--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alberta had always had many forms of…" description: "\"“Alberta had always had many forms of idling. She frittered away her time with virtuosity.”\" — Cora Sandel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_alberta-had-always-had-many-forms-of-idl_37899.jpg" --- # Alberta had always had many forms of idling. She frittered… ![“Alberta had always had many forms of idling. She frittered away her time with virtuosity.” quote by Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_alberta-had-always-had-many-forms-of-idl_37899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_alberta-had-always-had-many-forms-of-idl_37899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_alberta-had-always-had-many-forms-of-idl_37899.jpg) > ““Alberta had always had many forms of idling. She frittered away her time with virtuosity.”” [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage critiques idle behavior, suggesting that even seemingly skillful activities can be a waste of time when they lack purpose. **In simple terms:** Idle talent can be wasteful. Key Takeaway Skillful idling is a hidden loss. Themes idleness productivity self-deception value of time skillful waste Mood reflective critical Type observation advice When to use this quote - creative pursuits without goals - professional tasks done for show Key Concepts time management personal fulfillment Practical Applications - self-assessment of activity value - coaching for purposeful work Questions to Reflect On - What activities feel productive but lack real impact? - How can you turn skillful idling into meaningful action? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alberta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alberta/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Idling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idling/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Alberta was back again. Back to it all, to all that was warped and desultory, to the lies and evasions and small, hidden irons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-was-back-again-back-to-it-all-to-all-that-was-warped-and/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God knows who put the words into her mouth. They were not her own. They were foreign to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/but-alberta-sat-there-wretchedly-god-knows-who-put-the-words-into-her/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“The truth was Alberta only knew what she did not want. She had no idea what she did want. And not knowing brought unrest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/the-truth-was-alberta-only-knew-what-she-did-not-want-she-had-no-idea/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Sometimes Alberta felt as if there were a conspiracy against her, as if the whole world were in agreement not to say a word.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/sometimes-alberta-felt-as-if-there-were-a-conspiracy-against-her-as/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Our life is frittered away by detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-life-is-frittered-away-by-detail/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our life is frittered away by detail... simplify, simplify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-life-is-frittered-away-by-detail-simplify-simplify/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Curiosity is an asset mostly frittered away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/curiosity-is-an-asset-mostly-frittered-away/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unfortunately much of it is frittered away on fast cars, designer clothes and an attitude to pleasure reminiscent of the 18-30 holiday packages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/unfortunately-much-of-it-is-frittered-away-on-fast-cars-designer/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [I am more strongly confirmed than ever in the belief that the time devoted to chess is literally frittered away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-morphy/i-am-more-strongly-confirmed-than-ever-in-the-belief-that-the-time/) [Paul Morphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-morphy/) > [How many lives are frittered away, age after age, in endless coming and going. Find out who you are!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anandamayi-ma/how-many-lives-are-frittered-away-age-after-age-in-endless-coming-and/) [Anandamayi Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anandamayi-ma/) > [“Relaxing brings weakness, when done by a muscle; but brings strength, when done by a person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/relaxing-brings-weakness-when-done-by-a-muscle-but-brings-strength/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Personally I regard idling as a virtue, but civilized society holds otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-maarten-troost/personally-i-regard-idling-as-a-virtue-but-civilized-society-holds/) [J. Maarten Troost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-maarten-troost/) > [In idling, the motor's running, but you're letting your mind take in anything. Things pop into it. Those are the gifts of subterranean conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/in-idling-the-motor-s-running-but-you-re-letting-your-mind-take-in/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Idling is not my strong suit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cam-gigandet/idling-is-not-my-strong-suit/) [Cam Gigandet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cam-gigandet/) > [I feel like Court Yard Hounds keeps us idling. I think Emily and I function better when we're continually making music and playing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/i-feel-like-court-yard-hounds-keeps-us-idling-i-think-emily-and-i/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) ## More by Cora Sandel > [“Alberta was back again. Back to it all, to all that was warped and desultory, to the lies and evasions and small, hidden irons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-was-back-again-back-to-it-all-to-all-that-was-warped-and/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Old repressed antipathy stirred in her. She had a rooted fear of rooms full of objects. They weighed on down and held one there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/old-repressed-antipathy-stirred-in-her-she-had-a-rooted-fear-of-rooms/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“There was something she should have experienced, something besides this. There was a path somewhere that she could not find. It was and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/there-was-something-she-should-have-experienced-something-besides/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Alberta felt her face grow old and shrivelled at her own words. She was a shadow already, half old, distressing, comic. Something happened from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-felt-her-face-grow-old-and-shrivelled-at-her-own-words-she/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“She had some kind of foolish and unreasonable notion that the more doggedly she stood, the more would she placate certain mysterious powers which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/she-had-some-kind-of-foolish-and-unreasonable-notion-that-the-more/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“One was always met by a gust of greyness and narrow circumstances.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/one-was-always-met-by-a-gust-of-greyness-and-narrow-circumstances/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Sometimes Alberta felt as if there were a conspiracy against her, as if the whole world were in agreement not to say a word.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/sometimes-alberta-felt-as-if-there-were-a-conspiracy-against-her-as/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“For a moment they all stood silent. The departure of this autumn ship gave rise to many different thoughts. Something came out of hiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/for-a-moment-they-all-stood-silent-the-departure-of-this-autumn-ship/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“She laced up her shoes and put on her coat, bracing herself as she got ready to leave, trying to find that feeling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/she-laced-up-her-shoes-and-put-on-her-coat-bracing-herself-as-she-got/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“The truth was Alberta only knew what she did not want. She had no idea what she did want. And not knowing brought unrest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/the-truth-was-alberta-only-knew-what-she-did-not-want-she-had-no-idea/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“It placed its finger roughly on sore places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/it-placed-its-finger-roughly-on-sore-places/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“It was not altogether easy when one's daughters were too gifted, it really wasn't. Mrs. Lossius nodded in the direction of Harriet, who, well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/it-was-not-altogether-easy-when-one-s-daughters-were-too-gifted-it/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“One morning there was newly fallen snow in the mountains. It lay halfway down them, and a raw cold, naked and biting, set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/one-morning-there-was-newly-fallen-snow-in-the-mountains-it-lay/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God knows who put the words into her mouth. They were not her own. They were foreign to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/but-alberta-sat-there-wretchedly-god-knows-who-put-the-words-into-her/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Jacob was to travel second class. This alone was inexpressibly tragic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/jacob-was-to-travel-second-class-this-alone-was-inexpressibly-tragic/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) [Explore all 17 Cora Sandel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) ## More Alberta quotes > [“Alberta was back again. Back to it all, to all that was warped and desultory, to the lies and evasions and small, hidden irons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-was-back-again-back-to-it-all-to-all-that-was-warped-and/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [Probably no single event highlights the strength of Campbell's argument (on peak oil) better than the rapid development of the Alberta tar sands. Bitumen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/probably-no-single-event-highlights-the-strength-of-campbell-s/) Andrew Nikiforuk > [It is imperative to take the initiative, to build firewalls around Alberta, to limit the extent to which an aggressive and hostile federal government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/it-is-imperative-to-take-the-initiative-to-build-firewalls-around/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [Before you rip off three feet of toilet paper, consider that each year 500,000 acres of virgin boreal forest in northern Alberta and Ontario…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/before-you-rip-off-three-feet-of-toilet-paper-consider-that-each-year/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [And if our goal as moral citizens is to make the world a better place, then there is only once choice: to pump as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-levant/and-if-our-goal-as-moral-citizens-is-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/) [Ezra Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-levant/) > [What's really important to remember is that this type of legislation exists in one form or another in every other province in the country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-notley/what-s-really-important-to-remember-is-that-this-type-of-legislation/) [Rachel Notley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-notley/) > [You can be in Tokyo or Alberta at four in the morning in your hotel and you can still practice if you feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toots-thielemans/you-can-be-in-tokyo-or-alberta-at-four-in-the-morning-in-your-hotel/) [Toots Thielemans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toots-thielemans/) > [Passionate and forcefully argued, Tar Sands is a wake-up call not just to Canadians but to the wider world to take a serious look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/passionate-and-forcefully-argued-tar-sands-is-a-wake-up-call-not-just/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [My husband was a hospital architect and he was working on some hospitals in Alberta, and I told him to try to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/my-husband-was-a-hospital-architect-and-he-was-working-on-some/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [You know what? I look forward to the Battle of Alberta for the next X number of years. If the idea is, 'Burn it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-feaster/you-know-what-i-look-forward-to-the-battle-of-alberta-for-the-next-x/) Jay Feaster > [Rural Alberta is a lot less homogeneous than it used to be, partly because of my immigration policies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kenney/rural-alberta-is-a-lot-less-homogeneous-than-it-used-to-be-partly/) [Jason Kenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kenney/) > [Bishop Frederick Henry of Calgary is facing at least two official objections to his public statements along with expensive hearings before the Alberta Human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stockwell-day/bishop-frederick-henry-of-calgary-is-facing-at-least-two-official/) [Stockwell Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stockwell-day/) > [“Rose," Alberta said, leaning toward me. "I'm going to be blunt with you. I'm not going to give you lectures or demand any explanations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/rose-alberta-said-leaning-toward-me-i-m-going-to-be-blunt-with-you-i/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [You go to a lot of small communities in rural Alberta and you'll find a degree of diversity that probably hasn't existed in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kenney/you-go-to-a-lot-of-small-communities-in-rural-alberta-and-you-ll-find/) [Jason Kenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kenney/) > [“Alberta's two largest cities collected more in library fines than two higher levels of government levied against polluters in 2006-2007.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-laird/alberta-s-two-largest-cities-collected-more-in-library-fines-than-two/) Gordon Laird [Browse all 42 Alberta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alberta/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Alberta had always had many forms of idling. 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