--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The activities of drawing, eating and…" description: "\"The activities of drawing, eating and drinking, all involve assimilations by the self of desirable elements from the world, a transfer of goodness from..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/alain-de-botton-221_activity_the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-dri_857985.jpg" --- # The activities of drawing, eating and drinking, all… ![“The activities of drawing, eating and drinking, all involve assimilations by the self of desirable elements from the world, a transfer of goodness from without to within.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/alain-de-botton-221_activity_the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-dri_857985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/alain-de-botton-221_activity_the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-dri_857985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/alain-de-botton-221_activity_the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-dri_857985.jpg) > “The activities of drawing, eating and drinking, all involve assimilations by the self of desirable elements from the world, a transfer of goodness from without to within.” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We absorb positive experiences—like food, art, and drink—by internalizing their beneficial qualities, turning external goodness into personal enrichment. **In simple terms:** We take in good things from outside and make them part of us. Key Takeaway Seek and cherish enriching experiences. Themes self‑growth mindfulness pleasure Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - eating a meal - visiting a museum - listening to music - sharing a drink - practicing gratitude Key Concepts philosophy psychology sensory appreciation Questions to Reflect On - How do you turn everyday pleasures into deeper growth? - What habits help you internalize positive experiences? A Different Perspective External pleasures can be fleeting and may not lead to lasting fulfillment without reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Assimilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation/) [Assimilations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilations-819752/) [Assimilations Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilations-self-819750/) [Desirable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desirable/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Drawing Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing-eating-819751/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Eating and drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-and-drinking/) [Eating Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-drinking-468931/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Involve Assimilations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involve-assimilations-819753/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Transfers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transfers/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Without the assistance of eating and drinking, the most sparkling wit would be as heavy as a bad soufflé, and the brightest talent as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-soyer/without-the-assistance-of-eating-and-drinking-the-most-sparkling-wit/) [Alexis Soyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-soyer/) > [This work, though it deals only with eating and drinking, which are regarded in the eyes of our supernaturalistic mock-culture as the lowest acts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/this-work-though-it-deals-only-with-eating-and-drinking-which-are/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [There is a difference between eating and drinking for strength and from mere gluttony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-is-a-difference-between-eating-and-drinking-for-strength-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Nature, as we know her, is no saint… She comes eating and drinking and sinning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-as-we-know-her-is-no-saint-she-comes-eating-and-drinking-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Numerous Christians do not know how to glorify God in their eating and drinking. They do not eat and drink simply to keep their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/numerous-christians-do-not-know-how-to-glorify-god-in-their-eating/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [One of the things that helps my vocal health immensely out on the road is stopping all my eating/drinking at least four hours before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/one-of-the-things-that-helps-my-vocal-health-immensely-out-on-the/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [To me, climbing is like eating or drinking. I have to do it; it's part of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-robert/to-me-climbing-is-like-eating-or-drinking-i-have-to-do-it-it-s-part/) [Alain Robert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-robert/) > [To be always intending to make a new and better life but never to find time to set about it is as to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/to-be-always-intending-to-make-a-new-and-better-life-but-never-to/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Is this it? Is this what it's all about, Manny? Eating, drinking, fucking, sucking, snorting?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-montana/is-this-it-is-this-what-it-s-all-about-manny-eating-drinking-fucking/) [Tony Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-montana/) > [I think viewers quite like it when I'm suffering or eating or drinking something horrible or really up against it in some quicksand or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/i-think-viewers-quite-like-it-when-i-m-suffering-or-eating-or/) [Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/) > [I used to be a party animal back in the day, but now I'm way more healthy, eating and drinking a lot - drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-flip/i-used-to-be-a-party-animal-back-in-the-day-but-now-i-m-way-more/) [G Flip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-flip/) > [“Yesterday, I was feeling fine... I was into the mood of eating... drinking... but today... I am not interested into eating or drinking or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/yesterday-i-was-feeling-fine-i-was-into-the-mood-of-eating-drinking/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [Being twenty-something is all about taking it in: eating it, drinking it, and spitting out the seeds later. It's about being fearless, and stupid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/being-twenty-something-is-all-about-taking-it-in-eating-it-drinking/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [“Fursey was now eating—and drinking, always drinking—at Mulstan’s expense, not her uncle’s. The gift of kings, her mother said: to make others pay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-griffith/fursey-was-now-eating-and-drinking-always-drinking-at-mulstan-s/) [Nicola Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-griffith/) > [If you are going to splurge out and have a month of bad eating and drinking, that's absolutely fine as far as I'm concerned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gok-wan/if-you-are-going-to-splurge-out-and-have-a-month-of-bad-eating-and/) [Gok Wan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gok-wan/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The activities of drawing, eating and drinking, all involve assimilations by the self of desirable elements from the world, a transfer of goodness from without to within.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-drinking-all-involve/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-drinking-all-involve/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/alain-de-botton-221_activity_the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-dri_857985.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/alain-de-botton-221_activity_the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-dri_857985.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/alain-de-botton-221_activity_the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-dri_857985.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The activities of drawing, eating and drinking, all involve assimilations by the self of desirable elements…” — Alain de Botton", "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": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The activities of drawing, eating and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-drinking-all-involve/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-activities-of-drawing-eating-and-drinking-all-involve/#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 } } ] } ```