--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How it was, when you lost things, it was…" description: "\"“How it was, when you lost things, it was like you only knew for the first time that you'd ever had them. (...) You didn't wake up every morning and sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/william-gibson-642_every-morning_how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-l_1370373.jpg" --- # How it was, when you lost things, it was like you only… ![“How it was, when you lost things, it was like you only knew for the first time that you'd ever had them. (...) You didn't wake up every morning and say yes and yes to every little thing. But little things were what it was all made of. Or just somebody to see, there, when you woke up.” quote by William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/william-gibson-642_every-morning_how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-l_1370373.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/william-gibson-642_every-morning_how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-l_1370373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/william-gibson-642_every-morning_how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-l_1370373.jpg) > ““How it was, when you lost things, it was like you only knew for the first time that you'd ever had them. (...) You didn't wake up every morning and say yes and yes to every little thing. But little things were what it was all made of. Or just somebody to see, there, when you woke up.”” [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loss reveals the novelty of everyday moments, making them suddenly vivid. **In simple terms:** Losing things makes you notice the small details. Key Takeaway Appreciate ordinary moments before they fade. Themes memory presence mindfulness loss experience Mood nostalgic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily routines - personal loss - creative inspiration - relationship building Key Concepts Existentialism psychology perception Questions to Reflect On - What small things do you take for granted? - How does loss change your perception? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize loss, overlooking its pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Little things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-things/) [Lost things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-things/) [Morning Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning-say-584614/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Things Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-just/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Oh, they’ll find him a job. Tattoo it on his paw every morning,” I say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/oh-they-ll-find-him-a-job-tattoo-it-on-his-paw-every-morning-i-say/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“Jefferson wanders into the galley, whistling like a yellow warbler with a mouthful of spring. He pulls up a chair and sits beside me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-carson/jefferson-wanders-into-the-galley-whistling-like-a-yellow-warbler/) [Rae Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-carson/) > [Morning," I say. "Shh," she says. "If you don't acknowledge it, maybe it will go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/morning-i-say-shh-she-says-if-you-don-t-acknowledge-it-maybe-it-will/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Normal people don't just wake up in the morning and say I think it'd be a good idea to run for president of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/normal-people-don-t-just-wake-up-in-the-morning-and-say-i-think-it-d/) [Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/) > [You should wake up in the morning and say, 'What do I want to do today? What's going to make me happy?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payal-kadakia/you-should-wake-up-in-the-morning-and-say-what-do-i-want-to-do-today/) [Payal Kadakia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payal-kadakia/) > [Wake up in the morning and say, 'I refuse to be a hack,' and see what happens by the end of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/wake-up-in-the-morning-and-say-i-refuse-to-be-a-hack-and-see-what/) [Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/) > [“What, do you just wake up in the morning and say, ‘I think I’ll overtake a small country today,’ or ‘I wonder if there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-scarlett/what-do-you-just-wake-up-in-the-morning-and-say-i-think-i-ll-overtake/) [Anna Scarlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-scarlett/) > [I prime my mind. I wake up every morning and say, "Look, if you don't have 10 minutes for yourself, you don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/i-prime-my-mind-i-wake-up-every-morning-and-say-look-if-you-don-t/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-man-with-the-best-job-in-the-country-is-the-vice-president-all-he/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [You need to get up in the morning and say, 'Boy, I'm going to - in my own stupid way - save the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bellamy/you-need-to-get-up-in-the-morning-and-say-boy-i-m-going-to-in-my-own/) [Carol Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bellamy/) > [If unwilling to rise in the morning, say to thyself, 'I awake to do the work of a man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-unwilling-to-rise-in-the-morning-say-to-thyself-i-awake-to-do-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [You want to be the one that people piclk up the paper in the morning to see what you say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-myers/you-want-to-be-the-one-that-people-piclk-up-the-paper-in-the-morning/) [Gary Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-myers/) > [“Have you ever been lying in bed in the morning and out of nowhere you’re reminded of all the mistakes you made yesterday and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/have-you-ever-been-lying-in-bed-in-the-morning-and-out-of-nowhere-you/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [You have to be able to wake up in the morning and say, 'I've been true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-gwathmey/you-have-to-be-able-to-wake-up-in-the-morning-and-say-i-ve-been-true/) [Charles Gwathmey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-gwathmey/) > [There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, 'Good morning, God,' and the other is to say, 'Good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-two-ways-of-waking-up-in-the-morning-one-is-to-say-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William Gibson > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“No," said Blackwell, "she won't, because that would be a violation of the very personal terms I will have established in our conversation. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/no-said-blackwell-she-won-t-because-that-would-be-a-violation-of-the/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Music was strange that way though; there were people into any damned thing, it seemed like, and if you got enough of them together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/music-was-strange-that-way-though-there-were-people-into-any-damned/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Fiction is an illusion wrought with many small, conventionally symbolic marks, triggering visions in the minds of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/fiction-is-an-illusion-wrought-with-many-small-conventionally/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [The experience of celebrity is gradually being democratized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/the-experience-of-celebrity-is-gradually-being-democratized/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [I don't generate a storyline and then fill it out in the course of writing. The story actually generates in the course of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-generate-a-storyline-and-then-fill-it-out-in-the-course-of/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“What happened to your arm?" she asked me one night in the Gentleman Loser, the three of us drinking at a small table in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/what-happened-to-your-arm-she-asked-me-one-night-in-the-gentleman/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/in-heathrow-a-vast-chunk-of-memory-detached-itself-from-a-blank-bowl/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/and-for-an-instant-she-stared-directly-into-those-soft-blue-eyes-and/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [ \[When\] Johnny Mnemonic was coming out and I realized that all the kids that worked in 7-11 knew more - or thought they knew… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-johnny-mnemonic-was-coming-out-and-i-realized-that-all-the-kids/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Andrea maintained that men like Alain lied so constantly, so passionately, that some basic distinction had been lost. They were artists in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/andrea-maintained-that-men-like-alain-lied-so-constantly-so/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/because-he-had-a-good-agent-he-had-a-good-contract-because-he-had-a/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) [Explore all 430 William Gibson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More Every morning quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Scheduling should be done several times each day, beginning the night before and continuing at additional times the next day. Prioritize your assignments, exams,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-porter-thomas/scheduling-should-be-done-several-times-each-day-beginning-the-night/) [Caroline Porter Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-porter-thomas/) > [“A lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/a-lot-of-habitually-creative-people-have-preparation-rituals-linked/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I wake up every morning fearing I am going to fail. But I love a challenge, big or small. There's so much I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-mone/i-wake-up-every-morning-fearing-i-am-going-to-fail-but-i-love-a/) [Michelle Mone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-mone/) > [“Every morning I sit at the kitchen table over a tall glass of water swallowing pills. (So my hands won’t shake.) (So my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanann-verlee/every-morning-i-sit-at-the-kitchen-table-over-a-tall-glass-of-water/) [Jeanann Verlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanann-verlee/) > [“I once asked you what anxiety felt like, and you told me that most days left you riddled with bullet holes. Every morning came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-s/i-once-asked-you-what-anxiety-felt-like-and-you-told-me-that-most/) [d.a.s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-s/) > [I believe there should be a better way to start each day...instead of waking up every morning...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-there-should-be-a-better-way-to-start-each-day-instead-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ To keep my head healthy, \[I'm\] trying to meditate every morning, which is something I'm sort of getting into more, realizing that it's really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-richards/to-keep-my-head-healthy-i-m-trying-to-meditate-every-morning-which-is/) [Erin Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-richards/) > [I may be forty, but every morning when I get up, I feel like a twenty-year-old. Unfortunately, there's never one around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/i-may-be-forty-but-every-morning-when-i-get-up-i-feel-like-a-twenty/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [“Whatand why were never questions for me. How was the only question. When I look back now, I realize that I never thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/whatand-why-were-never-questions-for-me-how-was-the-only-question/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [Every morning when I pick up the newspaper and read about an earthquake in Japan or problems in European financial institutions, the first question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schapiro/every-morning-when-i-pick-up-the-newspaper-and-read-about-an/) [Mary Schapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schapiro/) > [“They would congratulate themselves every morning on keeping their integrity, and blame themselves each night for that missed opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/they-would-congratulate-themselves-every-morning-on-keeping-their/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“If I could just get my partner to see me how she used to - to fall in love with me all over again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/if-i-could-just-get-my-partner-to-see-me-how-she-used-to-to-fall-in/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Fiction and non-fiction are only different techniques of story telling. For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Browse all 1,986 Every morning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How it was, when you lost things, it was like you only knew for the first time that you'd ever had them. (...) You didn't wake up every morning and say yes and yes to every little thing. But little things were what it was all made of. Or just somebody to see, there, when you woke up.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Gibson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-like-you-only-knew-for-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Every morning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-like-you-only-knew-for-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/william-gibson-642_every-morning_how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-l_1370373.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/william-gibson-642_every-morning_how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-l_1370373.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/william-gibson-642_every-morning_how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-l_1370373.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How it was, when you lost things, it was like you only knew for the first time that you'd ever had them…” — William Gibson", "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": "William Gibson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How it was, when you lost...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-like-you-only-knew-for-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/how-it-was-when-you-lost-things-it-was-like-you-only-knew-for-the/#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 } } ] } ```