--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is that a good definition of marking the…" description: "\"Is that a good definition of marking the ageing watershed? That moment when you realize - quite rationally, quite unemotionally - that the world in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa4/william-boyd-3581_ageing_is-that-a-good-definition-of-marking-the_936886.png" --- # Is that a good definition of marking the ageing watershed?… ![“Is that a good definition of marking the ageing watershed? That moment when you realize - quite rationally, quite unemotionally - that the world in the not-so-distant future will not contain you: that the trees you planted will continue growing but you will not be there to see them.” quote by William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa4/william-boyd-3581_ageing_is-that-a-good-definition-of-marking-the_936886.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa4/william-boyd-3581_ageing_is-that-a-good-definition-of-marking-the_936886.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa4/william-boyd-3581_ageing_is-that-a-good-definition-of-marking-the_936886.png) > “Is that a good definition of marking the ageing watershed? That moment when you realize - quite rationally, quite unemotionally - that the world in the not-so-distant future will not contain you: that the trees you planted will continue growing but you will not be there to see them.” [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing mortality highlights the fleeting nature of personal presence versus lasting natural cycles. **In simple terms:** Life is brief, nature endures. Key Takeaway Embrace impermanence. Themes mortality legacy environment Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gardening - family planning - career choices - philanthropy Key Concepts existentialism temporal perspective Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of mortality shape your priorities? - What lasting impact do you wish to leave? A Different Perspective Focusing on death can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ageing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Watershed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watershed/) [Watersheds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watersheds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [ The discovery of any kind of life \[in Space\] at all would be a tremendous watershed moment in biology, as well as all of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-discovery-of-any-kind-of-life-in-space-at-all-would-be-a/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I think the most important thing people can do is to learn about their watershed. And it's something no one knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-cousteau/i-think-the-most-important-thing-people-can-do-is-to-learn-about/) [Alexandra Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-cousteau/) > [Once you figure out something about the watershed, you'll find out where the schools are going to hell, and the kids aren't learning, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/once-you-figure-out-something-about-the-watershed-you-ll-find-out/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [When you live in a watershed area, in a pristine area, and you could watch this whole place fall apart in front of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/when-you-live-in-a-watershed-area-in-a-pristine-area-and-you-could/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [If you're imaginatively responsible to the place you live in, you understand the watershed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-re-imaginatively-responsible-to-the-place-you-live-in-you/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [You know, there has never been a watershed moment with a coach when I've gone, 'Wow, I learned something today.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-souness/you-know-there-has-never-been-a-watershed-moment-with-a-coach-when-i/) [Graeme Souness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-souness/) > [“The watershed moment,” said Ann Nocenti, “was when Shooter said every single comic had to have a ‘can’t-must’ moment: I am not a thief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-howe/the-watershed-moment-said-ann-nocenti-was-when-shooter-said-every/) [Sean Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-howe/) > [As costly as it was in the lives of our men and women in uniform, in military assets, and in esteem and pride, Pearl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-baca/as-costly-as-it-was-in-the-lives-of-our-men-and-women-in-uniform-in/) [Joe Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-baca/) > [“Every life has a watershed moment, an instant when you realize you’re about to make a choice that will define everything else you ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/every-life-has-a-watershed-moment-an-instant-when-you-realize-you-re-2/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Every life has a watershed moment, an instant when you realize you're about to make a choice that will define everything else you ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/every-life-has-a-watershed-moment-an-instant-when-you-realize-you-re/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [When we launched Lambda, the first serverless compute service, it was a watershed moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/when-we-launched-lambda-the-first-serverless-compute-service-it-was-a/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [The neighborhood I grew up in had this fence that surrounds the watershed. And if you go on the other side of that fence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/the-neighborhood-i-grew-up-in-had-this-fence-that-surrounds-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Cartography. A watershed is an area of land, usually mountains or forests, that drains into a river. History is also a river. Wouldn’t you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/cartography-a-watershed-is-an-area-of-land-usually-mountains-or/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“It's hard to think of the divide where I grew up as a watershed. The creeks are dry most of the year, rainfall is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-a-colburn/it-s-hard-to-think-of-the-divide-where-i-grew-up-as-a-watershed-the/) Faith A. Colburn > [For me, the watershed was Hurricane Katrina. If that didn't get people out on the streets, then what will?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/for-me-the-watershed-was-hurricane-katrina-if-that-didn-t-get-people/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) ## More by William Boyd > [Sometimes limbo is a tolerable place to be stuck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/sometimes-limbo-is-a-tolerable-place-to-be-stuck/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“Here at its extremities the terrified transients gathered, gazing out at the vast refulgent ocean for some sign of security.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/here-at-its-extremities-the-terrified-transients-gathered-gazing-out/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“We all possess, like it or not, the people we know, and are possessed by them in turn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/we-all-possess-like-it-or-not-the-people-we-know-and-are-possessed-by/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“Old Testament prophets. ‘You savvy dis fetish thing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/old-testament-prophets-you-savvy-dis-fetish-thing/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [Human beings are interested in the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/human-beings-are-interested-in-the-human-condition/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“A warm sunny evening, the plash and gurgle of the waves in the rock pools, the rush of the cold gin. I thought for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/a-warm-sunny-evening-the-plash-and-gurgle-of-the-waves-in-the-rock/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [I have this lock of hair that keeps falling across my forehead. It drives me mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/i-have-this-lock-of-hair-that-keeps-falling-across-my-forehead-it/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [With film, you have very limited tools to convey subjectivity - voiceover, the camera's point of view, good acting - but even the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/with-film-you-have-very-limited-tools-to-convey-subjectivity/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“any man over forty who deliberately combs his hair forward in a child’s fringe has something suspect about him,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/any-man-over-forty-who-deliberately-combs-his-hair-forward-in-a-child/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [There are things in life we don't understand, and when we meet them, all we can do is let them alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/there-are-things-in-life-we-don-t-understand-and-when-we-meet-them/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“All great artists are doubters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/all-great-artists-are-doubters/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“Feelings of depression; feelings of frustration; feelings of emptiness in the face of all this randomness - done down by the haphazard, yet again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/feelings-of-depression-feelings-of-frustration-feelings-of-emptiness/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“I am a total stranger, you see. Total.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/i-am-a-total-stranger-you-see-total/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [There is a disconnect between the film Bond and the literary Bond which is their contemporaneity. I don't suffer from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/there-is-a-disconnect-between-the-film-bond-and-the-literary-bond/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“So much for my great vendetta, so much for the tireless hunt for my betrayer. Isn't this how life turns out, more often than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/so-much-for-my-great-vendetta-so-much-for-the-tireless-hunt-for-my/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) [Explore all 125 William Boyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) ## More Ageing quotes > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [People's opinions don't interfere with me. Ageing gracefully is supposed to mean trying not to hide time passing and just looking a wreck. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-moreau/people-s-opinions-don-t-interfere-with-me-ageing-gracefully-is/) [Jeanne Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-moreau/) > [“Ageing must be like wearing a heavy, itchy suit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cardamone/ageing-must-be-like-wearing-a-heavy-itchy-suit/) [Tom Cardamone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cardamone/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [“She has built her whole life on the foundation of beauty: each chiseled plane, each sloping dimple, each soft curve as crucial as keystones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/she-has-built-her-whole-life-on-the-foundation-of-beauty-each/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“I've been 21 for many years now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/i-ve-been-21-for-many-years-now/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Age doesn't define maturity. Some people will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-doesn-t-define-maturity-some-people-will-never-grow-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ageing is so many different things, and cells being able to self-renew is part of the picture but not all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-blackburn/ageing-is-so-many-different-things-and-cells-being-able-to-self-renew/) [Elizabeth Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-blackburn/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/dying-is-a-matter-of-slapstick-and-pratfalls-the-ageing-process-is/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Anyone who stops learning is old — whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/anyone-who-stops-learning-is-old-whether-this-happens-at-twenty-or-at/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [All of my friends are my age and we are all ageing at the same time. We talk about it and moan, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-schiffer/all-of-my-friends-are-my-age-and-we-are-all-ageing-at-the-same-time/) [Claudia Schiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-schiffer/) > [You've got to get your head right about ageing. Taking care of diet and exercise and facing your fears about growing older will lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/you-ve-got-to-get-your-head-right-about-ageing-taking-care-of-diet/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [Ageing is very rare. We only see it in humans and laboratory animals and in zoo animals and in our pets. Basically, organisms that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/ageing-is-very-rare-we-only-see-it-in-humans-and-laboratory-animals/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [“Growing age can kill the beauty, not the style.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/growing-age-can-kill-the-beauty-not-the-style/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 311 Ageing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Is that a good definition of marking the ageing watershed? 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