--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were going to the long field which…" description: "\"We were going to the long field which today looked like an ocean, although I had never seen an ocean; the grass was moving in the breeze and the cloud ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/shirley-jackson-1526_breeze_we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-to_2584276.jpg" --- # We were going to the long field which today looked like an… ![“We were going to the long field which today looked like an ocean, although I had never seen an ocean; the grass was moving in the breeze and the cloud shadows passed back and forth and the trees in the distance moved.” quote by Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/shirley-jackson-1526_breeze_we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-to_2584276.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/shirley-jackson-1526_breeze_we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-to_2584276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/shirley-jackson-1526_breeze_we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-to_2584276.jpg) > “We were going to the long field which today looked like an ocean, although I had never seen an ocean; the grass was moving in the breeze and the cloud shadows passed back and forth and the trees in the distance moved.” [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A familiar place can feel vast and mysterious, revealing hidden depths in perception. **In simple terms:** Familiarity can mask wonder. Key Takeaway Notice new perspectives in ordinary settings. Themes perception nature wonder Mood contemplative poetic Type descriptive reflective When to use this quote - travel - nature walks - writing inspiration - mindfulness Key Concepts subjectivity environmental influence Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape perception? - When have you seen the ordinary become extraordinary? A Different Perspective Over‑romanticizing can distract from reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breeze/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Katsa watched the long grass moving around them. The wind pushed it, attacked it, struck it in one place and then another. It rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/katsa-watched-the-long-grass-moving-around-them-the-wind-pushed-it/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“He took his time getting to her, as if he was sure she’d wait, sure of his own strength to hold her, even at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/he-took-his-time-getting-to-her-as-if-he-was-sure-she-d-wait-sure-of/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“I must console him for the distance we have moved from the place where he stopped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-must-console-him-for-the-distance-we-have-moved-from-the-place/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [“If you had swum across the furthest ocean And seen the vastness of infinity Though dread of death might seize you, you'd still see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goethe/if-you-had-swum-across-the-furthest-ocean-and-seen-the-vastness-of/) [Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goethe/) > [Faith is knowing there is an ocean because you have seen a brook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/faith-is-knowing-there-is-an-ocean-because-you-have-seen-a-brook/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [“I felt the full breadth and depth of the ocean around the sphere of the Earth, back billions of years to the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-andrew/i-felt-the-full-breadth-and-depth-of-the-ocean-around-the-sphere-of/) Sally Andrew > [As long as I am on the field, I am happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-luiz/as-long-as-i-am-on-the-field-i-am-happy/) [David Luiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-luiz/) > [I know that I've been making long field goals, and we're going to try long field goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-janikowski/i-know-that-i-ve-been-making-long-field-goals-and-we-re-going-to-try/) [Sebastian Janikowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-janikowski/) > [I long to be in the Field again, doing my part to keep the old flag up, with all its stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-chamberlain/i-long-to-be-in-the-field-again-doing-my-part-to-keep-the-old-flag-up/) [Joshua Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-chamberlain/) > [I know that I've been making long field goals, and we're going to try long field goals, so I feel more relaxed going out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-janikowski/i-know-that-i-ve-been-making-long-field-goals-and-we-re-going-to-try-2/) [Sebastian Janikowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-janikowski/) > [I had never seen an ocean before I came to Mumbai, something that now we take for granted. But the first time I stood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anubhav-sinha/i-had-never-seen-an-ocean-before-i-came-to-mumbai-something-that-now/) [Anubhav Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anubhav-sinha/) > [“He had never seen the ocean before; he knew it only as the featureless blue void between the detailed continents on his father’s old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-croxall/he-had-never-seen-the-ocean-before-he-knew-it-only-as-the-featureless/) [Jack Croxall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-croxall/) > [“A fish in a bowl thinks to know it all, for it has never seen the ocean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-andersson/a-fish-in-a-bowl-thinks-to-know-it-all-for-it-has-never-seen-the-ocean/) Daniel Andersson > ["What the hell'd you let them break your spirit for?" You know, their lives ran in circles so small. Ah, they thought they'd seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-shocked/what-the-hell-d-you-let-them-break-your-spirit-for-you-know-their/) [Michelle Shocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-shocked/) > [I trust you have seen the ocean. If you have, then you have witnessed the divine. How barren the ground is in comparison! If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebershoff/i-trust-you-have-seen-the-ocean-if-you-have-then-you-have-witnessed/) [David Ebershoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebershoff/) ## More by Shirley Jackson > [I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/i-can-t-help-it-when-people-are-frightened-says-merricat-i-always/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-could-not-remember-ever-being-truly-happy-in-her-adult-life-her/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Upstairs Margaret said abruptly, 'I suppose it starts to happen first in the suburbs,' and when Brad said, 'What starts to happen?' she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/upstairs-margaret-said-abruptly-i-suppose-it-starts-to-happen-first/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“The beautiful clarity of all marked outlines occurred to her--there would be a deep satisfaction in strengthening fences, for instance, going along on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/the-beautiful-clarity-of-all-marked-outlines-occurred-to-her-there/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“And we held each other in the dark hall and laughed, with the tears running down our cheeks and echoes of our laughter going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/and-we-held-each-other-in-the-dark-hall-and-laughed-with-the-tears/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Why do people want to talk to each other? I mean, what are the things people always want to find out about other people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/why-do-people-want-to-talk-to-each-other-i-mean-what-are-the-things/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/within-walls-continued-upright-bricks-met-neatly-floors-were-firm-and/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“It was as though the people needed the ugliness of the village, and fed on it. The houses and the stores seemed to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/it-was-as-though-the-people-needed-the-ugliness-of-the-village-and/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Eleanor—“I plan to stay up and read for a while.” “Are you still reading Pamela?” Eleanor asked the doctor. “Volume two. I have three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/eleanor-i-plan-to-stay-up-and-read-for-a-while-are-you-still-reading/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Is everyone really crazy but me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/is-everyone-really-crazy-but-me/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/february-when-the-days-of-winter-seem-endless-and-no-amount-of/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“it’s quite a hazard, quite a hazard indeed, people knocking you down. Still, it’s a genuine pleasure to find one as willing as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/it-s-quite-a-hazard-quite-a-hazard-indeed-people-knocking-you-down/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [On the moon we have everything. Lettuce, and pumpkin pie and Amanita phalloides. We have cat-furred plants and horses dancing with their wings. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/on-the-moon-we-have-everything-lettuce-and-pumpkin-pie-and-amanita/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [She walked quickly around her one-room apartment. After more than four years in this one home she knew all its possibilities, how it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-walked-quickly-around-her-one-room-apartment-after-more-than-four/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [I very much dislike writing about myself or my work, and when pressed for autobiographical material can only give a bare chronological outline which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/i-very-much-dislike-writing-about-myself-or-my-work-and-when-pressed/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) [Explore all 224 Shirley Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) ## More Breeze quotes > [I tohhugt finding this would be so arduous but it's a breeze!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deacon/i-tohhugt-finding-this-would-be-so-arduous-but-it-s-a-breeze/) Deacon > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [He removed several pages of death certificates, which were picked up by another breeze and sent into the trees. Some would fall with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/he-removed-several-pages-of-death-certificates-which-were-picked-up/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Willows whiten, aspens quiver, Little breezes dusk and shiver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/willows-whiten-aspens-quiver-little-breezes-dusk-and-shiver/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [A breeze discovered my open book And began to flutter the leaves to look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-breeze-discovered-my-open-book-and-began-to-flutter-the-leaves-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [You love young ones and babes, I know this. The young will always befriend and admire you...all the young ones of the earth belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/you-love-young-ones-and-babes-i-know-this-the-young-will-always/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that will be carried away on the first morning breeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/life-is-fragile-like-the-dew-hanging-delicately-on-the-grass-crystal/) [Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Spring comes with flowers, autumn with the moon, summer with the breeze, winter with snow. When idle concerns don't fill your thoughts, that's your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wumen-huikai/spring-comes-with-flowers-autumn-with-the-moon-summer-with-the-breeze/) [Wumen Huikai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wumen-huikai/) > [Creation isn't forcing or commanding something into existence. It's more of a rolling over, a good stretch, blissing out, lying on the grass watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/creation-isn-t-forcing-or-commanding-something-into-existence-it-s/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [A beautiful woman without fixed principles may be likened to those fair but rootless flowers which float in streams, driven by every breeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-gardiner-countess-of-blessington/a-beautiful-woman-without-fixed-principles-may-be-likened-to-those/) [Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-gardiner-countess-of-blessington/) > [I don't know if it was much of an interview. We just shot the breeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-petty/i-don-t-know-if-it-was-much-of-an-interview-we-just-shot-the-breeze/) [Richard Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-petty/) > [Daffy-down-dilly came up in the cold, Through the brown mould Although the March breeze blew keen on her face, Although the white snow lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-bartlett-warner/daffy-down-dilly-came-up-in-the-cold-through-the-brown-mould-although/) [Anna Bartlett Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-bartlett-warner/) [Browse all 556 Breeze quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breeze/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were going to the long field which today looked like an ocean, although I had never seen an ocean; the grass was moving in the breeze and the cloud shadows passed back and forth and the trees in the distance moved.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shirley Jackson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-today-looked-like-an-ocean/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breeze" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-today-looked-like-an-ocean/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/shirley-jackson-1526_breeze_we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-to_2584276.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/shirley-jackson-1526_breeze_we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-to_2584276.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/shirley-jackson-1526_breeze_we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-to_2584276.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We were going to the long field which today looked like an ocean, although I had never seen an ocean; the…” — Shirley Jackson", "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": "Shirley Jackson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We were going to the long...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-today-looked-like-an-ocean/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/we-were-going-to-the-long-field-which-today-looked-like-an-ocean/#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 } } ] } ```