---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All is waiting and all is work; all is…"
description: "\"All is waiting and all is work; all is change and all is permanence.\" — Barbara Grizzuti Harrison"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_change_all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-ch_870415.jpg"
---

#  All is waiting and all is work; all is change and all is…

![“All is waiting and all is work; all is change and all is permanence.” quote by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_change_all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-ch_870415.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_change_all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-ch_870415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_change_all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-ch_870415.jpg)

> “All is waiting and all is work; all is change and all is permanence.”

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

## About This Quote

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

Life consists of constant flux: waiting, effort, change, and permanence intertwine.

**In simple terms:** Life is a mix of waiting, work, change, and constancy.

Key Takeaway

Embrace both motion and stillness.

Themes

change permanence effort waiting

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- career planning
- mindfulness
- acceptance

Key Concepts

Existentialism philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you navigate the tension between change and stability?
- What does “waiting” mean in your life?

A Different Perspective

Balance can be hard when change feels unsettling.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Permanence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanence/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/)

## Related quotes

> [No use in waiting, we can all work hard to bring about changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/no-use-in-waiting-we-can-all-work-hard-to-bring-about-changes/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [As soon as you think you can do whatever you want and you have whatever great professional in the world waiting to work with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/as-soon-as-you-think-you-can-do-whatever-you-want-and-you-have/)

[Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/)

> [It's time to break our ties with anything in us that would rather complain about its situation than go to work to change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/it-s-time-to-break-our-ties-with-anything-in-us-that-would-rather/)

[Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/)

> [If you're not enjoying your work, you should either change your attitude, or change your job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-re-not-enjoying-your-work-you-should-either-change-your/)

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

> [The role we have in work may change over time, but the concept of retirement is not biblical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gianforte/the-role-we-have-in-work-may-change-over-time-but-the-concept-of/)

[Greg Gianforte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gianforte/)

> [There are only those you can live with, and those you can work to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/there-are-only-those-you-can-live-with-and-those-you-can-work-to/)

[Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/)

> [An innovation is one of those things that society looks at and says, if we make this part of the way we live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-kamen/an-innovation-is-one-of-those-things-that-society-looks-at-and-says/)

[Dean Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-kamen/)

> [Do something, be active. If it doesn't work, do it again until it works. If it still doesn't work, change something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maat-ihapi/do-something-be-active-if-it-doesn-t-work-do-it-again-until-it-works/)

[Maat Ihapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maat-ihapi/)

> [If you are not satisfied with what is coming to you, start to work and change your mental attitude and mental states, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-walker-atkinson/if-you-are-not-satisfied-with-what-is-coming-to-you-start-to-work-and/)

[William Walker Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-walker-atkinson/)

> [“Don't work for something in Exchange, Work on something for a Change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-awad/don-t-work-for-something-in-exchange-work-on-something-for-a-change/)

Kevin Awad

> [My best advice to working women is just try what you think right now will be best for you and your family - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-park/my-best-advice-to-working-women-is-just-try-what-you-think-right-now/)

[Jane Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-park/)

> [I can't change you and you can't change me, but together we can work to change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/i-can-t-change-you-and-you-can-t-change-me-but-together-we-can-work/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [We never know beforehand how new posts or new work will change us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/we-never-know-beforehand-how-new-posts-or-new-work-will-change-us/)

[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/)

> [I think we have to work with Hollywood. We have to work in the system and change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-we-have-to-work-with-hollywood-we-have-to-work-in-the-system/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [I think it's the people that you work with who change you the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-coleman/i-think-it-s-the-people-that-you-work-with-who-change-you-the-most/)

[Jenna Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-coleman/)

## More by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

> [The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not-those-between-good-and-evil/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [The best work is a fusion of love and praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-best-work-is-a-fusion-of-love-and-praise/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/fantasies-are-more-than-substitutes-for-unpleasant-reality-they-are/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Women's propensity to share confidences is universal. We confirm our reality by sharing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/women-s-propensity-to-share-confidences-is-universal-we-confirm-our/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [How do you think it would feel to be obliged to ask for a seat-belt extender on an airplane? For the unfashionably bulgy, life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/how-do-you-think-it-would-feel-to-be-obliged-to-ask-for-a-seat-belt/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [To offer the complexities of life as an excuse for not addressing oneself to the simpler, more manageable (trivial) aspects of daily existence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/to-offer-the-complexities-of-life-as-an-excuse-for-not-addressing/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Food is my drug of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/food-is-my-drug-of-choice/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Children hold us hostage; they represent our commitment to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/children-hold-us-hostage-they-represent-our-commitment-to-the-future/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [my love of water ... is mingled with and almost indistinguishable from a fear of water (I can float in a vertical position -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/my-love-of-water-is-mingled-with-and-almost-indistinguishable-from-a/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Illness is regarded as a crime, and crime is regarded as illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/illness-is-regarded-as-a-crime-and-crime-is-regarded-as-illness/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [ \[On Werner Erhard, founder of est:\] If I wanted a new belief system, I'd choose to believe in God - He's been in business… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/on-werner-erhard-founder-of-est-if-i-wanted-a-new-belief-system-i-d/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Every house we have lived in, every building to which our hands have lent their work, belongs to us by virtue of love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/every-house-we-have-lived-in-every-building-to-which-our-hands-have/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Every generation reinvents the wheel - and in the process it often adds to rather than subtracts from a woman's burdens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/every-generation-reinvents-the-wheel-and-in-the-process-it-often-adds/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [Insanity is a lack of proportion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/insanity-is-a-lack-of-proportion/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

> [There is something worse than dying, and that is humiliation - at least so it seemed to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/there-is-something-worse-than-dying-and-that-is-humiliation-at-least/)

[Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

[Explore all 72 Barbara Grizzuti Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/)

## More Change quotes

> [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/)

Phil Hogan

> [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/)

[William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/)

> [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/)

[Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/)

> [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/)

[Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/)

> [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

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

> [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/)

[Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/)

> [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

[Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "All is waiting and all is work; all is change and all is permanence.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Barbara Grizzuti Harrison"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-change-and-all-is-permanence/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Change"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-change-and-all-is-permanence/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_change_all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-ch_870415.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_change_all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-ch_870415.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_change_all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-ch_870415.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“All is waiting and all is work; all is change and all is permanence.” — Barbara Grizzuti Harrison",
                "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": "Barbara Grizzuti Harrison",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "All is waiting and all is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-change-and-all-is-permanence/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/all-is-waiting-and-all-is-work-all-is-change-and-all-is-permanence/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
