--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like so many plain cups on the shelves…" description: "\"“Like so many plain cups on the shelves. You can reach for them, use them without thinking. Most of them don't matter. Sometimes you lose your grip on ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/rosie-thomas-19452_every-day_like-so-many-plain-cups-on-the-shelves-y_1437754.jpg" --- # Like so many plain cups on the shelves. You can reach for… ![“Like so many plain cups on the shelves. You can reach for them, use them without thinking. Most of them don't matter. Sometimes you lose your grip on one of them and it falls and smashes to piece, and you shrug and say to yourself, what a pity. Then you reach for the cup that you use every day…” quote by Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/rosie-thomas-19452_every-day_like-so-many-plain-cups-on-the-shelves-y_1437754.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/rosie-thomas-19452_every-day_like-so-many-plain-cups-on-the-shelves-y_1437754.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/rosie-thomas-19452_every-day_like-so-many-plain-cups-on-the-shelves-y_1437754.jpg) > ““Like so many plain cups on the shelves. You can reach for them, use them without thinking. Most of them don't matter. Sometimes you lose your grip on one of them and it falls and smashes to piece, and you shrug and say to yourself, what a pity. Then you reach for the cup that you use every day, one that you love and use so often that as you stretch out your hand it is already making the shape that fits its curve. You are certain that yesterday it was in its proper place, but now there is nothing. Just air. You have lost something that was so familiar, so much a part of your life that you were not even looking for it. Just expecting it to be there, as always.”” [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Losing a familiar object reveals how we take daily comforts for granted. **In simple terms:** We often ignore everyday comforts until they’re gone. Key Takeaway Value and notice daily comforts. Themes loss comfort awareness attachment Mood reflective melancholic Type literary personal When to use this quote - home life - personal loss - routine change Key Concepts mindfulness gratitude object attachment Questions to Reflect On - Which daily item would you miss most? - How can you appreciate what you have now? A Different Perspective Attachment may cause grief when change occurs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [If you sit at your desk and reach and grab a cup of coffee, you don't look directly at the cup, focus on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-b-rosenberg/if-you-sit-at-your-desk-and-reach-and-grab-a-cup-of-coffee-you-don-t/) [Louis B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-b-rosenberg/) > [No matter what you lose, if the person you love most is still beside you, then you'll have less pain to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/no-matter-what-you-lose-if-the-person-you-love-most-is-still-beside/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [You may lose people you love. You may lose things you had.. but no matter what, never lose yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/you-may-lose-people-you-love-you-may-lose-things-you-had-but-no/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [This is the truth about things: If you take something that isn't yours, it will never belong to you. You can try to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryn-kyle/this-is-the-truth-about-things-if-you-take-something-that-isn-t-yours/) [Aryn Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryn-kyle/) > [Losing is no fun no matter who you lose to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/losing-is-no-fun-no-matter-who-you-lose-to/) [Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/) > [“What do dreams matter if you lose yourself along the way?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fellner-dominy/what-do-dreams-matter-if-you-lose-yourself-along-the-way/) [Amy Fellner Dominy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fellner-dominy/) > [“Every moment you focus on things that don’t matter, you lose time to spend on things that do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/every-moment-you-focus-on-things-that-don-t-matter-you-lose-time-to/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [It doesnt matter if you lose, it matters if you dont try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varsha-sharma/it-doesnt-matter-if-you-lose-it-matters-if-you-dont-try/) [Varsha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varsha-sharma/) > [Once we see an aspect of what we or someone else does as something that happens, we lose our grip on the idea that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/once-we-see-an-aspect-of-what-we-or-someone-else-does-as-something/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [I worked hard to reach where I am and I certainly don't want to lose my grip over either Bengali or Hindi cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rituparna-sengupta/i-worked-hard-to-reach-where-i-am-and-i-certainly-don-t-want-to-lose/) [Rituparna Sengupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rituparna-sengupta/) > [Most great plays of the past lose their grip on immediacy; on application to our lives right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/most-great-plays-of-the-past-lose-their-grip-on-immediacy-on/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [“The secret of successful treatment is not to become a perfect, shining star or to learn to be in complete control of your feelings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/the-secret-of-successful-treatment-is-not-to-become-a-perfect-shining/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [Trying to be happy is like climbing a steep hill and when you get near the top, you lose your grip, fall and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/trying-to-be-happy-is-like-climbing-a-steep-hill-and-when-you-get/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [When I see you I admit I start to lose my grip and all of my cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mhine29/when-i-see-you-i-admit-i-start-to-lose-my-grip-and-all-of-my-cool/) Mhine29 > [How would you feel if everybody acted like you didn't exist? You'd lose your grip, probably eventually flip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linkin-park/how-would-you-feel-if-everybody-acted-like-you-didn-t-exist-you-d/) [Linkin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linkin-park/) ## More by Rosie Thomas > [“I am not afraid of death, which after all can't be far away. What does frighten me, though, is the halfway stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/i-am-not-afraid-of-death-which-after-all-can-t-be-far-away-what-does/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“Anything that makes it easier to understand, makes it a little easier to bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/anything-that-makes-it-easier-to-understand-makes-it-a-little-easier/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“It's the fragment of your past that explains why you have lived your life the way you have done and made the mistakes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/it-s-the-fragment-of-your-past-that-explains-why-you-have-lived-your/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“Got to go on, haven't we? Life goes on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/got-to-go-on-haven-t-we-life-goes-on/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“Death preserves an ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/death-preserves-an-ideal/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [Try to capture what you can't bear to be without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/try-to-capture-what-you-can-t-bear-to-be-without/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [I need them and they need me to need them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/i-need-them-and-they-need-me-to-need-them/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [After a lifetime's independence– yes, selfish independence as my daughter would rightly claim – I am terrified of being reduced to childhood once more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/after-a-lifetime-s-independence-yes-selfish-independence-as-my/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“Death, when it's right there it doesn't seem too huge and terrible to let into your mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/death-when-it-s-right-there-it-doesn-t-seem-too-huge-and-terrible-to/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [Is nothing in life ever straight and clear, the way children see it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/is-nothing-in-life-ever-straight-and-clear-the-way-children-see-it/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“As well as remembering too little, I have seen too much”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/as-well-as-remembering-too-little-i-have-seen-too-much/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“The future offers everything. Reach out and take whatever you want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/the-future-offers-everything-reach-out-and-take-whatever-you-want/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“When you're young, everything carries a twin charge of novelty and infinite possibility”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/when-you-re-young-everything-carries-a-twin-charge-of-novelty-and/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“The dead and not-yet dead, we are company all together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/the-dead-and-not-yet-dead-we-are-company-all-together/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“The richness of the whole world reduced to a choice that was not a choice at all, but a sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/the-richness-of-the-whole-world-reduced-to-a-choice-that-was-not-a/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) [Explore all 32 Rosie Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) ## More Cups quotes > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [I put hibiscus flower in every cup of tea I have. It's sweet, sexy, and cleansing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/i-put-hibiscus-flower-in-every-cup-of-tea-i-have-it-s-sweet-sexy-and/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [Nobody can have your psychedelic experience for you; you just have to screw your courage up and raise the cup to your lips or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-mckenna/nobody-can-have-your-psychedelic-experience-for-you-you-just-have-to/) [Dennis McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-mckenna/) > [Youre always going to have some individual incidents that arent going to show off the Ryder Cup in the true form and spirit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kite/youre-always-going-to-have-some-individual-incidents-that-arent-going/) [Tom Kite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kite/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [As a sports fan, the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup makes me feel very alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/five-for-fighting/as-a-sports-fan-the-los-angeles-kings-winning-the-stanley-cup-makes/) Five for Fighting > [Better the fragrant herb of wit and a little cream of affability than all the pretty cups in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/better-the-fragrant-herb-of-wit-and-a-little-cream-of-affability-than/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [The divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hernando-cortes/the-divine-drink-which-builds-up-resistance-and-fights-fatigue-a-cup/) [Hernando Cortes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hernando-cortes/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) > [In England you probably have too many cups with the Champions League as it is now. You have the FA Cup and another cup;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/in-england-you-probably-have-too-many-cups-with-the-champions-league/) [Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/) > [If you're at the sink washing the cup, wash the cup. Don't worry about everything else. ... We forget to appreciate the simplest moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/if-you-re-at-the-sink-washing-the-cup-wash-the-cup-don-t-worry-about/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Better go drunk and begging round the taverns. Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/how-much-more-of-the-mosque-of-prayer-and-fasting-better-go-drunk-and/) [Omar Khayyam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/) > [We put suffocation warnings on all the - on every piece of plastic film manufactured in the United States or for sale with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gever-tulley/we-put-suffocation-warnings-on-all-the-on-every-piece-of-plastic-film/) [Gever Tulley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gever-tulley/) > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [As for the (Ballon d'Or) criteria, I'm not really sure how it works. Sometimes it's a World Cup year, sometimes it isn't. Let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-villa/as-for-the-ballon-d-or-criteria-i-m-not-really-sure-how-it-works/) [David Villa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-villa/) Browse all 1,509 Cups quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Like so many plain cups on the shelves. You can reach for them, use them without thinking. Most of them don't matter. Sometimes you lose your grip on one of them and it falls and smashes to piece, and you shrug and say to yourself, what a pity. Then you reach for the cup that you use every day, one that you love and use so often that as you stretch out your hand it is already making the shape that fits its curve. You are certain that yesterday it was in its proper place, but now there is nothing. Just air. You have lost something that was so familiar, so much a part of your life that you were not even looking for it. 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