--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with…" description: "\"“He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. As he spoke, he lifted the kettle from the oil flame and poured steaming water into the cup and a bo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abe/robin-hobb-489_life_he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-ent_1123490.jpg" --- # He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. As he… ![“He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. As he spoke, he lifted the kettle from the oil flame and poured steaming water into the cup and a bowl. Ginger and cinnamon wafted toward me. “All of time, every sliced instant of it, is rich with vertices of choices. One becomes accustomed to…” quote by Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abe/robin-hobb-489_life_he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-ent_1123490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abe/robin-hobb-489_life_he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-ent_1123490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abe/robin-hobb-489_life_he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-ent_1123490.jpg) > ““He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. As he spoke, he lifted the kettle from the oil flame and poured steaming water into the cup and a bowl. Ginger and cinnamon wafted toward me. “All of time, every sliced instant of it, is rich with vertices of choices. One becomes accustomed to that, to the point at which sometimes even I have to stop and remind myself that I am making choices, even when I do not seem to be. Every indrawn breath is a choice. But sometimes one is reminded of that forcibly, sometimes I meet a person so laden with possibilities and potential that the mere existence of such a being is a jolt to reality. You are like that, still, to me. The sheer improbability of your existence took my breath away. … Yet here you are, with me still, defying the odds by existing. And by your existence, with every breath you take, you change all time. You are like a wedge driven into dry wood. With every beat of your heart, you are pounded deeper into ‘what might be’ and as you advance, you crack the future open, and expose a hundred, a thousand new possibilities, each branching into another hundred, another thousand.” p. 264 The Fool to Fitz”” [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the profound impact of each conscious choice, emphasizing that even small decisions shape reality and future possibilities. **In simple terms:** Every choice matters and shapes the future. Key Takeaway Recognize and own each decision you make. Themes choice existence possibility agency consciousness Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal decision making - creative projects - career planning - relationship building Key Concepts philosophy self-awareness determinism Questions to Reflect On - What choices can you make today to expand possibilities? - How do you respond when forced to choose? A Different Perspective May underestimate external constraints that limit choice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Making choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-choices/) ## Related quotes > [“Living, now, had become not simple existence that one took for granted, but a bonus, a gift, with every day that lay ahead an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamunde-pilcher/living-now-had-become-not-simple-existence-that-one-took-for-granted/) [Rosamunde Pilcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamunde-pilcher/) > [“I'm here by choice, I reminded myself. I'm here because I can't bear to be not- here anymore. I'm here because I can't tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-tiernan/i-m-here-by-choice-i-reminded-myself-i-m-here-because-i-can-t-bear-to/) [Cate Tiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-tiernan/) > [“Live knowing that you are already dust, long gone, already outside time and looking in, reviewing life, finally understanding every déja vu, your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/live-knowing-that-you-are-already-dust-long-gone-already-outside-time/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [We cannot too soon convince ourselves how easily we may be dispensed with in the world. What important personages we imagine ourselves to be!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-cannot-too-soon-convince-ourselves-how-easily-we-may-be-dispensed/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“The entirety of your existence is but a breath an empty empyrean of grace without favor love is agonizingly the only way to actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/the-entirety-of-your-existence-is-but-a-breath-an-empty-empyrean-of/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [How extraordinary it is to be here at all. Awareness of death can jolt us awake to the sensuality of existence. Breath is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/how-extraordinary-it-is-to-be-here-at-all-awareness-of-death-can-jolt/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“There's a psychological mechanism, I've come to believe, that prevents most of us from imagining the moment of our own death. For if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/there-s-a-psychological-mechanism-i-ve-come-to-believe-that-prevents-2/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [There comes a time in the spiritual journey when you start making choices from a very different place. And if a choice lines up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-comes-a-time-in-the-spiritual-journey-when-you-start-making/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do both music and acting at the same time. To me they are both really important parts of how I express myself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksa-palladino/i-do-both-music-and-acting-at-the-same-time-to-me-they-are-both/) [Aleksa Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksa-palladino/) > [“Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others' choices make us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/intentional-living-is-the-art-of-making-our-own-choices-before-others/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Take a moment to think about the context in which your next decision will occur: You did not pick your parents or the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/take-a-moment-to-think-about-the-context-in-which-your-next-decision/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Life is all about Making Choices, we get to choose one among the many, and the one we choose defines our Future and Destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-is-all-about-making-choices-we-get-to-choose-one-among-the-many/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I don't think taste is about money. As your career develops, you're able to decide what to spend your money on. I live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-finch/i-don-t-think-taste-is-about-money-as-your-career-develops-you-re/) [Charles Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-finch/) > [“In the words of Andy Grove: “To understand a company’s strategy, look at what they actually do rather than what they say they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/in-the-words-of-andy-grove-to-understand-a-company-s-strategy-look-at/) [Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/) ## More by Robin Hobb > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Do you think you're taking Etta out of here?" "Yes," Kennit called over his shoulder up the sairs. "What about all these dead men?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/do-you-think-you-re-taking-etta-out-of-here-yes-kennit-called-over/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A way out is a way in. Then,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-way-out-is-a-way-in-then/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Die in your dreams, wake up insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/die-in-your-dreams-wake-up-insane/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I felt a familiar squeezing in what I thought must be my heart. I had heard of being "heartbroken" or "heavy-hearted" but I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-felt-a-familiar-squeezing-in-what-i-thought-must-be-my-heart-i-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“They spoke of a dream of a child who bore the heart of a wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/they-spoke-of-a-dream-of-a-child-who-bore-the-heart-of-a-wolf/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“There is always power in holding a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/there-is-always-power-in-holding-a-secret/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“... finally realizing that life was to be lived, rather than hoarded against an unseen tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/finally-realizing-that-life-was-to-be-lived-rather-than-hoarded/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Why, I suddenly wondered, had I wasted all those hours I could have spent with her? Why hadn’t I gone with them, to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/why-i-suddenly-wondered-had-i-wasted-all-those-hours-i-could-have/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I think I made a better boy than I do a man, I admitted ruefully to the wolf. Why not wait until you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-think-i-made-a-better-boy-than-i-do-a-man-i-admitted-ruefully-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“So, with all the wide world to choose from, you didn't choose at all. You simply stopped wandering one day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/so-with-all-the-wide-world-to-choose-from-you-didn-t-choose-at-all/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I don't think I can stand it much longer,” he warned her. “Something will have to give way. And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Explore all 500 Robin Hobb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. As he spoke, he lifted the kettle from the oil flame and poured steaming water into the cup and a bowl. Ginger and cinnamon wafted toward me. “All of time, every sliced instant of it, is rich with vertices of choices. One becomes accustomed to that, to the point at which sometimes even I have to stop and remind myself that I am making choices, even when I do not seem to be. Every indrawn breath is a choice. But sometimes one is reminded of that forcibly, sometimes I meet a person so laden with possibilities and potential that the mere existence of such a being is a jolt to reality. You are like that, still, to me. The sheer improbability of your existence took my breath away. … Yet here you are, with me still, defying the odds by existing. And by your existence, with every breath you take, you change all time. You are like a wedge driven into dry wood. With every beat of your heart, you are pounded deeper into ‘what might be’ and as you advance, you crack the future open, and expose a hundred, a thousand new possibilities, each branching into another hundred, another thousand.” p. 264 The Fool to Fitz”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robin Hobb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-enthusiasm-as-he-spoke-he-lifted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-enthusiasm-as-he-spoke-he-lifted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abe/robin-hobb-489_life_he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-ent_1123490.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abe/robin-hobb-489_life_he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-ent_1123490.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abe/robin-hobb-489_life_he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-ent_1123490.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. As he spoke, he lifted the kettle from the oil flame and…” — Robin Hobb", "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": "Robin Hobb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-enthusiasm-as-he-spoke-he-lifted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/he-leaned-forward-eyes-gleaming-with-enthusiasm-as-he-spoke-he-lifted/#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 } } ] } ```