--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Simultaneously I am myself, the child I…" description: "\"Simultaneously I am myself, the child I was, the old man I will be.\" — Peter Matthiessen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/peter-matthiessen-5795_child_simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-w_2759339.png" --- # Simultaneously I am myself, the child I was, the old man I… ![“Simultaneously I am myself, the child I was, the old man I will be.” quote by Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/peter-matthiessen-5795_child_simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-w_2759339.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/peter-matthiessen-5795_child_simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-w_2759339.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/peter-matthiessen-5795_child_simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-w_2759339.png) > “Simultaneously I am myself, the child I was, the old man I will be.” [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self is a blend of past, present, and future selves. **In simple terms:** I am now, my child self, and my future old self. Key Takeaway Embrace all stages of your identity. Themes identity time self‑continuity Mood introspective philosophical Type literary personal When to use this quote - life coaching - memoir writing - generational counseling Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do past experiences shape present actions? - What future self do you aspire to become? A Different Perspective May cause identity conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Child Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-old-491015/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Simultaneously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simultaneously/) [Simultaneously Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simultaneously-child-3157997/) ## Related quotes > [I sat my little child down when he was old enough to know. I said I fell in this big wide world. You're gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-guy/i-sat-my-little-child-down-when-he-was-old-enough-to-know-i-said-i/) [Buddy Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-guy/) > [“God bless child even when he get old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/god-bless-child-even-when-he-get-old/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-secret-of-genius-is-to-carry-the-spirit-of-the-child-into-old-age-2/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [There are two main things in life that teach me the virtue of patience - a child and an old car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-gordon/there-are-two-main-things-in-life-that-teach-me-the-virtue-of/) [J D Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-gordon/) > [My grandmother lived with us for a short time while I was a child. Old people tend to be slightly more eccentric - they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/my-grandmother-lived-with-us-for-a-short-time-while-i-was-a-child-old/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [“No, child. I'm old enough and cold enough; the hottest day won't thaw me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/no-child-i-m-old-enough-and-cold-enough-the-hottest-day-won-t-thaw-me/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Wherever I go, there's always a child, an old woman, that comes to me and wants to meet me. Not because I am famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elian-gonzalez/wherever-i-go-there-s-always-a-child-an-old-woman-that-comes-to-me/) [Elian Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elian-gonzalez/) > [One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/one-thing-they-never-tell-you-about-child-raising-is-that-for-the/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [“The secret of genius is to carry the child into old age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-secret-of-genius-is-to-carry-the-child-into-old-age/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which mean never losing your enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-secret-of-genius-is-to-carry-the-spirit-of-the-child-into-old-age/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The puckered-up face of the newly-born child, old as the world, wise as the roots of trees. Sin was there and goodness, love, pity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/the-puckered-up-face-of-the-newly-born-child-old-as-the-world-wise-as/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [I am twenty years old. To a world-wise adult, I am little more than a child. To any child, however, I am old enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-am-twenty-years-old-to-a-world-wise-adult-i-am-little-more-than-a/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Sometimes a child with wise eyes is born. Then some people will call that child an old soul. That is enough to make God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/sometimes-a-child-with-wise-eyes-is-born-then-some-people-will-call/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I have always said, 'Never stop work.' Continue work and sort out issues simultaneously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajinikanth/i-have-always-said-never-stop-work-continue-work-and-sort-out-issues/) [Rajinikanth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajinikanth/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More by Peter Matthiessen > [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Figures dark beneath their loads pass down the far bank of the river, rendered immortal by the streak of sunset upon their shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/figures-dark-beneath-their-loads-pass-down-the-far-bank-of-the-river/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I think in any writing you're paying attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-think-in-any-writing-you-re-paying-attention-to-detail/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [The great stillness in these landscapes that once made me restless seeps into me day by day, and with it the unreasonable feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/the-great-stillness-in-these-landscapes-that-once-made-me-restless/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“...experience was static in the valley; it was older than time itself, for time was a thing of but two generations, dated by moons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/experience-was-static-in-the-valley-it-was-older-than-time-itself-for/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“The central feature of the practice of meditation and hard work known as Zen is that, as Matthiessen says, it “has no patience with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/the-central-feature-of-the-practice-of-meditation-and-hard-work-known/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Be light, light, light - full of light!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/be-light-light-light-full-of-light/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [For some time I watch the coming of the night? Above is the glistening galaxy of childhood, now hidden in the Western world by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/for-some-time-i-watch-the-coming-of-the-night-above-is-the-glistening/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“Nonfiction at its best is like fashioning a cabinet. It can be elegant and very beautiful but it can never be sculpture. Captive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/nonfiction-at-its-best-is-like-fashioning-a-cabinet-it-can-be-elegant/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Soon the child’s clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions, and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/soon-the-child-s-clear-eye-is-clouded-over-by-ideas-and-opinions/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“In the book of Job, the Lord demands, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” “I was there!”-surely that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/in-the-book-of-job-the-lord-demands-where-wast-thou-when-i-laid-the/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I meditate for the last time on this mountain that is bare, though others all around are white with snow. Like the bare peak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-meditate-for-the-last-time-on-this-mountain-that-is-bare-though/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I was just very interested in the American frontier and the growth of capitalism - those enormous fortunes that were being made, more often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-was-just-very-interested-in-the-american-frontier-and-the-growth-of/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“A far cicada rings high and clear over the river’s heavy wash. Morning glory, a lone dandelion, cassia, orchids. So far from the nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/a-far-cicada-rings-high-and-clear-over-the-river-s-heavy-wash-morning/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I ... had what Kierkegaard called 'the sickness of infinitude,' wandering from one path to another with no real recognition that I was embarked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-had-what-kierkegaard-called-the-sickness-of-infinitude-wandering/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) [Explore all 99 Peter Matthiessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) ## More Child quotes > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [I want to make my music and be a happy woman, a good wife, a good mom and one day hopefully have a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/i-want-to-make-my-music-and-be-a-happy-woman-a-good-wife-a-good-mom/) [LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/) > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I'm a weirdo and an only child. That comes together to create one-woman shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-seales/i-m-a-weirdo-and-an-only-child-that-comes-together-to-create-one/) [Amanda Seales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-seales/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-assist-a-child-we-must-provide-him-with-an-environment-which-will/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [if we center our lives on BMWs, RVs, VCRs, PCs and the other acronyms of consumerism, we cannot expect our children to do otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnetta-b-cole/if-we-center-our-lives-on-bmws-rvs-vcrs-pcs-and-the-other-acronyms-of/) [Johnnetta B. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnetta-b-cole/) > [Bring up your children in the way you think other peoples children should go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/bring-up-your-children-in-the-way-you-think-other-peoples-children/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) [Browse all 10,700 Child quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Simultaneously I am myself, the child I was, the old man I will be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Matthiessen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-was-the-old-man-i-will-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Child" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-was-the-old-man-i-will-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/peter-matthiessen-5795_child_simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-w_2759339.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/peter-matthiessen-5795_child_simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-w_2759339.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/peter-matthiessen-5795_child_simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-w_2759339.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Simultaneously I am myself, the child I was, the old man I will be.” — Peter Matthiessen", "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": "Peter Matthiessen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Simultaneously I am myself, the child...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-was-the-old-man-i-will-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/simultaneously-i-am-myself-the-child-i-was-the-old-man-i-will-be/#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 } } ] } ```