“Our people say no condition is permanent, Mr. Edwards. Good times must come to an end, just like bad times, whether we want it or not.”
— Imbolo MbueSource: Behold the Dreamers, 2016 · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The wording appears in Imbolo Mbue's novel Behold the Dreamers (2016), spoken by the character Jende Jonga to Clark Edwards.
- What remains uncertain
- Verified as a line from the novel; the sentence is dialogue by a fictional character, not a direct statement by Mbue herself.
Understanding the quote
The line states a hard-earned wisdom: circumstances change. Spoken by Jende Jonga as he parts from Clark Edwards, it frames both personal loss and fragile privilege during the 2007–08 financial collapse and carries communal Cameroonian resonance.
The story behind it
Notable detail: Jende delivers the line while packing to return to Cameroon, after Lehman Brothers' collapse undermines both families' security.
Going further
- The era
- In 2007–08, amid the global financial crisis that toppled Lehman Brothers.
- The thinking
- A pragmatic stance: expect change and act accordingly. In practice it means preparing, adapting, and not treating any fortune as permanent.
- Key word
- Impermanence: no social or personal condition lasts forever.
- Who quoted it
- Widely reposted on quotation sites and in online excerpts from the novel, rather than quoted in major speeches or essays.
Three challenges to live it
In the app, you pick the one that fits your day, and in the evening you say how it went.
Sit quietly for five minutes; breathe and watch one memory of change appear and gently dissolve like waves.
The quote speaks to impermanence; this short meditation lets you feel endings and renewals directly, without judgment.
Write a 250-word letter to your self from five years ago: describe one major change and what you wish you had heard then.
The line emphasizes changing conditions; writing to a past self helps you acknowledge change and absorb the lesson of impermanence.
Call or message an older person you know; ask them to tell a story about a time everything changed for them, and listen without interrupting.
The quote draws on communal wisdom; collecting a lived story ties impermanence to concrete human experience and deepens understanding.
How does believing that no condition is permanent change the way you respond to setbacks?
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