--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We found ourselves on a smooth, spacious…" description: "\"“We found ourselves on a smooth, spacious but narrow track of ice or glass. We floated along it, as if on marvellous skates, and we were dancing too, f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-walser-6307_fall-in-love_we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious_3078756.jpg" --- # We found ourselves on a smooth, spacious but narrow track… ![“We found ourselves on a smooth, spacious but narrow track of ice or glass. We floated along it, as if on marvellous skates, and we were dancing too, for like a wave the track rose and fell beneath us. It was delightful. I had never seen anything like it and I shouted for joy, ‘How glorious!’ And…” quote by Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-walser-6307_fall-in-love_we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious_3078756.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-walser-6307_fall-in-love_we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious_3078756.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-walser-6307_fall-in-love_we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious_3078756.jpg) > ““We found ourselves on a smooth, spacious but narrow track of ice or glass. We floated along it, as if on marvellous skates, and we were dancing too, for like a wave the track rose and fell beneath us. It was delightful. I had never seen anything like it and I shouted for joy, ‘How glorious!’ And overhead the stars were shimmering, in a sky that was strangely all pale blue and yet dark, and the moon with its unearthly light was shining down on us skaters. ‘This is freedom,’ said the instructress, ‘it’s something very wintry, and cannot be borne for long. One must always keep moving, as we are doing here, one must dance in freedom. It is cold and beautiful. Never fall in love with it. That would only make you sad afterwards, for one can only be in the realm of freedom for a moment, no longer. Look how the wonderful track we are floating on is slowly melting away. Now you can watch freedom dying, if you open your eyes...”” [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom feels exhilarating yet fleeting; it requires constant motion and cannot be clung to forever. **In simple terms:** Freedom is fleeting and needs movement. Key Takeaway Keep moving, don’t cling to moments. Themes freedom transience movement joy impermanence Mood wonder melancholy inspired Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - artistic inspiration - personal reflection - mindfulness practice - creative writing - performance art Key Concepts existentialism ephemerality joyful motion Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay present without clinging? - What does “dance in freedom” mean for you? A Different Perspective Freedom cannot be sustained without change; it may lead to melancholy if idealized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fall in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-in-love/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ## Related quotes > [This is freedom,' said the instructress, 'it's something very wintry, and cannot be borne for long. One must always keep moving, as we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/this-is-freedom-said-the-instructress-it-s-something-very-wintry-and/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“The truth will set us free. But freedom is cold and empty and frightening, and lies can often be warm and beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-truth-will-set-us-free-but-freedom-is-cold-and-empty-and/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [You have to dance unencumbered. There's no other way to move. The idea of dance is freedom. It is not exclusiveness, it's inclusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-jamison/you-have-to-dance-unencumbered-there-s-no-other-way-to-move-the-idea/) [Judith Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-jamison/) > [“Dance to inspire, dance to freedom, life is about experiences so dance and let yourself become free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shah-asad-rizvi/dance-to-inspire-dance-to-freedom-life-is-about-experiences-so-dance/) [Shah Asad Rizvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shah-asad-rizvi/) > [What does dance give you? The freedom to be who you are and do what you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-mitchell/what-does-dance-give-you-the-freedom-to-be-who-you-are-and-do-what/) [Arthur Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-mitchell/) > [I dance for freedom. I dance for people's reaction more than anything. I feel great and I feel like I can do anything, say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sampson/i-dance-for-freedom-i-dance-for-people-s-reaction-more-than-anything/) [George Sampson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sampson/) > [“You have to fight for your freedom,” he said. “And for peace. You have to fight for it every day, to keep it. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-bascomb/you-have-to-fight-for-your-freedom-he-said-and-for-peace-you-have-to/) [Neal Bascomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-bascomb/) > [“Freedom," he said out loud... "I can't cope with it"..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/freedom-he-said-out-loud-i-can-t-cope-with-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-more-than-one-kind-of-freedom-said-aunt-lydia-freedom-to-and-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-more-than-one-kind-of-freedom-said-aunt-lydia-freedom-to-and/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I have heard men talk about the blessings of freedom," he said to himself, "but I wish any wise man would teach me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/i-have-heard-men-talk-about-the-blessings-of-freedom-he-said-to/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“Now she understood a few things: that the American academy, which one might have thought the place to defend freedom of speech, had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/now-she-understood-a-few-things-that-the-american-academy-which-one/) [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) > [It's good that the first half of the speech emphasized freedom, because George W. Bush has been the global champion for freedom. As he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-istook/it-s-good-that-the-first-half-of-the-speech-emphasized-freedom/) [Ernest Istook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-istook/) > [I asked the policeman and said how much must I pay for my freedom? He said to me, son they won't build no schools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucky-dube/i-asked-the-policeman-and-said-how-much-must-i-pay-for-my-freedom-he/) [Lucky Dube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucky-dube/) > [“There was a certain graceful ease and freedom about all he said and did, that gave a sense of repose and expansion to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-was-a-certain-graceful-ease-and-freedom-about-all-he-said-and/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) ## More by Robert Walser > [“My cheeks are red hot, my lip still trembles, because I sent my heart to speak; every word of it delusional and awkward, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/my-cheeks-are-red-hot-my-lip-still-trembles-because-i-sent-my-heart/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“That's what's so miraculous about the city: each person's bearing and behavior vanish among these thousand sorts, observations are fleeting, judgements swift, and forgetting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/that-s-what-s-so-miraculous-about-the-city-each-person-s-bearing-and/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“What honest man was never in his life without sustenance? And what human being has ever seen as the years pass his hopes, plans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/what-honest-man-was-never-in-his-life-without-sustenance-and-what/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Siento que la vida exige emociones, no reflexiones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/siento-que-la-vida-exige-emociones-no-reflexiones/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Wherever poesie can be felt, all poetic touches are superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/wherever-poesie-can-be-felt-all-poetic-touches-are-superfluous/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Perhaps there were a few repetitions here and there. But I would like to confess that I consider nature and human life to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/perhaps-there-were-a-few-repetitions-here-and-there-but-i-would-like/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [Questions are usually more beautiful, more significant than their resolutions, which in fact never resolve them, are never sufficient to satisfy us, whereas from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/questions-are-usually-more-beautiful-more-significant-than-their/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [How uninteresting interesting things can become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/how-uninteresting-interesting-things-can-become/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [Your very eyes. How they have always been for me the command to obey, the inviolable and beautiful commandment. No, no, I'm not telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/your-very-eyes-how-they-have-always-been-for-me-the-command-to-obey/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [I don't want a future, I want a present. To me this appears of greater value. You have a future only when you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/i-don-t-want-a-future-i-want-a-present-to-me-this-appears-of-greater/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“They should not clench their fists, it’s my longing that’s drawing me near to them; they should not stand there full of rage, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/they-should-not-clench-their-fists-it-s-my-longing-that-s-drawing-me/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [ I am not here \[in the sanitarium\] to write, but to be mad. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/i-am-not-here-in-the-sanitarium-to-write-but-to-be-mad/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Is it our calling to understand each other, or are we not, rather, called upon to misjudge one another, to prevent there being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/is-it-our-calling-to-understand-each-other-or-are-we-not-rather/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“A park like this resembles a large, silent, isolated room. In fact it's always Sunday in a park, by the way, for it's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/a-park-like-this-resembles-a-large-silent-isolated-room-in-fact-it-s/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Money rules the world, and doubtless also, here and there, the bit of love within it, and when love turns to hate, one remembers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/money-rules-the-world-and-doubtless-also-here-and-there-the-bit-of/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) [Explore all 83 Robert Walser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) ## More Fall in love quotes > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“There's no need for a reason for people to fall in love. Even if people say there is a reason, that's just something they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuna-takagi/there-s-no-need-for-a-reason-for-people-to-fall-in-love-even-if/) [Yuna Takagi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuna-takagi/) > [“Will you destroy something in order to make it beautiful? Will you avoid something in order to fall in love with it? Will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/will-you-destroy-something-in-order-to-make-it-beautiful-will-you/) [Hanif Hassan Barbhuiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/) > [“They say your muscles have memory. Once you've trained your arms to swing a tennis racket or your legs to ride a bike, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-brande/they-say-your-muscles-have-memory-once-you-ve-trained-your-arms-to/) [Robin Brande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-brande/) > [“100 % people fall in love but just few understand what is love exactly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/100-people-fall-in-love-but-just-few-understand-what-is-love-exactly/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“Nothing, again, could be more prosaic and impenetrable than the domestic energies of Miss Diana Duke. But Innocent had somehow blundered on the discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/nothing-again-could-be-more-prosaic-and-impenetrable-than-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Be sure to fall in love with someone who loves you more than you love them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-snow/be-sure-to-fall-in-love-with-someone-who-loves-you-more-than-you-love/) [Tiffany Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-snow/) > [When you fall in love for the first time, you're naive to every feeling that you're feeling, and you're almost obsessed with or addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-pettyfer/when-you-fall-in-love-for-the-first-time-you-re-naive-to-every/) [Alex Pettyfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-pettyfer/) > [“I lost my chance with you then, and maybe I deserved to, for being too scared to speak up and tell you how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-harlow/i-lost-my-chance-with-you-then-and-maybe-i-deserved-to-for-being-too/) [Melanie Harlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-harlow/) > [ONE stone enough to break a glass,,, ONE sentence is enough to break a heart,,, FIRST sight is enough to fall in love,,, ONE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-stone-enough-to-break-a-glass-one-sentence-is-enough-to-break-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I give my heart completely to the experience and I really connect with people and make friends. I fall in love and then it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-tyler/i-give-my-heart-completely-to-the-experience-and-i-really-connect/) [Liv Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-tyler/) > [“Falling in love is easy. Fools fall in love all the time. Staying in love is the test of time and the gift you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-murphy/falling-in-love-is-easy-fools-fall-in-love-all-the-time-staying-in/) [James A. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-murphy/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [My life always came first. When I got nominated for Diary of a Mad Housewife, I didn't think, 'Aah, now I'll get more money.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-snodgress/my-life-always-came-first-when-i-got-nominated-for-diary-of-a-mad/) [Carrie Snodgress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-snodgress/) > [It hurts to fall in love with a friend. You keep on hiding your feelings, avoiding it as much as you can until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-to-fall-in-love-with-a-friend-you-keep-on-hiding-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,044 Fall in love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-in-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We found ourselves on a smooth, spacious but narrow track of ice or glass. We floated along it, as if on marvellous skates, and we were dancing too, for like a wave the track rose and fell beneath us. It was delightful. I had never seen anything like it and I shouted for joy, ‘How glorious!’ And overhead the stars were shimmering, in a sky that was strangely all pale blue and yet dark, and the moon with its unearthly light was shining down on us skaters. ‘This is freedom,’ said the instructress, ‘it’s something very wintry, and cannot be borne for long. One must always keep moving, as we are doing here, one must dance in freedom. It is cold and beautiful. Never fall in love with it. That would only make you sad afterwards, for one can only be in the realm of freedom for a moment, no longer. Look how the wonderful track we are floating on is slowly melting away. Now you can watch freedom dying, if you open your eyes...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Walser" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious-but-narrow-track-of-ice-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fall in love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious-but-narrow-track-of-ice-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-walser-6307_fall-in-love_we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious_3078756.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-walser-6307_fall-in-love_we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious_3078756.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-walser-6307_fall-in-love_we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious_3078756.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We found ourselves on a smooth, spacious but narrow track of ice or glass. We floated along it, as if on…” — Robert Walser", "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": "Robert Walser", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We found ourselves on a smooth,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious-but-narrow-track-of-ice-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/we-found-ourselves-on-a-smooth-spacious-but-narrow-track-of-ice-or/#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 } } ] } ```