--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But even in his dissatisfaction he could…" description: "\"“But even in his dissatisfaction he could not quiet the feeling that time was like a flash flood, so full, so brimming with things that must be done at..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bess-tefft-222943_emptiness_but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could_2973627.jpg" --- # But even in his dissatisfaction he could not quiet the… ![“But even in his dissatisfaction he could not quiet the feeling that time was like a flash flood, so full, so brimming with things that must be done at once, but running out all the same, leaving an emptiness, a dry ditch in its wake.” quote by Bess Tefft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bess-tefft-222943_emptiness_but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could_2973627.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bess-tefft-222943_emptiness_but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could_2973627.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bess-tefft-222943_emptiness_but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could_2973627.jpg) > ““But even in his dissatisfaction he could not quiet the feeling that time was like a flash flood, so full, so brimming with things that must be done at once, but running out all the same, leaving an emptiness, a dry ditch in its wake.”” Bess Tefft ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time feels overwhelming, like a flood, leaving emptiness despite constant activity. **In simple terms:** Time overwhelms, leaving emptiness. Key Takeaway Manage tasks, avoid overload. Themes stress time management overwhelm Mood anxious reflective Type philosophical narrative When to use this quote - work deadlines - personal projects - mental health Key Concepts psychology impermanence productivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you prioritize tasks? - What creates the feeling of emptiness? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on speed can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“During intellectual droughts one shower of good ideas can cause a flash-flood to wash away the roads your habits travel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/during-intellectual-droughts-one-shower-of-good-ideas-can-cause-a/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I opened my heart wide trying to catch a dream only to realize I merely caught a cold wind blowing through leaving nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t2/i-opened-my-heart-wide-trying-to-catch-a-dream-only-to-realize-i/) T2 > [Holy smoke! We lost our last match and there's a storm coming! Party On! A flash flood swept away all our gear and we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-lundin/holy-smoke-we-lost-our-last-match-and-there-s-a-storm-coming-party-on/) [Cody Lundin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-lundin/) > [My guess is that he remembers some of me, some of us together, and the rest rolled off him like topsoil in a flash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/my-guess-is-that-he-remembers-some-of-me-some-of-us-together-and-the/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“I'm so ready that a flash flood warning just went into effect," Sadie says softly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lane-hart/i-m-so-ready-that-a-flash-flood-warning-just-went-into-effect-sadie/) Lane Hart > [“The words tumbled out of her faster than a flash flood down the mountainside. I couldn’t believe them, and if I hadn’t”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hill/the-words-tumbled-out-of-her-faster-than-a-flash-flood-down-the/) [Shannon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hill/) > [Sensual pleasures have the fleeting brilliance of a comet; a happy marriage has the tranquillity of a lovely sunset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/sensual-pleasures-have-the-fleeting-brilliance-of-a-comet-a-happy/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [The fatal mistake we make is looking for a paradise that endures...This obsession with what lasts causes us to overlook many a fleeting paradise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-makine/the-fatal-mistake-we-make-is-looking-for-a-paradise-that-endures-this/) [Andreï Makine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-makine/) > [Thi is the malady onf the humans, that they can hold on to that which is fleeting and of little consequence and call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-fabry/thi-is-the-malady-onf-the-humans-that-they-can-hold-on-to-that-which/) [Chris Fabry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-fabry/) > [...nothing wonderful lasted forever. Joy was as fleeting as a shooting star that crossed the evening sky, ready to blink out at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/nothing-wonderful-lasted-forever-joy-was-as-fleeting-as-a-shooting/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“In this fleeting life, there is nothing stronger than a visual idea or moment stopped in time forever. And nothing does this better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-olsenius/in-this-fleeting-life-there-is-nothing-stronger-than-a-visual-idea-or/) Richard Olsenius > [“It was stolen. As most beautiful things eventually are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-dorst/it-was-stolen-as-most-beautiful-things-eventually-are/) [Doug Dorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-dorst/) > [The whole world is fleeting. Life is fleeting. So grab a pen, save it for later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-world-is-fleeting-life-is-fleeting-so-grab-a-pen-save-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But even in his dissatisfaction he could not quiet the feeling that time was like a flash flood, so full, so brimming with things that must be done at once, but running out all the same, leaving an emptiness, a dry ditch in its wake.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bess Tefft" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-tefft/but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could-not-quiet-the-feeling-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-tefft/but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could-not-quiet-the-feeling-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bess-tefft-222943_emptiness_but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could_2973627.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bess-tefft-222943_emptiness_but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could_2973627.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bess-tefft-222943_emptiness_but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could_2973627.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But even in his dissatisfaction he could not quiet the feeling that time was like a flash flood, so full, so…” — Bess Tefft", "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": "Bess Tefft", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bess-tefft/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But even in his dissatisfaction he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-tefft/but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could-not-quiet-the-feeling-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-tefft/but-even-in-his-dissatisfaction-he-could-not-quiet-the-feeling-that/#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 } } ] } ```