--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Coastal people never really know what the…" description: "\"Coastal people never really know what the ocean symbolizes to landlocked inland people--what a great distant dream it is, present but unseen in the dee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/robert-m-pirsig-817_coastal_coastal-people-never-really-know-what-th_1285526.png" --- # Coastal people never really know what the ocean symbolizes… ![“Coastal people never really know what the ocean symbolizes to landlocked inland people--what a great distant dream it is, present but unseen in the deepest level of subconsciousness, and when they arrive at the ocean and the conscious images are compared with the subconscious dream there is a…” quote by Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/robert-m-pirsig-817_coastal_coastal-people-never-really-know-what-th_1285526.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/robert-m-pirsig-817_coastal_coastal-people-never-really-know-what-th_1285526.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/robert-m-pirsig-817_coastal_coastal-people-never-really-know-what-th_1285526.png) > “Coastal people never really know what the ocean symbolizes to landlocked inland people--what a great distant dream it is, present but unseen in the deepest level of subconsciousness, and when they arrive at the ocean and the conscious images are compared with the subconscious dream there is a sense of defeat at having come so far to be stopped by a mystery that can never be fathomed. The source of it all.” [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts how coastal people experience the ocean directly while inland people only imagine it, leading to a feeling of awe and frustration when the imagined mystery becomes real and incomprehensible. **In simple terms:** Coastal vs inland perspectives create a gap between imagined and actual experience, causing wonder and disappointment. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of imagination and embrace mystery. Themes perception imagery nature philosophy disappointment Mood reflective melancholic inquisitive Type philosophical poetic observational When to use this quote - travel - creative writing - personal reflection - environmental education Key Concepts existentialism symbolism cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal experience shape your view of distant symbols? - Can imagined mysteries become sources of inspiration rather than defeat? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑generalize regional experiences and ignore individual differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Subconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subconscious/) ## Related quotes > [It's paradoxical that where people are most closely crowded, in the big coastal cities of the East and West, the loneliness is the greatest...The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/it-s-paradoxical-that-where-people-are-most-closely-crowded-in-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [It's paradoxical that where people are the most closely crowded, in the big coastal cities in the East and West, the loneliness is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/it-s-paradoxical-that-where-people-are-the-most-closely-crowded-in/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Scientists say an 8.9 earthquake here could knock down buildings, flood coastal areas... and improve the roads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/scientists-say-an-8-9-earthquake-here-could-knock-down-buildings/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [California just is so deeply left, particularly coastal. It just is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/california-just-is-so-deeply-left-particularly-coastal-it-just-is/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“I’m a mother. You name it, I’ve seen it and probably had to mop it up,” said Lucy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-meier/i-m-a-mother-you-name-it-i-ve-seen-it-and-probably-had-to-mop-it-up/) [Leslie Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-meier/) > [Northeastern and most coastal states will vote for the candidate who is more closely aligned with international cooperation and engagement, secularism and science, gun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/northeastern-and-most-coastal-states-will-vote-for-the-candidate-who/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I have learned how to plant coastal hay, fertilize and bale it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-turner/i-have-learned-how-to-plant-coastal-hay-fertilize-and-bale-it/) [Janine Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-turner/) > [Whether it's exploring the woods around where I grew up, or even today exploring the coastal habitats and environments where I live in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-corwin/whether-it-s-exploring-the-woods-around-where-i-grew-up-or-even-today/) [Jeff Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-corwin/) > [If the Coastal Republic had believed in the existence of virtue, it could at least have aspired to hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/if-the-coastal-republic-had-believed-in-the-existence-of-virtue-it/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Republicans face unexpected challenges in coastal South amid shrinking white vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-blackmon/republicans-face-unexpected-challenges-in-coastal-south-amid/) Douglas A. Blackmon > [I’m a high-tech low-life. 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Romm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-romm/) > [Yes, I guess I am bi-coastal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tea-leoni/yes-i-guess-i-am-bi-coastal/) [Tea Leoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tea-leoni/) ## More by Robert M. Pirsig > [“And from time to time you find your “county road” takes you onto a two-rutter and then a single rutter and then into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/and-from-time-to-time-you-find-your-county-road-takes-you-onto-a-two/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“I started to roll over for more sleep but heard a rooster crowing and then became aware we are on vacation and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-started-to-roll-over-for-more-sleep-but-heard-a-rooster-crowing-and/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even though quality cannot be defined, you know what quality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-though-quality-cannot-be-defined-you-know-what-quality-is/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [I suppose philosophy is historically not a woman's game, though that is changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-suppose-philosophy-is-historically-not-a-woman-s-game-though-that/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Up until my first book was published, I had all this potential, people would say, and I screwed up. After it, I could say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/up-until-my-first-book-was-published-i-had-all-this-potential-people/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [There is a perennial classical question that asks which part of the motorcycle, which grain of sand in which pile, is the Buddha. Obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/there-is-a-perennial-classical-question-that-asks-which-part-of-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Of the value traps, the most widespread and pernicious is value rigidity. This is an inability to revalue what one sees because of commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/of-the-value-traps-the-most-widespread-and-pernicious-is-value/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Historically mystics have claimed that for a true understanding of reality metaphysics is too “scientific”. Metaphysics is not reality. Metaphysics is names about reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/historically-mystics-have-claimed-that-for-a-true-understanding-of/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“What’s emerging from the pattern of my own life is the for belief that the crisis is being caused by the inadequacy of existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-s-emerging-from-the-pattern-of-my-own-life-is-the-for-belief/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as 'the system' is to speak correctly . . . They are sustained by structural relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-speak-of-certain-government-and-establishment-institutions-as-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-government-but-the-systematic/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-only-zen-you-can-find-on-the-tops-of-mountains-is-the-zen-you/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Only social patterns can control biological patterns, and the instrument of conversation between society and biology is not words. The instrument of conversation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/only-social-patterns-can-control-biological-patterns-and-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even in the presence of others he was completely alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-in-the-presence-of-others-he-was-completely-alone/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Explore all 351 Robert M. Pirsig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ## More Coastal quotes > [Yes, I guess I am bi-coastal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tea-leoni/yes-i-guess-i-am-bi-coastal/) [Tea Leoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tea-leoni/) > [Protecting dozens of major coastal cities from future flooding will be challenging enough-rebuilding major coastal cities destroyed by super-hurricanes will be an almost impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-romm/protecting-dozens-of-major-coastal-cities-from-future-flooding-will/) [Joseph J. Romm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-romm/) > [The undisturbed coastal plain is home to a wide variety of plants and animals and is the only wilderness sanctuary in North America that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/the-undisturbed-coastal-plain-is-home-to-a-wide-variety-of-plants-and/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [I am passionate about making sure that we collectively and proactively preserve all of the world's most iconic coastal and oceanic wild places -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-dedina/i-am-passionate-about-making-sure-that-we-collectively-and/) Serge Dedina > [I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting edge, state-of-the-art bi-coastal multi-tasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-m-a-high-tech-low-life-a-cutting-edge-state-of-the-art-bi-coastal/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Republicans face unexpected challenges in coastal South amid shrinking white vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-blackmon/republicans-face-unexpected-challenges-in-coastal-south-amid/) Douglas A. Blackmon > [If the Coastal Republic had believed in the existence of virtue, it could at least have aspired to hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/if-the-coastal-republic-had-believed-in-the-existence-of-virtue-it/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Whether it's exploring the woods around where I grew up, or even today exploring the coastal habitats and environments where I live in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-corwin/whether-it-s-exploring-the-woods-around-where-i-grew-up-or-even-today/) [Jeff Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-corwin/) > [I have learned how to plant coastal hay, fertilize and bale it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-turner/i-have-learned-how-to-plant-coastal-hay-fertilize-and-bale-it/) [Janine Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-turner/) > [Northeastern and most coastal states will vote for the candidate who is more closely aligned with international cooperation and engagement, secularism and science, gun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/northeastern-and-most-coastal-states-will-vote-for-the-candidate-who/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“I’m a mother. You name it, I’ve seen it and probably had to mop it up,” said Lucy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-meier/i-m-a-mother-you-name-it-i-ve-seen-it-and-probably-had-to-mop-it-up/) [Leslie Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-meier/) > [California just is so deeply left, particularly coastal. It just is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/california-just-is-so-deeply-left-particularly-coastal-it-just-is/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Scientists say an 8.9 earthquake here could knock down buildings, flood coastal areas... and improve the roads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/scientists-say-an-8-9-earthquake-here-could-knock-down-buildings/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [There is no doubt that now, more than ever, we must work to end our dependence on foreign oil sources. But we cannot do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-dole/there-is-no-doubt-that-now-more-than-ever-we-must-work-to-end-our/) [Elizabeth Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-dole/) > [Some of the best advice and insights I have ever received in my professional life have come from people, by listening to them, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/some-of-the-best-advice-and-insights-i-have-ever-received-in-my/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) Browse all 83 Coastal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Coastal people never really know what the ocean symbolizes to landlocked inland people--what a great distant dream it is, present but unseen in the deepest level of subconsciousness, and when they arrive at the ocean and the conscious images are compared with the subconscious dream there is a sense of defeat at having come so far to be stopped by a mystery that can never be fathomed. 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