---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Waiting is a large part of living. Great…"
description: "\"Waiting is a large part of living. Great, passive, negative chunks of our time are consumed by waiting, from birth to death. Waiting is a special kind ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/ada-louise-huxtable-14558_activity_waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great_1520350.png"
---

#  Waiting is a large part of living. Great, passive…

![“Waiting is a large part of living. Great, passive, negative chunks of our time are consumed by waiting, from birth to death. Waiting is a special kind of activity - if activity is the right word for it - because we are held in enforced suspension between people and places, removed from the normal…” quote by Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/ada-louise-huxtable-14558_activity_waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great_1520350.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/ada-louise-huxtable-14558_activity_waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great_1520350.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/ada-louise-huxtable-14558_activity_waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great_1520350.png)

> “Waiting is a large part of living. Great, passive, negative chunks of our time are consumed by waiting, from birth to death. Waiting is a special kind of activity - if activity is the right word for it - because we are held in enforced suspension between people and places, removed from the normal rhythms of our days and lives.”

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

## About This Quote

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

Waiting occupies much of our lives, creating a forced pause that separates us from normal routines and relationships.

**In simple terms:** Waiting takes up much of our time.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and use waiting moments wisely.

Themes

time patience existence suspension

Mood

contemplative neutral

Type

observational philosophical

When to use this quote

- commuting
- medical appointments
- airport layovers
- daily chores

Key Concepts

psychology temporal experience social isolation

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you transform waiting into reflection?
- What activities can you prepare during idle moments?

A Different Perspective

Waiting can breed anxiety and wasted potential if not managed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-of-living/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Right words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-words/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [The womb of the morning is waiting to give birth to your ideals. Impregrenate your day with positivety and watch it manifest in faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-womb-of-the-morning-is-waiting-to-give-birth-to-your-ideals/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I can just close my eyes and let myself fall into oblivion. Maybe I'll hit the exact same rocks and my blood will mingle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-clarke/i-can-just-close-my-eyes-and-let-myself-fall-into-oblivion-maybe-i-ll/)

[Cat Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-clarke/)

> [Death has to be waiting at the end of the ride before you truly see the earth, and feel your heart, and love the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anouilh/death-has-to-be-waiting-at-the-end-of-the-ride-before-you-truly-see/)

[Jean Anouilh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anouilh/)

> [“It's like we come into the world to wait for the hour of our death. And what we do while waiting appears to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-s-like-we-come-into-the-world-to-wait-for-the-hour-of-our-death/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [“I’m just saying that you live every day like you’re challenging death to come find you, and other people live their days seeing death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-stradling/i-m-just-saying-that-you-live-every-day-like-you-re-challenging-death/)

[Rita Stradling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-stradling/)

> [“His big body was nothing but death waiting for a place to happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/his-big-body-was-nothing-but-death-waiting-for-a-place-to-happen/)

[J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/)

> [All of us have the same thing coming - death. It's waiting. But I don't want to go. I want to live to be 102!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/all-of-us-have-the-same-thing-coming-death-it-s-waiting-but-i-don-t/)

[Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/)

> [“One went on and on, never dreaming of the sudden dreadful day when the coverings were going to be dropped and one would see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/one-went-on-and-on-never-dreaming-of-the-sudden-dreadful-day-when-the/)

[Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/)

> [The death is waiting eagerly for me the next step, my friend. Three years is a matter of too far, I know nothing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohd-aariff-khan/the-death-is-waiting-eagerly-for-me-the-next-step-my-friend-three/)

[Mohd Aariff Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohd-aariff-khan/)

> [Time never wait for you; but death will always waiting for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-never-wait-for-you-but-death-will-always-waiting-for-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“death stretches out like a clothesline, and then suddenly blows: blows a dark sound that swells the sheets and beds are sailing into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/death-stretches-out-like-a-clothesline-and-then-suddenly-blows-blows/)

[Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/)

> [“possible. He has this attitude that nothing bad can happen to him, that he is protected in some way. I never have that feeling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/possible-he-has-this-attitude-that-nothing-bad-can-happen-to-him-that/)

[Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/)

> [Always remember. On Next to next Step. death are still waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/always-remember-on-next-to-next-step-death-are-still-waiting/)

Mak\_786

> [Death is the waiting-room where we robe ourselves for immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/death-is-the-waiting-room-where-we-robe-ourselves-for-immortality/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [“Her breath caught in her throat, for she heard the clatter of death waiting to fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/her-breath-caught-in-her-throat-for-she-heard-the-clatter-of-death/)

[Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/)

## More by Ada Louise Huxtable

> [No matter what an architect may be at home, he becomes a monumentalist when he comes to Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/no-matter-what-an-architect-may-be-at-home-he-becomes-a-monumentalist/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [There are two kinds of people in the world - those who have a horror of a vacuum and those with a horror of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-have-a-horror-of/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [One of the most basic human instincts is the need to decorate. Nothing is exempt - the body, the objects one uses, from intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/one-of-the-most-basic-human-instincts-is-the-need-to-decorate-nothing/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [The age of Lincoln and Jefferson memorials is over. It will be presidential libraries from now on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/the-age-of-lincoln-and-jefferson-memorials-is-over-it-will-be/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [the search for the ultimate skyscraper goes on. ... At worst, overbuilding will make urban life unbearable. At best, we will go out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/the-search-for-the-ultimate-skyscraper-goes-on-at-worst-overbuilding/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Beauty or beast, the modern skyscraper is a major force with a strong magnetic field. It draws into its physical being all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/beauty-or-beast-the-modern-skyscraper-is-a-major-force-with-a-strong/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Who’s afraid of the big, bad buildings? Everyone, because there are so many things about gigantism that we just don’t know. The gamble of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/who-s-afraid-of-the-big-bad-buildings-everyone-because-there-are-so/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Symbol and metaphor are as much a part of the architectural vocabulary as stone and steel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/symbol-and-metaphor-are-as-much-a-part-of-the-architectural/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Every generation tailors history to its taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/every-generation-tailors-history-to-its-taste/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [The New York Hilton is laid out with a competence that would make a computer blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/the-new-york-hilton-is-laid-out-with-a-competence-that-would-make-a/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Every age cuts and pastes history to suit its own purposes; art always has an ax to grind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/every-age-cuts-and-pastes-history-to-suit-its-own-purposes-art-always/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Good architecture is still the difficult, conscientious, creative, expressive planning for that elusive synthesis that is a near-contradiction in terms: efficiency and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/good-architecture-is-still-the-difficult-conscientious-creative/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [The perennial architectural debate has always been, and will continue to be, about art versus use, visions versus pragmatism, aesthetics versus social responsibility. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/the-perennial-architectural-debate-has-always-been-and-will-continue/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Today, when so much seems to conspire to reduce life and feeling to the most deprived and demeaning bottom line, it is more important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/today-when-so-much-seems-to-conspire-to-reduce-life-and-feeling-to/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

> [Surrogate experience and surrogate environments have become the American way of life. Distinctions are no longer made, or deemed necessary, between the real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/surrogate-experience-and-surrogate-environments-have-become-the/)

[Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

[Explore all 46 Ada Louise Huxtable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/)

## More Activity quotes

> [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/)

[Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/)

> [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/)

[Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/)

> [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/)

[Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/)

> [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/)

[Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/)

> [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/)

[Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/)

> [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

> [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/)

Gero Miesenbock

> [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/)

[Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/)

> [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/)

[Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/)

> [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/)

[Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/)

> [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Waiting is a large part of living. Great, passive, negative chunks of our time are consumed by waiting, from birth to death. Waiting is a special kind of activity - if activity is the right word for it - because we are held in enforced suspension between people and places, removed from the normal rhythms of our days and lives.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ada Louise Huxtable"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great-passive-negative-chunks-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Activity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great-passive-negative-chunks-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/ada-louise-huxtable-14558_activity_waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great_1520350.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/ada-louise-huxtable-14558_activity_waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great_1520350.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/ada-louise-huxtable-14558_activity_waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great_1520350.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Waiting is a large part of living. Great, passive, negative chunks of our time are consumed by waiting, from…” — Ada Louise Huxtable",
                "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": "Ada Louise Huxtable",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Waiting is a large part of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great-passive-negative-chunks-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/waiting-is-a-large-part-of-living-great-passive-negative-chunks-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
