--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I had my life to live over again, I…" description: "\"“If I had my life to live over again, I would make it a rule to read some poetry, listen to some music, and see some painting or drawing at least once ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/charles-darwin-507_happiness_if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-wo_1412628.jpg" --- # If I had my life to live over again, I would make it a… ![“If I had my life to live over again, I would make it a rule to read some poetry, listen to some music, and see some painting or drawing at least once a week, for perhaps the part of my brain now atrophied would then have been kept alive through life. The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness.” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/charles-darwin-507_happiness_if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-wo_1412628.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/charles-darwin-507_happiness_if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-wo_1412628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/charles-darwin-507_happiness_if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-wo_1412628.jpg) > ““If I had my life to live over again, I would make it a rule to read some poetry, listen to some music, and see some painting or drawing at least once a week, for perhaps the part of my brain now atrophied would then have been kept alive through life. The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness.”” [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He advocates regular exposure to arts—poetry, music, visual art—to keep the mind vibrant, suggesting neglect leads to diminished happiness. **In simple terms:** Arts keep the brain alive; neglect reduces joy. Key Takeaway Make weekly art experiences a habit. Themes creativity well‑being lifelong learning Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical self‑care When to use this quote - daily routine - mental health care - education programs Key Concepts Neuroplasticity aesthetic appreciation Questions to Reflect On - What simple artistic activities can you incorporate now? - How does art influence your emotional resilience? A Different Perspective Art exposure may not be accessible to everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [ The loss of these tastes \[for poetry and music\] is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-loss-of-these-tastes-for-poetry-and-music-is-a-loss-of-happiness/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-machine-for-grinding-general/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-would-have-made-a-rule-to-read/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“I have said that in one respect my mind has changed during the last twenty or thirty years. Up to the age of thirty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-have-said-that-in-one-respect-my-mind-has-changed-during-the-last/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We don't get groupies.We get teenagers who want to read us their poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/we-don-t-get-groupies-we-get-teenagers-who-want-to-read-us-their/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [I love to read poetry but I haven't written anything that I'm willing to show anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-love-to-read-poetry-but-i-haven-t-written-anything-that-i-m-willing/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“Read it to me.” “Seriously?” he said quietly. “You want me to read you poetry? Like saving your life ten times wasn’t enough?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brynn-kelly/read-it-to-me-seriously-he-said-quietly-you-want-me-to-read-you/) [Brynn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brynn-kelly/) > [Often poetry, especially the sort of poetry I write, is concerned with looking at the borders between the sensual and the spiritual and seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/often-poetry-especially-the-sort-of-poetry-i-write-is-concerned-with/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [Nobody ever told me what to read, or ever put poetry in my way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-rosenberg/nobody-ever-told-me-what-to-read-or-ever-put-poetry-in-my-way/) [Isaac Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-rosenberg/) > [“The history of man is a must read poetry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-history-of-man-is-a-must-read-poetry/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Do lawyers read poetry?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kestral-m-gaian/do-lawyers-read-poetry/) Kestral M. 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Most people are not attuned to this, most people don't learn how to read -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/reading-at-the-deepest-level-is-a-physical-experience-most-people-are/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [When I really want to be soothed and reminded of why people bother to fiddle with sentences, I often read poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/when-i-really-want-to-be-soothed-and-reminded-of-why-people-bother-to/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## More by Charles Darwin > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [So great is the economy of nature, that most flowers which are fertilised by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odour chiefly or exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-great-is-the-economy-of-nature-that-most-flowers-which-are/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reasons-why-the-views-given-in-this-volume-should-shock/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [If worms have the power of acquiring some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and over their burrows, as seems the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-worms-have-the-power-of-acquiring-some-notion-however-rude-of-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We can allow satellites, planets, suns, universe, nay whole systems of universes, to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-can-allow-satellites-planets-suns-universe-nay-whole-systems-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [May we not suspect that the vague but very real fears of children, which are quite independent of experience, are the inherited effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/may-we-not-suspect-that-the-vague-but-very-real-fears-of-children/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Darwin, landing in Brazil in 1832, had a similar reaction, colored by his reading of his predecessor." Humboldt's glorious descriptions are & will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [...all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/all-nature-is-perverse-will-not-do-as-i-wish-it/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Explore all 497 Charles Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## More Happiness quotes > [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/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [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/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I had my life to live over again, I would make it a rule to read some poetry, listen to some music, and see some painting or drawing at least once a week, for perhaps the part of my brain now atrophied would then have been kept alive through life. 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