--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be excited and at the same time…" description: "\"To be excited and at the same time satisfied; to desire and possess -that has been described somewhere as the wise man's idea of heaven.\" — Alec Waugh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/alec-waugh-39652_desire_to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satis_632151.jpg" --- # To be excited and at the same time satisfied; to desire… ![“To be excited and at the same time satisfied; to desire and possess -that has been described somewhere as the wise man's idea of heaven.” quote by Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/alec-waugh-39652_desire_to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satis_632151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/alec-waugh-39652_desire_to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satis_632151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/alec-waugh-39652_desire_to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satis_632151.jpg) > “To be excited and at the same time satisfied; to desire and possess -that has been described somewhere as the wise man's idea of heaven.” [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It describes a state of simultaneous excitement and contentment, likened to an ideal heavenly condition. **In simple terms:** Excitement and satisfaction together feel heavenly. Key Takeaway Seek balanced fulfillment. Themes desire contentment duality Mood inspired calm Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career achievement - creative projects - personal milestones Key Concepts hedonism self‑actualization inner peace Questions to Reflect On - What does your personal heaven look like? - How can you maintain excitement without excess? A Different Perspective Balancing desire and possession can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Described Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/described-wise-5092613/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Possess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-possess-458520/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Satisfied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfied/) [Satisfied Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfied-desire-393868/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [If you make love with the divine now, in the next lifeyou will have the face of satisfied desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/if-you-make-love-with-the-divine-now-in-the-next-lifeyou-will-have/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [Memory is satisfied desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/memory-is-satisfied-desire/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“But there was nothing except this languid contentment of satisfied desire, as if the rules had changed or the world wasn't the same anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-b-gordon/but-there-was-nothing-except-this-languid-contentment-of-satisfied/) [G.B. Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-b-gordon/) > [Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he had no desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he-who-is-neither-good-nor-wise/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stasi-eldredge/we-desire-to-possess-a-beauty-that-is-worth-pursuing-worth-fighting/) [Stasi Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stasi-eldredge/) > [The worst passion we mortals cherish is the desire to possess. Even when we know that our final destination is a hole not more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/the-worst-passion-we-mortals-cherish-is-the-desire-to-possess-even/) [D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/) > [There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/there-is-one-quality-which-one-must-possess-to-win-and-that-is/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“One watches them on the seashore, all the people, and there is something pathetic, almost wistful in them, as if they wished their lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/one-watches-them-on-the-seashore-all-the-people-and-there-is/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [“The desire to possess is marked by an unceasingly growing, voracious element that manifests itself in the simple desire to have more, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothee-soelle/the-desire-to-possess-is-marked-by-an-unceasingly-growing-voracious/) [Dorothee Soelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothee-soelle/) > [“There is one quality which one must possess to win,” writes Napoleon Hill in his all-time classic Think and Grow Rich, “and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-one-quality-which-one-must-possess-to-win-writes-napoleon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Having fallen from the eternal, the Evil One's desires are endless, insatiable. Having fallen from pure Being, he is driven by the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-de-rougemont/having-fallen-from-the-eternal-the-evil-one-s-desires-are-endless/) [Denis de Rougemont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-de-rougemont/) > [The mystical impulse in men is somehow a desire to possess the universe. In women, it's a desire to be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-mystical-impulse-in-men-is-somehow-a-desire-to-possess-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [What is your ambition in life today? Is it to get rich? Is it to make a name for yourself? Is it even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-vernon-mcgee/what-is-your-ambition-in-life-today-is-it-to-get-rich-is-it-to-make-a/) [J. Vernon McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-vernon-mcgee/) > [There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/there-is-one-quality-that-one-must-possess-to-win-and-that-is/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Back of all this demand for new and better things, there is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/back-of-all-this-demand-for-new-and-better-things-there-is-one/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) ## More by Alec Waugh > [London is a city of clubs and private houses. You have to be a member.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/london-is-a-city-of-clubs-and-private-houses-you-have-to-be-a-member/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [By comparing what we know today with what the ancients appear to have known we can guess at the kinds of wine they drank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/by-comparing-what-we-know-today-with-what-the-ancients-appear-to-have/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [There is so little time for the discovery of all that we want to know about things that really interest us.We cannot afford to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/there-is-so-little-time-for-the-discovery-of-all-that-we-want-to-know/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [There is a case, and a strong case, for that particular form of indolence that allows us to move through life knowing only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/there-is-a-case-and-a-strong-case-for-that-particular-form-of/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [A man desires praise that he may be reassured, that he may be quit of his doubting of himself; he is indifferent to applause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/a-man-desires-praise-that-he-may-be-reassured-that-he-may-be-quit-of/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [The man who asks a woman what she wants deserves all that's coming to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/the-man-who-asks-a-woman-what-she-wants-deserves-all-that-s-coming-to/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [I am prepared to believe that a dry martini slightly impairs the palate, but think what it does for the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/i-am-prepared-to-believe-that-a-dry-martini-slightly-impairs-the/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [It is the thing that is most remote from the world in which we ourselves live that attracts us most. We are under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/it-is-the-thing-that-is-most-remote-from-the-world-in-which-we/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [We need not be intimidated by the wine snob because we know that, in the last analysis, he is only putting on a front.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/we-need-not-be-intimidated-by-the-wine-snob-because-we-know-that-in/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/you-can-fall-in-love-at-first-sight-with-a-place-as-with-a-person/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) [Explore all 11 Alec Waugh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be excited and at the same time satisfied; to desire and possess -that has been described somewhere as the wise man's idea of heaven.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alec Waugh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satisfied-to-desire-and-possess/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satisfied-to-desire-and-possess/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/alec-waugh-39652_desire_to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satis_632151.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/alec-waugh-39652_desire_to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satis_632151.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/alec-waugh-39652_desire_to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satis_632151.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be excited and at the same time satisfied; to desire and possess -that has been described somewhere as…” — Alec Waugh", "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": "Alec Waugh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be excited and at the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satisfied-to-desire-and-possess/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satisfied-to-desire-and-possess/#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 } } ] } ```