--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People steal into one's consciousness and…" description: "\"People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all along.\" — Paula Fox" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/paula-fox-13833_consciousness_people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-an_109544.jpg" --- # People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what… ![“People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all along.” quote by Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/paula-fox-13833_consciousness_people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-an_109544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/paula-fox-13833_consciousness_people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-an_109544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/paula-fox-13833_consciousness_people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-an_109544.jpg) > “People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all along.” [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memories or ideas can appear suddenly, feeling as if they have always belonged to us, reshaping our sense of self‑history. **In simple terms:** Past thoughts can feel like they were always part of us. Key Takeaway Identity is fluid, shaped by unexpected mental intrusions. Themes memory identity self‑perception psychology Mood reflective nostalgic Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - recalling a childhood song - realizing a forgotten skill - recognizing a long‑latent passion Key Concepts continuity of consciousness narrative self Practical Applications - journal reflective to track emerging thoughts - mind‑mapping to integrate new insights Questions to Reflect On - How do sudden memories alter your self‑narrative? - Can you differentiate between genuine insight and fleeting mental noise? A Different Perspective May overstate the permanence of such intrusions; many are fleeting and not truly integral. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Retrospect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retrospect/) ## Related quotes > [I try to live in a little bit of my own joy and not let people steal it or take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoda-kotb/i-try-to-live-in-a-little-bit-of-my-own-joy-and-not-let-people-steal/) [Hoda Kotb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoda-kotb/) > [When people steal their facebook statues from these websites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-steal-their-facebook-statues-from-these-websites/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“How did people steal before computers? - Dogbert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/how-did-people-steal-before-computers-dogbert/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [I hate low life people who steal from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-low-life-people-who-steal-from-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's worse that people can steal from you than money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/there-s-worse-that-people-can-steal-from-you-than-money/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [If you are doing well there are some people who will do anything to steal your shine. Don't give them the reaction they're looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-doing-well-there-are-some-people-who-will-do-anything-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People will steal it if you don't make it easy to buy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-ergen/people-will-steal-it-if-you-don-t-make-it-easy-to-buy-it/) [Charlie Ergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-ergen/) > [The only people who steal are thieves, and that's a very small percentage of civilization. Most people want to have some way to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nesmith/the-only-people-who-steal-are-thieves-and-that-s-a-very-small/) [Michael Nesmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nesmith/) > [“There are people who steal your energy or disrupt your energy field.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/there-are-people-who-steal-your-energy-or-disrupt-your-energy-field/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [When you've got something really good, you don't have to force it on people. They will steal it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/when-you-ve-got-something-really-good-you-don-t-have-to-force-it-on/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [When people steal their facebook statuses of these websites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-steal-their-facebook-statuses-of-these-websites/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't let those people steal your day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/don-t-let-those-people-steal-your-day/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Dont let people steal your dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-ruettiger/dont-let-people-steal-your-dreams/) [Rudy Ruettiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-ruettiger/) > [“Greeders who plunder and steal from their people - not only steal their supporters and their childrens' future, but they also smash their mindsets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-dovale/greeders-who-plunder-and-steal-from-their-people-not-only-steal-their/) [Tony Dovale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-dovale/) > [People negotiate their way around how a human mind works and find blind points. That's how people steal effectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/people-negotiate-their-way-around-how-a-human-mind-works-and-find/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) ## More by Paula Fox > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [You'll see some bad things, but if you didn't see them, they'd still be happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/you-ll-see-some-bad-things-but-if-you-didn-t-see-them-they-d-still-be/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“I imagine there's a timid animal inside me...When it's afraid, I feel it tremble. It can't hear. It only knows the fear it feels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-imagine-there-s-a-timid-animal-inside-me-when-it-s-afraid-i-feel-it/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I taught writing classes at the University of Pennsylvania for a number of years and I realized that all you can do is encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-taught-writing-classes-at-the-university-of-pennsylvania-for-a/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Words are nets through which all truth escapes ("News From The World")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/words-are-nets-through-which-all-truth-escapes-news-from-the-world/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I don't like to listen to music while I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-don-t-like-to-listen-to-music-while-i-m-working/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Imagination has to do with one's awareness of the reality of other people as well as of one's own reality. Imagination is a bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/imagination-has-to-do-with-one-s-awareness-of-the-reality-of-other/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Imagination is conjunctive and unifying; the sour, habitual wars of the self are disjunctive and separating. When I begin a story at my desk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/imagination-is-conjunctive-and-unifying-the-sour-habitual-wars-of-the/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [If a person had accused him of meanness, he could have defended himself. But with a dog - you did something cheap to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/if-a-person-had-accused-him-of-meanness-he-could-have-defended/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [A year and a half after the end of the war and the German occupation, Paris was muted and looked bruised and forlorn. Everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/a-year-and-a-half-after-the-end-of-the-war-and-the-german-occupation/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“You’ll see some bad things, but if you didn’t see them, they’d still be happening so you might as well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/you-ll-see-some-bad-things-but-if-you-didn-t-see-them-they-d-still-be-2/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Words are nets through which all truth escapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/words-are-nets-through-which-all-truth-escapes/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [When I had a few francs, I spent them at a café on the Place de Longchamps, a block or so from my pension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/when-i-had-a-few-francs-i-spent-them-at-a-caf-on-the-place-de/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I've always known a lot of very bad people, destructive, brutes of a certain kind. Then I've seen these lovely impulses and what not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-ve-always-known-a-lot-of-very-bad-people-destructive-brutes-of-a/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/the-density-of-people-in-society-is-so-thick-that-we-forget-that-life/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) [Explore all 49 Paula Fox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) ## More Consciousness quotes > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/) [Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [So many people are passive participants in their very short time of having a consciousness, and those who aren't inspire me. Like Malala Yousafzai…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-gelulla/so-many-people-are-passive-participants-in-their-very-short-time-of/) Dylan Gelulla > [Floating in and out of consciousness...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/floating-in-and-out-of-consciousness/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“The vision teller tells the vision to unguarded minds' of prey. The programmed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-f-hodge/the-vision-teller-tells-the-vision-to-unguarded-minds-of-prey-the/) [T.F. Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 6,062 Consciousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all along.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paula Fox" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-and-occupy-what-seems-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consciousness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-and-occupy-what-seems-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/paula-fox-13833_consciousness_people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-an_109544.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/paula-fox-13833_consciousness_people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-an_109544.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/paula-fox-13833_consciousness_people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-an_109544.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all…” — Paula Fox", "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": "Paula Fox", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People steal into one's consciousness and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-and-occupy-what-seems-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-and-occupy-what-seems-in/#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 } } ] } ```