thought-of-all-the-years-i-had-spent-thinking-about-him-wondering/)

[Samantha Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-shannon/)

> [“I would guess that he thought and thought for at least ten years before he came up with a stupendous idea, that glory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-would-guess-that-he-thought-and-thought-for-at-least-ten-years/)

[Soseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/)

> [A cat determined not to be found can fold itself up like a pocket handkerchief if it wants to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-j-camuti/a-cat-determined-not-to-be-found-can-fold-itself-up-like-a-pocket/)

[Louis J. Camuti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-j-camuti/)

> [“A blanket could be used as a sail for my self-esteem when I’m floating upstream on the turbulent river of my subconscious. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-as-a-sail-for-my-self-esteem-when-i-m/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [“While still practising law, he'd run a hearse-rental agency. Then, later, he'd bought into a handkerchief factory in Baker Park. Their most famous innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-thomson/while-still-practising-law-he-d-run-a-hearse-rental-agency-then-later/)

[Rupert Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-thomson/)

> [Before we can wave the handkerchief, we have to have a cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-dangoor/before-we-can-wave-the-handkerchief-we-have-to-have-a-cold/)

[Robert D Dangoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-dangoor/)

## More by Paul Yoon

> [“He thought of these yers as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to carry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-yers-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“For a moment, he was still that man, a boy, in that country, in that harbor, with his back to the years that had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/for-a-moment-he-was-still-that-man-a-boy-in-that-country-in-that/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“He imagined the tailor as a young man and his journey here, crossing an ocean on a slow-moving ship as he himself did. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-imagined-the-tailor-as-a-young-man-and-his-journey-here-crossing/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“One night, returning to the house, he went into his father’s shed. He stared at the unsold pots and the vases on the shelves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/one-night-returning-to-the-house-he-went-into-his-father-s-shed-he/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“This momentary bridge. The wonder of a shared memory, returned. Of a place once theirs and a life that had already been lived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/this-momentary-bridge-the-wonder-of-a-shared-memory-returned-of-a/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“One time the scent of the old man appeared in the air: some combination of tobacco and citrus and soap. It was fleeting yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/one-time-the-scent-of-the-old-man-appeared-in-the-air-some/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“Standing there, in his father’s shed, he knew that there had been, between them, affection and even tenderness. That his father had never been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/standing-there-in-his-father-s-shed-he-knew-that-there-had-been/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“He did not understand how a life could vanish. How that was even possible. How it could close in an instant before you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-did-not-understand-how-a-life-could-vanish-how-that-was-even/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“But as he grew older he thought less of it, grew accustomed to the days lived. Each day he climbed the hill, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/but-as-he-grew-older-he-thought-less-of-it-grew-accustomed-to-the/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

> [“It was as though someone, somewhere, were dreaming this and he had crossed into it without permission. Everything both familiar and foreign.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/it-was-as-though-someone-somewhere-were-dreaming-this-and-he-had/)

[Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

[Explore all 11 Paul Yoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/)

## More Another life quotes

> [“Small memories of another life flutter through my head like moths — all grey images and tearstains”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-kahler/small-memories-of-another-life-flutter-through-my-head-like-moths-all/)

A.R. Kahler

> [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/)

[Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/)

> [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-love-the-dark-hours-of-my-being-my-mind-deepens-into-them-there-i/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [In another life, I would be your girl. Capable of making promises. We would rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/in-another-life-i-would-be-your-girl-capable-of-making-promises-we/)

[Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/)

> [I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-couldn-t-even-think-about-wanting-to-be-something-else-i-wouldn-t/)

[Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/)

> [And whatever my life had been up to that day, it was another life after that. And that is the gospel truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/and-whatever-my-life-had-been-up-to-that-day-it-was-another-life/)

[Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/)

> [Literature duplicates the experience of living in a way that nothing else can, drawing you so fully into another life that you temporarily forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/literature-duplicates-the-experience-of-living-in-a-way-that-nothing/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [Whatever you have received more than others-in health, in talents, in ability, in success, in a pleasant childhood, in harmonious conditions of home life-all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/whatever-you-have-received-more-than-others-in-health-in-talents-in/)

[Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/)

> [“Let me give you a bit of advice.' the girl said bitterly, 'from one working girl to another; life isn't easy, no matter where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/let-me-give-you-a-bit-of-advice-the-girl-said-bitterly-from-one/)

[Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/)

> [“The vibrations he felt in his sleep had nothing to do with his soul easing out of his body as he dreamily thought; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-poet-aberjhani/the-vibrations-he-felt-in-his-sleep-had-nothing-to-do-with-his-soul/)

Author-Poet Aberjhani

> [I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. I have another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-wasn-t-born-with-a-tie-or-with-mark-shields-stapled-to-my-left-hip/)

[David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/)

> [For many observers, a child who has known nothing but war, a child for whom the Kalashnikov is the only way to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/for-many-observers-a-child-who-has-known-nothing-but-war-a-child-for/)

[Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/)

> [I mean, is there a chance for me? To have another life after this, a better one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-mean-is-there-a-chance-for-me-to-have-another-life-after-this-a/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [We, all who live, have A life that is lived And another life that is thought, And the only life we have It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-all-who-live-have-a-life-that-is-lived-and-another-life-that-is/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [The death-change comes. Death is another life. We bow our heads At going out, we think, and enter straight Another golden chamber of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/the-death-change-comes-death-is-another-life-we-bow-our-heads-at/)

[Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/)

[Browse all 433 Another life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“He thought of these years as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to carry. A small box. A handkerchief. A stone.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Paul Yoon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Another life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/paul-yoon-39503_another-life_he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-lif_1014742.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/paul-yoon-39503_another-life_he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-lif_1014742.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/paul-yoon-39503_another-life_he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-lif_1014742.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He thought of these years as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to…” — Paul Yoon",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Paul Yoon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“He thought of these years as...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
