--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Language is like drinking from one's own…" description: "\"Language is like drinking from one's own reflection in still water. We only take from it what we are at the time.\" — Simon Van Booy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/simon-van-booy-2946_drinking_language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own_3159671.png" --- # Language is like drinking from one's own reflection in… ![“Language is like drinking from one's own reflection in still water. We only take from it what we are at the time.” quote by Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/simon-van-booy-2946_drinking_language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own_3159671.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/simon-van-booy-2946_drinking_language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own_3159671.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/simon-van-booy-2946_drinking_language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own_3159671.png) > “Language is like drinking from one's own reflection in still water. We only take from it what we are at the time.” [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our perception of reality is filtered through language, which reflects our current self‑understanding. **In simple terms:** Language mirrors our present self. Key Takeaway Recognize how language shapes thought and self‑image. Themes language self‑perception philosophy communication Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Writing personal essays - learning a new language - mindful speaking - therapy sessions Key Concepts Linguistic relativity self‑reflection cognitive framing Questions to Reflect On - How does your current vocabulary limit you? - What new words could expand your view? A Different Perspective Language can also limit perspective if not examined critically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Still waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still-waters/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“Language is like looking at a map of somewhere. Love is living there and surviving on the land. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/language-is-like-looking-at-a-map-of-somewhere-love-is-living-there/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Making a movie and not directing the little moments is like drinking a soda and leaving the little slurp puddle for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/making-a-movie-and-not-directing-the-little-moments-is-like-drinking/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I think piracy is a bit like drinking. You want to stay out all night doing it, you pay the price the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-think-piracy-is-a-bit-like-drinking-you-want-to-stay-out-all-night/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [I like drinking wine. Since I travel a lot in the league, I like to sit down with my wife and have a meal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-frye/i-like-drinking-wine-since-i-travel-a-lot-in-the-league-i-like-to-sit/) [Channing Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-frye/) > [I like milk. I like drinking milk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florian-munteanu/i-like-milk-i-like-drinking-milk/) [Florian Munteanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florian-munteanu/) > [I like the drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose approach - you're getting way more than you can handle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-like-the-drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose-approach-you-re-getting-way/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Unforgiveness is like drinking poison yourself and waiting for the other person to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/unforgiveness-is-like-drinking-poison-yourself-and-waiting-for-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/over-and-over-we-have-to-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-should-not-be/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I think I've got an Irish sensibility for language - I like how people talk. I'm not saying I've got it, but I'm obsessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roisin-conaty/i-think-i-ve-got-an-irish-sensibility-for-language-i-like-how-people/) [Roisin Conaty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roisin-conaty/) > [“She said being inside a language was like being in a person's house - after a while you came to see why the teapot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-frazier/she-said-being-inside-a-language-was-like-being-in-a-person-s-house/) [Ian Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-frazier/) > [Language is like money, without which specific relative values may well exist and be felt, but cannot be reduced to a common denominator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/language-is-like-money-without-which-specific-relative-values-may/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [I think if you work with different kinds of codes, attitudes, in the end you have a language. It's like within a person. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-michele/i-think-if-you-work-with-different-kinds-of-codes-attitudes-in-the/) [Alessandro Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-michele/) > [Accents aren't accents, they're language It's almost like a code. Because that's the key to who you are: it's how you express who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rege-jean-page/accents-aren-t-accents-they-re-language-it-s-almost-like-a-code/) [Rege-Jean Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rege-jean-page/) > [Silence is a universal language. It's like music or painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-hazanavicius/silence-is-a-universal-language-it-s-like-music-or-painting/) [Michel Hazanavicius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-hazanavicius/) > [Language is like soil. However rich, it is subject to erosion, and its fertility is constantly threatened by uses that exhaust itsvitality. It needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/language-is-like-soil-however-rich-it-is-subject-to-erosion-and-its/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) ## More by Simon Van Booy > [“I think we keep these moments of rejection and acceptance very close. I think we carry them always, like cracked shells from which a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/i-think-we-keep-these-moments-of-rejection-and-acceptance-very-close/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [I suppose the key to a good life is to gently overlook the truth and hope that at any moment we can all be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/i-suppose-the-key-to-a-good-life-is-to-gently-overlook-the-truth-and/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [“When he smiles, they mostly look away. But Martin likes to think they carry his smile for a few blocks – that even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/when-he-smiles-they-mostly-look-away-but-martin-likes-to-think-they/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Succes is really nothing more than the record of failure. To be successful means you must be willing to fail more than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/succes-is-really-nothing-more-than-the-record-of-failure-to-be/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [I wonder if things can happen too early or too late or if everything happens at exactly the right time. If so, how sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/i-wonder-if-things-can-happen-too-early-or-too-late-or-if-everything/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Should you ever feel too lonely...listen for the roar of the sea- for in it are all those who've been and all those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/should-you-ever-feel-too-lonely-listen-for-the-roar-of-the-sea-for-in/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [But say you do find the right people - how do you love them without smothering them?...How do you not suffocate them with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/but-say-you-do-find-the-right-people-how-do-you-love-them-without/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [We touched with a softness that pushed through the skin into memory, like arms plunged into a river - we could feel the weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/we-touched-with-a-softness-that-pushed-through-the-skin-into-memory/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [When I was in my early twenties, I fell in love at least 20 times a day. You have to be with someone where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/when-i-was-in-my-early-twenties-i-fell-in-love-at-least-20-times-a/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [“It had rained, she said, and I imagined the beads of small water on the windshield like a thousand eyes, or each drop a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/it-had-rained-she-said-and-i-imagined-the-beads-of-small-water-on-the/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [The most frustrating part of trying to direct everything is not that it alienates you from people who genuinely want to help, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/the-most-frustrating-part-of-trying-to-direct-everything-is-not-that/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Writers are often alone when they work. Hours pass in silence as one long moment; light fades as day turns back to face the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/writers-are-often-alone-when-they-work-hours-pass-in-silence-as-one/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [“Music is only a mystery to people who want it explained. Music and love are the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/music-is-only-a-mystery-to-people-who-want-it-explained-music-and/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Death is the most sophisticated form of beauty, and the most difficult to accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/death-is-the-most-sophisticated-form-of-beauty-and-the-most-difficult/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Hands have their own language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/hands-have-their-own-language/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) [Explore all 144 Simon Van Booy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) ## More Drinking quotes > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [You owe me a drink, you're so ugly I dropped mine when I saw you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-owe-me-a-drink-you-re-so-ugly-i-dropped-mine-when-i-saw-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We were still twirling around the tiny parking lot when the neighbors screamed 'Happy New Year'. Unfortunately we weren't sober enough to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-scott/we-were-still-twirling-around-the-tiny-parking-lot-when-the-neighbors/) [Kaitlin Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-scott/) > [I'm drinking away the exam results that don't take me anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-drinking-away-the-exam-results-that-don-t-take-me-anywhere/) [Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/) > [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [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/) > [I guess that's the point of drinking, to take all the feelings and thoughts and morals away until you are just a body doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/i-guess-that-s-the-point-of-drinking-to-take-all-the-feelings-and/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [This is not really currency that circulates. It's like the old joke about expensive vintage wine. Wine prices will go up and once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/this-is-not-really-currency-that-circulates-it-s-like-the-old-joke/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [And it´s so different for a lot of people I´ve known. One partner doesn´t love the other enough to stop drinking, or gambling, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/and-it-s-so-different-for-a-lot-of-people-i-ve-known-one-partner/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [Drinking champagne after making love is like taking a bath in chilled pearls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anistatia-r-miller/drinking-champagne-after-making-love-is-like-taking-a-bath-in-chilled/) Anistatia R. Miller > [I was so drunk last night I fell down and missed the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/i-was-so-drunk-last-night-i-fell-down-and-missed-the-floor/) [Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/) > [Design is all about relationships. Unfortunately, many designers don’t fully appreciate this. Some of the best design work I’ve ever done was drinking coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-burka/design-is-all-about-relationships-unfortunately-many-designers-don-t/) Daniel Burka > [In 1969, I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-best/in-1969-i-gave-up-women-and-alcohol-it-was-the-worst-20-minutes-of-my/) [George Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-best/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Browse all 2,711 Drinking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Language is like drinking from one's own reflection in still water. We only take from it what we are at the time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simon Van Booy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own-reflection-in-still-water-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drinking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own-reflection-in-still-water-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/simon-van-booy-2946_drinking_language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own_3159671.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/simon-van-booy-2946_drinking_language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own_3159671.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/simon-van-booy-2946_drinking_language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own_3159671.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Language is like drinking from one's own reflection in still water. We only take from it what we are at the…” — Simon Van Booy", "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": "Simon Van Booy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Language is like drinking from one's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own-reflection-in-still-water-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/language-is-like-drinking-from-one-s-own-reflection-in-still-water-we/#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 } } ] } ```