--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wakings are the worst times--almost…" description: "\"Wakings are the worst times--almost before my eyes are open a great weight seems to roll on my heart.\" — Dodie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/dodie-smith-1724_eye_wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-befor_544704.png" --- # Wakings are the worst times--almost before my eyes are… ![“Wakings are the worst times--almost before my eyes are open a great weight seems to roll on my heart.” quote by Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/dodie-smith-1724_eye_wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-befor_544704.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/dodie-smith-1724_eye_wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-befor_544704.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/dodie-smith-1724_eye_wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-befor_544704.png) > “Wakings are the worst times--almost before my eyes are open a great weight seems to roll on my heart.” [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awareness of emotional weight can precede full consciousness, making early moments feel overwhelming. **In simple terms:** Early awareness of emotional burden. Key Takeaway Acknowledge feelings before they dominate. Themes emotion self-awareness psychology Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - mental health - creative work - personal crises - early adulthood Key Concepts existential angst inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between anticipation and anxiety? - What practices help process heavy emotions early? A Different Perspective Early emotional intensity may be misinterpreted as panic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-open/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [I-capture-the-castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-capture-the-castle-86892/) [My heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-heart/) [Roll Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roll-heart-4546559/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Waking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waking/) [Wakings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wakings-3671801/) [Wakings Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wakings-worst-4546558/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-times/) ## Related quotes > [“But I can't see how anyone could believe that you killed the bear with a pitchfork,' I said. 'I didn't. I only wounded it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/but-i-can-t-see-how-anyone-could-believe-that-you-killed-the-bear/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“... And they are like a drug, one needs them oftener and oftener and has to make them more and more exciting - until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them-oftener-and-oftener-and-has/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“I don't want to miss anything. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-don-t-want-to-miss-anything/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“But life is wakings-up, all unexpected, all surprising.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/but-life-is-wakings-up-all-unexpected-all-surprising/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“She sleeps. And now she wakes each day a little less. And, each day, takes less and less nourishment, as if grudging the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-sleeps-and-now-she-wakes-each-day-a-little-less-and-each-day/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [The worst time is always the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/the-worst-time-is-always-the-present/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times-it-was-the-age-of-2/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It's during the worst times of your life that you'll see the true colors of the people who say they care for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-madison/it-s-during-the-worst-times-of-your-life-that-you-ll-see-the-true/) [Victoria Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-madison/) > [“He closed his eyes. This bed was a wedding gift from friends he had not seen in years. He tried to remember their names,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/he-closed-his-eyes-this-bed-was-a-wedding-gift-from-friends-he-had/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've seen the best and worst of times. My parents were divorced when I was a child. I was brought up by my father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harshvardhan-rane/i-ve-seen-the-best-and-worst-of-times-my-parents-were-divorced-when-i/) [Harshvardhan Rane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harshvardhan-rane/) > [I think the English are bipolar. 'We're the greatest, no we're terrible' - that's a constant English struggle. Crime is down, there's little poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-o-briain/i-think-the-english-are-bipolar-we-re-the-greatest-no-we-re-terrible/) [Dara O Briain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-o-briain/) > [Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whether-it-s-the-best-of-times-or-the-worst-of-times-it-s-the-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [IT IS DURING THE WORST TIMES OF YOUR LIFE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-chatourey/it-is-during-the-worst-times-of-your-life/) [Ritu Chatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-chatourey/) > [Life's best lessons seem to always be learned at the worst times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-best-lessons-seem-to-always-be-learned-at-the-worst-times/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Dodie Smith > [“I glanced through another page in case I had missed something, and came to the description of Simon's face as he lay on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-glanced-through-another-page-in-case-i-had-missed-something-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“Now, paper and pencils," said Miss Marcy, clapping her hands. Writing paper is scarce in this house, and I had no intention of tearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/now-paper-and-pencils-said-miss-marcy-clapping-her-hands-writing/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/it-s-odd-how-different-a-house-feels-when-one-is-alone-in-it-it-makes/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [The tea was a comfort - and by that time I more than needed comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-tea-was-a-comfort-and-by-that-time-i-more-than-needed-comfort/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/like-many-other-much-loved-humans-they-believed-that-they-owned-their/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“And I suspect that, to the eyes of love, love shows. I knew about you as well as about myself, almost from the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-i-suspect-that-to-the-eyes-of-love-love-shows-i-knew-about-you-as/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“The thought was horrible, yet fascinating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-was-horrible-yet-fascinating/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“What I'd really hate would be the settled feeling, with nothing but happiness to look forward to. Of course no life is perfectly happy-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/what-i-d-really-hate-would-be-the-settled-feeling-with-nothing-but/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Truthfulness so often goes with ruthlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/truthfulness-so-often-goes-with-ruthlessness/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Am I really admitting that my sister is determined to marry a man she has only seen once and doesn't much like the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/am-i-really-admitting-that-my-sister-is-determined-to-marry-a-man-she/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“There are some people who always find beauty makes them feel sadder, which is a very mysterious thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/there-are-some-people-who-always-find-beauty-makes-them-feel-sadder/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [When things mean a very great deal to you, exciting anticipation just isn't safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/when-things-mean-a-very-great-deal-to-you-exciting-anticipation-just/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [I could marry the Devil himself if he had some money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-could-marry-the-devil-himself-if-he-had-some-money/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) [Explore all 211 Dodie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## More Eye quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [Clearly, when we baptize, our eyes should gaze beyond the baptismal font to the holy temple. The great garner into which the sheaves should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/clearly-when-we-baptize-our-eyes-should-gaze-beyond-the-baptismal/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. 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They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 16,237 Eye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wakings are the worst times--almost before my eyes are open a great weight seems to roll on my heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dodie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-before-my-eyes-are-open-a-great/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-before-my-eyes-are-open-a-great/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/dodie-smith-1724_eye_wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-befor_544704.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/dodie-smith-1724_eye_wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-befor_544704.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/dodie-smith-1724_eye_wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-befor_544704.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wakings are the worst times--almost before my eyes are open a great weight seems to roll on my heart.” — Dodie Smith", "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": "Dodie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Wakings are the worst times--almost before...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-before-my-eyes-are-open-a-great/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-before-my-eyes-are-open-a-great/#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 } } ] } ```