---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Enormous cumulus clouds float above the…"
description: "\"“Enormous cumulus clouds float above the plateau in the shape of turtles. Always turtles. The are moving so slowly, almost imperceptibly, makes me dizz..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/terry-tempest-williams-835_dizzy_enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the_1935353.png"
---

#  Enormous cumulus clouds float above the plateau in the…

![“Enormous cumulus clouds float above the plateau in the shape of turtles. Always turtles. The are moving so slowly, almost imperceptibly, makes me dizzy. The ground is stable, but the sky is in motion. When do we have the time in our lives to notice things so fully? I remember when Steve first…” quote by Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/terry-tempest-williams-835_dizzy_enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the_1935353.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/terry-tempest-williams-835_dizzy_enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the_1935353.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/terry-tempest-williams-835_dizzy_enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the_1935353.png)

> ““Enormous cumulus clouds float above the plateau in the shape of turtles. Always turtles. The are moving so slowly, almost imperceptibly, makes me dizzy. The ground is stable, but the sky is in motion. When do we have the time in our lives to notice things so fully? I remember when Steve first learned of his diagnosis, we stood in the corner of his library and he said, "Something had to give. I was working too hard, moving too fast." I was right there with him, understanding both personally and precisely what he meant. Why must we wait for the body to speak before we hear what we really need?””

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Observing slow, subtle changes reminds us to notice life's fleeting moments before crises force awareness.

**In simple terms:** Notice slow changes before crises.

Key Takeaway

Pay attention to subtle signs.

Themes

mindfulness impermanence awareness

Mood

contemplative inquisitive

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- daily routines
- health monitoring
- creative observation

Key Concepts

phenomenology psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What small changes have you ignored?
- How can you act on subtle cues?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize observation over action.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Working too hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-too-hard/)

## Related quotes

> [The right understanding of any matter and a misunderstanding of the same matter do not wholly exclude each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-right-understanding-of-any-matter-and-a-misunderstanding-of-the/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [From the beginning of my Reformation I have asked God to send me neither dreams, nor visions, nor angels, but to give me the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/from-the-beginning-of-my-reformation-i-have-asked-god-to-send-me/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [“The wrong understanding is unhappiness and the right understanding is happiness. One has to see which kind of understanding he is getting. The entanglement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-wrong-understanding-is-unhappiness-and-the-right-understanding-is/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [You cannot hold God hostage (to your questions). He doesn’t owe you an answer. If you want the peace that passes understanding, you’re going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/you-cannot-hold-god-hostage-to-your-questions-he-doesn-t-owe-you-an/)

[Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/)

> [The path of awakening begins with a step the Buddha called right understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step-the-buddha-called-right/)

[Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/)

> [“By spending time with a Gnani Purush (One who has realized the Self and is able to do the same for others), the wrong intellect becomes right, and thereafter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/by-spending-time-with-a-gnani-purush-one-who-has-realized-the-self/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [“Right Understanding means feeling terrible, remembering pain is finite, and taking some solace from that remembering. And, when things are pleasant, even splendidly pleasant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-boorstein/right-understanding-means-feeling-terrible-remembering-pain-is-finite/)

[Sylvia Boorstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-boorstein/)

> [Samuel Gompers has spent his life trying to keep labor from working too hard and has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/samuel-gompers-has-spent-his-life-trying-to-keep-labor-from-working/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [“Septimus has been working too hard" - that was all she could say to her own mother. To love makes one solitary, she thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/septimus-has-been-working-too-hard-that-was-all-she-could-say-to-her/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Research now seems to indicate that one hour of inner action is worth seven hours of out-in-the-worl d action. Think about that. You're working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/research-now-seems-to-indicate-that-one-hour-of-inner-action-is-worth/)

[Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/)

> [Take a break honey, you're working too hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazher/take-a-break-honey-you-re-working-too-hard/)

[Mazher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazher/)

> [“Of course, there is a little more to it than that. We of the frailer sex have to have some wild hope, something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/of-course-there-is-a-little-more-to-it-than-that-we-of-the-frailer/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Ive seen vampire venom work miracles, but there are conditions that even venom cannot overcome. Her heart is working too hard now; if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn/ive-seen-vampire-venom-work-miracles-but-there-are-conditions-that/)

[The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn/)

> [“I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-knew-that-if-i-allowed-fear-to-overtake-me-my-journey-was-doomed/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [If you have something you do that's unique, you just end up in situations. Your art can take you to places without you working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-watts/if-you-have-something-you-do-that-s-unique-you-just-end-up-in/)

[Reggie Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-watts/)

## More by Terry Tempest Williams

> [I admire how she protects her energy and understands her limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-admire-how-she-protects-her-energy-and-understands-her-limitations/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Buddha says there are two kinds of suffering: the kind that leads to more suffering and the kind that brings an end to suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/buddha-says-there-are-two-kinds-of-suffering-the-kind-that-leads-to/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I wonder how, among the Fremont, mothers and daughters shared their world. Did they walk side by side along the lake edge? What stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-wonder-how-among-the-fremont-mothers-and-daughters-shared-their/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I believe the personal is the collective. One of the ironies of writing memoir is in using the "I" it becomes an alchemical "we."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-the-personal-is-the-collective-one-of-the-ironies-of/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I write to discover. I write to uncover. I write to meet my ghosts... I write because it is dangerous, a bloody risk, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-discover-i-write-to-uncover-i-write-to-meet-my-ghosts-i/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I write to make peace with the things I cannot control. I write to create red in a world that often appears black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-make-peace-with-the-things-i-cannot-control-i-write-to/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Hope is not attached to outcomes but is a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/hope-is-not-attached-to-outcomes-but-is-a-state-of-mind/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I have spoken about what we can do as citizens, what we can do as a responsive citizenry, and this is where we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-have-spoken-about-what-we-can-do-as-citizens-what-we-can-do-as-a/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [The moment Eve bit into the apple, her eyes opened and she became free. She exposed the truth of what every woman knows: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-moment-eve-bit-into-the-apple-her-eyes-opened-and-she-became-free/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I accept the Organic Trinity of Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal with as much authority as I accept the Holy Trinity. Both are sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-accept-the-organic-trinity-of-mineral-vegetable-and-animal-with-as/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Good writing must stay open to the questions and not fall prey to the pull of a polemic, otherwise, words simply become predictable, sentimental,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/good-writing-must-stay-open-to-the-questions-and-not-fall-prey-to-the/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I believe we must do things in our lives for the right reasons, because we enjoy doing them, with no expectation of getting something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-we-must-do-things-in-our-lives-for-the-right-reasons/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [A mother and daughter are an edge. Edges are ecotones, transitional zones, places of danger or opportunity. House-dwelling tension. When I stand on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/a-mother-and-daughter-are-an-edge-edges-are-ecotones-transitional/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“To be read. To be heard. To be seen. I want to be read, I want to be heard. I don't need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/to-be-read-to-be-heard-to-be-seen-i-want-to-be-read-i-want-to-be/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [The Eyes of the Future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-eyes-of-the-future-are-looking-back-at-us-and-they-are-praying/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

[Explore all 357 Terry Tempest Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

## More Dizzy quotes

> [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“Indeed, I am dizzy with happiness to be standing near to one who accepts me so completely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-urquhart/indeed-i-am-dizzy-with-happiness-to-be-standing-near-to-one-who/)

Rachel Urquhart

> [The circus tent was flowing pale in the rain like a fleshy flower lit from within. It seemed to bloom in the downpour. Drops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/the-circus-tent-was-flowing-pale-in-the-rain-like-a-fleshy-flower-lit/)

[Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/)

> [“We had nothing to say to one another, and while I was manufacturing my phrases I felt that earth was falling through space and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/we-had-nothing-to-say-to-one-another-and-while-i-was-manufacturing-my/)

[Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/)

> [I'm so in love, every time I look at you my soul gets dizzy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-tyler-ferguson/i-m-so-in-love-every-time-i-look-at-you-my-soul-gets-dizzy/)

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-tyler-ferguson/)

> [It is a law of governance that democracies have to spend themselves dizzy. Citizens of democracies can, after all, tell their government to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/it-is-a-law-of-governance-that-democracies-have-to-spend-themselves/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [Dizzy used to tell me I'm playing too hard. He'd say to not give everything. Miles told me that too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-hubbard/dizzy-used-to-tell-me-i-m-playing-too-hard-he-d-say-to-not-give/)

[Freddie Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-hubbard/)

> [The mortal race is far too weak not to grow dizzy on unwonted brights. \[Ger., Das sterbliche Geschlecht ist viel zu schwach In ungewohnter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-mortal-race-is-far-too-weak-not-to-grow-dizzy-on-unwonted-brights/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Since the time of the Founding Fathers, and since they added the Second Amendment to the Constitution, our guns have developed at a rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-gonzalez/since-the-time-of-the-founding-fathers-and-since-they-added-the/)

[Emma Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-gonzalez/)

> [The years between thirty-five and sixty-five revolve before the passive mind as one unexplained, confusing merry-go-round. True, they are a merry-go-round of ill-gaited and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-years-between-thirty-five-and-sixty-five-revolve-before-the/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [Dizzy used to tell me that I am playing too hard. He used to say to not give everything. Miles used to tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-hubbard/dizzy-used-to-tell-me-that-i-am-playing-too-hard-he-used-to-say-to/)

[Freddie Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-hubbard/)

> [“Love can be a natural endowment, a present, or a gift. If it is not just a donation, it can be a divine talent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/love-can-be-a-natural-endowment-a-present-or-a-gift-if-it-is-not-just/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [Though she hated to stop kissing, Luce held Daniel's warm face in her hands. She gazed into his violet eyes, trying to draw strength.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/though-she-hated-to-stop-kissing-luce-held-daniel-s-warm-face-in-her/)

[Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/)

> [Even the best critical writing on Emily Dickinson underestimates her. She is frightening. To come to her directly from Dante, Spenser, Blake, and Baudelaire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/even-the-best-critical-writing-on-emily-dickinson-underestimates-her/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [Light That's how I feel- like the winter-fringed breeze might scoop me up into its wings, fly away with me trapped in its feathered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/light-that-s-how-i-feel-like-the-winter-fringed-breeze-might-scoop-me/)

[Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/)

Browse all 222 Dizzy quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Enormous cumulus clouds float above the plateau in the shape of turtles. Always turtles. The are moving so slowly, almost imperceptibly, makes me dizzy. The ground is stable, but the sky is in motion. When do we have the time in our lives to notice things so fully? I remember when Steve first learned of his diagnosis, we stood in the corner of his library and he said, \"Something had to give. I was working too hard, moving too fast.\" I was right there with him, understanding both personally and precisely what he meant. Why must we wait for the body to speak before we hear what we really need?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Terry Tempest Williams"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the-plateau-in-the-shape-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Dizzy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the-plateau-in-the-shape-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/terry-tempest-williams-835_dizzy_enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the_1935353.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/terry-tempest-williams-835_dizzy_enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the_1935353.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/terry-tempest-williams-835_dizzy_enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the_1935353.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Enormous cumulus clouds float above the plateau in the shape of turtles. Always turtles. The are moving so…” — Terry Tempest Williams",
                "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": "Terry Tempest Williams",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Enormous cumulus clouds float above the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the-plateau-in-the-shape-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the-plateau-in-the-shape-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
