--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What does it matter, she thought, if…" description: "\"“What does it matter, she thought, if businesses are left unattended, if people are not always as we want them to be; we need the time just to be human..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/alexander-mccall-smith-372_business_what-does-it-matter-she-thought-if-busin_146943.png" --- # What does it matter, she thought, if businesses are left… ![“What does it matter, she thought, if businesses are left unattended, if people are not always as we want them to be; we need the time just to be human, to enjoy something like this: a boy chasing ants, a dry land drinking at last, birds in the the sky, a rainbow.” quote by Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/alexander-mccall-smith-372_business_what-does-it-matter-she-thought-if-busin_146943.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/alexander-mccall-smith-372_business_what-does-it-matter-she-thought-if-busin_146943.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/alexander-mccall-smith-372_business_what-does-it-matter-she-thought-if-busin_146943.png) > ““What does it matter, she thought, if businesses are left unattended, if people are not always as we want them to be; we need the time just to be human, to enjoy something like this: a boy chasing ants, a dry land drinking at last, birds in the the sky, a rainbow.”” [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. Human moments of wonder remind us to appreciate simple joys amidst chaos. **In simple terms:** Simple joys matter in chaos. Key Takeaway Pause for simple joys. Themes mindfulness joy humanity Mood peaceful reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - park walks - watching insects - sunset watching Key Concepts Philosophy of everyday life nature appreciation Questions to Reflect On - What simple joy can you savor today? - How does wonder affect stress? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Drinking Birds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-birds-1645150/) [Dry land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry-land/) [Left Unattended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-unattended-1645149/) [Need Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-time-279827/) [Unattended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unattended/) [Unattended People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unattended-people-1645151/) ## Related quotes > [Left unattended, problems only intensify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/left-unattended-problems-only-intensify/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [Husbands are like fires they go out when theyre left unattended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/husbands-are-like-fires-they-go-out-when-theyre-left-unattended/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [Husbands are like fires - they go out when they're left unattended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/husbands-are-like-fires-they-go-out-when-they-re-left-unattended/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [Over a certain period of time you realize some people were not at all worth it, while some who deserved a lot more care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-mustafa/over-a-certain-period-of-time-you-realize-some-people-were-not-at-all/) [Farah Mustafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-mustafa/) > [Don't leave your happiness unattended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-leave-your-happiness-unattended/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even one heatstroke death is one too many because every death caused by leaving a child unattended in a hot car is 100 percent avoidable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-foxx/even-one-heatstroke-death-is-one-too-many-because-every-death-caused/) [Anthony Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-foxx/) > [I don't believe for a minute anybody allowed people to suffer because they are African Americans, Nobody, especially the president, would have left people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/i-don-t-believe-for-a-minute-anybody-allowed-people-to-suffer-because/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [An unattended mind is the breeding ground of self-defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/an-unattended-mind-is-the-breeding-ground-of-self-defeat/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [Only the careless leave a possibility unattended due to assumptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-r-king/only-the-careless-leave-a-possibility-unattended-due-to-assumptions/) [Laurie R. 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I grew up in Israel, where every unattended bag was a suspected bomb; when my family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yochai-benkler/like-crime-terrorism-is-a-fact-of-life-i-grew-up-in-israel-where/) [Yochai Benkler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yochai-benkler/) > [“Let them not be denied a few crumbs of attention or merely a 'twinkle of happiness' if, through the insidious intrusion of reality, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/let-them-not-be-denied-a-few-crumbs-of-attention-or-merely-a-twinkle/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [HUSBAND, is much like a fire -- he goes out if unattended;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/husband-is-much-like-a-fire-he-goes-out-if-unattended/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) ## 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. 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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. 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