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About this quote

What does it mean?
Time and passive waiting drain life away until youth and vitality are gone.
In plain terms
Passing time slowly wastes your youth and life energy.
What can you take from it?
Waiting without acting drains your life away.

Where it applies

  • midlife crisis
  • aging
  • procrastination

Putting it to work

  • taking action
  • valuing time
  • legacy planning

Questions to consider

  • How are you spending your time now?
  • What will you regret leaving undone?

Another view

Sometimes rest is necessary for survival.

More from Samuel Beckett

  1. Consider: the darkening ease, the brightening trouble; the pleasure pleasure because it was, the pain pain because it shall be; the glad acts grown proud, the …

    Permalink to quote #12
  2. Memories are killing. So you must not think of certain things, of those that are dear to you, or rather you must think of them, for if you don't there is the d…

    Permalink to quote #14
  3. But he had hardly felt the absurdity of those things, on the one hand, and the necessity of those others, on the other (for it is rare that the feeling of absu…

    Permalink to quote #11

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