--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dear friends, he began, there is no…" description: "\"“Dear friends, he began, there is no timetable for happiness; it moves, I think, according to rules of its own. When I was a boy I thought I’d be happy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/alexander-mccall-smith-372_dear-friend_dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timeta_1624208.png" --- # Dear friends, he began, there is no timetable for… ![“Dear friends, he began, there is no timetable for happiness; it moves, I think, according to rules of its own. When I was a boy I thought I’d be happy tomorrow, as a young man I thought it would be next week; last month I thought it would be never. Today, I know it is now.” quote by Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/alexander-mccall-smith-372_dear-friend_dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timeta_1624208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/alexander-mccall-smith-372_dear-friend_dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timeta_1624208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/alexander-mccall-smith-372_dear-friend_dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timeta_1624208.png) > ““Dear friends, he began, there is no timetable for happiness; it moves, I think, according to rules of its own. When I was a boy I thought I’d be happy tomorrow, as a young man I thought it would be next week; last month I thought it would be never. Today, I know it is now.”” [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness cannot be scheduled; it arrives when we stop chasing it and accept the present. **In simple terms:** Happiness is now, not later. Key Takeaway Live in the moment. Themes contentment time acceptance Mood calm hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily routines - relationships - career decisions Key Concepts Mindfulness psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you appreciate now? - What expectations delay your happiness? A Different Perspective Waiting for a future moment can delay present joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dear friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-friend/) [Dear friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-friends/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ## Related quotes > [“Dear friends, he began, there is no timetable for happiness; it moves, I think, according to rules of its own. When I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timetable-for-happiness-it-moves-i-2/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“It should not always be about money but actually what brings you happiness and moves your soul✌”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/it-should-not-always-be-about-money-but-actually-what-brings-you/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [If you're not happy today, then you won't be happy tomorrow unless you take things into your own hands and take action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-lyubomirsky/if-you-re-not-happy-today-then-you-won-t-be-happy-tomorrow-unless-you/) [Sonja Lyubomirsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-lyubomirsky/) > [If you were offered the opportunity to be TOTALLY happy tomorrow, would you take it? If yes, (and I suspect most of us would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/if-you-were-offered-the-opportunity-to-be-totally-happy-tomorrow/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Be happy now because tomorrow you are dying,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/be-happy-now-because-tomorrow-you-are-dying/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [We'll let the sunshine in and shine on us, because today we're happy and tomorrow we'll be even happier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/we-ll-let-the-sunshine-in-and-shine-on-us-because-today-we-re-happy/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [“To arrive at a happy tomorrow, you'll need to begin the journey today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-wright/to-arrive-at-a-happy-tomorrow-you-ll-need-to-begin-the-journey-today/) J.R. Wright > [Do not forget that everything has a reason. Maybe you're happy now, but tomorrow is not, or you break the person you love. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristos07/do-not-forget-that-everything-has-a-reason-maybe-you-re-happy-now-but/) [Cristos07](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristos07/) > [Give me the whole world to run and then I'll be happy. If tomorrow I was told I had to sort out the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/give-me-the-whole-world-to-run-and-then-i-ll-be-happy-if-tomorrow-i/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [Don't postpone your happiness until some perfect future date. Be happy now, tomorrow will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/don-t-postpone-your-happiness-until-some-perfect-future-date-be-happy/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I want to be the kind of boy you are, thought Bean. But I don’t want to go through what you’ve been through to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-want-to-be-the-kind-of-boy-you-are-thought-bean-but-i-don-t-want-to/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The world speaks many languages, the boy thought”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-speaks-many-languages-the-boy-thought/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“But the boy was quiet. He was at home with the silence of the desert, and he was content just to look at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/but-the-boy-was-quiet-he-was-at-home-with-the-silence-of-the-desert/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“People say strange things, the boy thought. Sometimes it's better to be with sheep who don’t say anything at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-say-strange-things-the-boy-thought-sometimes-it-s-better-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“No, ice-boy. I never thought I'd see the day when Grimalkin was wrong." - Puck”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/no-ice-boy-i-never-thought-i-d-see-the-day-when-grimalkin-was-wrong/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) ## More by Alexander McCall Smith > [“old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the considerations of profit and personal gain that could so disfigure medicine. That doctors should consider themselves businessmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician-unmoved-by-the-considerations/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“She had not made a lot of money, but she had not made a loss, and she had been happy and entertained. That counted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/she-had-not-made-a-lot-of-money-but-she-had-not-made-a-loss-and-she/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“To use strong language, she thought, was a sign of bad temper and lack of concern for others. Such people were not clever or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/to-use-strong-language-she-thought-was-a-sign-of-bad-temper-and-lack/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Men are very sensitive, Mma Makutsi. You would not always think it to look at them, but they are. They do not like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/men-are-very-sensitive-mma-makutsi-you-would-not-always-think-it-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He is a good man, but even a good man can fall for a glamorous woman. That is well known.” “That is very well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-is-a-good-man-but-even-a-good-man-can-fall-for-a-glamorous-woman/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“And then the second thing you have to do is go and see your son. That is a duty of love, Andrew. It's as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-then-the-second-thing-you-have-to-do-is-go-and-see-your-son-that/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Because laughs never die away entirely,” said Jamie. “At least, if you believe in Marconi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/because-laughs-never-die-away-entirely-said-jamie-at-least-if-you/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“The trouble with having a conscience, she said to herself, is that it never sleeps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/the-trouble-with-having-a-conscience-she-said-to-herself-is-that-it/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“And if there's bad behaviour," Mma Potokwane went on. "If there's bad behaviour, the quickest way of stopping it is to give more love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-if-there-s-bad-behaviour-mma-potokwane-went-on-if-there-s-bad/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“We never realise how transparent we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/we-never-realise-how-transparent-we-are/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Has he not got a wife back wherever he comes from? Is there no wife to say, ‘You must not go off and visit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/has-he-not-got-a-wife-back-wherever-he-comes-from-is-there-no-wife-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He looked at her in the darkness, at this woman who was everything to him-mother, Africa, wisdom, understanding, good things to eat, pumpkins, chicken,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-looked-at-her-in-the-darkness-at-this-woman-who-was-everything-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“It is because you are generous in spirit; and may I be like that; may I become like you—which unrealistic wish, to become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/it-is-because-you-are-generous-in-spirit-and-may-i-be-like-that-may-i/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni,” she asked, “do you think that our souls grow as we get older?” He did not answer immediately, but when he did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mr-j-l-b-matekoni-she-asked-do-you-think-that-our-souls-grow-as-we/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) [Explore all 628 Alexander McCall Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## More Dear friend quotes > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“The little things really do matter. We remember the quirky things about each other and it makes us smile, think back into the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-lawshe/the-little-things-really-do-matter-we-remember-the-quirky-things/) [Cathy Lawshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-lawshe/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“We were putting into these gomers our fear of death, but who knew if they feared death? Perhaps they welcomed death like a dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-shem/we-were-putting-into-these-gomers-our-fear-of-death-but-who-knew-if/) [Samuel Shem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-shem/) > [I wanted to tell the story of Luong Ung, who's a dear friend of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-wanted-to-tell-the-story-of-luong-ung-who-s-a-dear-friend-of-mine/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [Duff McKagen's been a dear friend of mind for a long time, and he's a Seattlelite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mccready/duff-mckagen-s-been-a-dear-friend-of-mind-for-a-long-time-and-he-s-a/) [Mike McCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mccready/) > [“Because it is useless, and I tell them so at once. If you had confessed your fears to me sooner, I would have reassured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/because-it-is-useless-and-i-tell-them-so-at-once-if-you-had-confessed/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [It takes two people to ruin a perfectly good day. First a person who says something downright nasty about you, and second, a dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-two-people-to-ruin-a-perfectly-good-day-first-a-person-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am a pathetic and gushing Nick Hornby fan, and I wanted to be in High Fidelity, and I wanted to be in About…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-williams/i-am-a-pathetic-and-gushing-nick-hornby-fan-and-i-wanted-to-be-in/) [Olivia Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-williams/) > [“I don’t want to get old. I have this very silly fear, dear friend, that one day I’ll be old, without ever having really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-sparks/i-don-t-want-to-get-old-i-have-this-very-silly-fear-dear-friend-that/) [Beatrice Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-sparks/) > [I am involved with so many charitable organizations. Lung Cancer because of my dad, Breast Cancer because as a woman and mother of two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-robbins/i-am-involved-with-so-many-charitable-organizations-lung-cancer/) Lois Robbins > [Ah! My dear friend painting is to us what the music of Berlioz and Wagner was before us - a consolatory art for sore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-my-dear-friend-painting-is-to-us-what-the-music-of-berlioz-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Dear friend now in the dusty clockless hours of the town when the streets lie black and steaming in the wake of the watertrucks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/dear-friend-now-in-the-dusty-clockless-hours-of-the-town-when-the/) [cormac mccarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Receive, dear friend, the truths I teach, So shalt thou live beyond the reach Of adverse Fortune's pow'r; Not always tempt the distant deep,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/receive-dear-friend-the-truths-i-teach-so-shalt-thou-live-beyond-the/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“I understood her, trusted her, and loved her as a dear friend. None of that had changed, or could be changed by anything as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/i-understood-her-trusted-her-and-loved-her-as-a-dear-friend-none-of/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) [Browse all 471 Dear friend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-friend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dear friends, he began, there is no timetable for happiness; it moves, I think, according to rules of its own. When I was a boy I thought I’d be happy tomorrow, as a young man I thought it would be next week; last month I thought it would be never. Today, I know it is now.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander McCall Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timetable-for-happiness-it-moves-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dear friend" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timetable-for-happiness-it-moves-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/alexander-mccall-smith-372_dear-friend_dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timeta_1624208.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/alexander-mccall-smith-372_dear-friend_dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timeta_1624208.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/alexander-mccall-smith-372_dear-friend_dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timeta_1624208.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Dear friends, he began, there is no timetable for happiness; it moves, I think, according to rules of its…” — Alexander McCall Smith", "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": "Alexander McCall Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Dear friends, he began, there is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timetable-for-happiness-it-moves-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/dear-friends-he-began-there-is-no-timetable-for-happiness-it-moves-i/#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 } } ] } ```