--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Given the ease with which health infuses…" description: "\"“Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties…Time unused a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_certainty_given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses_2122616.jpg" --- # Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning… ![“Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties…Time unused and only endured still vanishes, as if time itself is starving, and each day is swallowed whole, leaving no crumbs, no memory, no trace at all.” quote by Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_certainty_given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses_2122616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_certainty_given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses_2122616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_certainty_given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses_2122616.jpg) > ““Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties…Time unused and only endured still vanishes, as if time itself is starving, and each day is swallowed whole, leaving no crumbs, no memory, no trace at all.”” [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Illness strips away certainty and time, leaving a void that feels like starvation of experience. **In simple terms:** Illness erodes certainty and time. Key Takeaway Cherish health and moments. Themes illness certainty time loss meaning Mood reflective somber Type memoir philosophical When to use this quote - aging - chronic disease - personal resilience Key Concepts existential fragility health vulnerability temporal awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does loss reshape your values? - What moments become more precious? A Different Perspective Illness may also bring unexpected insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Crumbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crumbs/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Each day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/each-day/) [Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) [Ease Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease-health-1786164/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Illness Steals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness-steals-1786166/) [Infuses Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infuses-life-1786167/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life changing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-changing/) [Life meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-meaning/) [Life With Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-with-meaning/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [No memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-memory/) [Overcoming adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming-adversity/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Shocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shocking/) [Spiritual development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-development/) [Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starving/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-starving-1892554/) [Wasting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasting-time/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses-life-with-meaning-and/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [It only takes a second to call a girl fat and she'll take a life time starving herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-styles/it-only-takes-a-second-to-call-a-girl-fat-and-she-ll-take-a-life-time/) [Harry Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-styles/) > [Why strive to be 'elite'? Because it infuses your life with purpose and meaning that does not depend on anyone or anything that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-musk/why-strive-to-be-elite-because-it-infuses-your-life-with-purpose-and/) [Justine Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-musk/) > [Belief is so valuable and living that it infuses with life everything it enters! It transforms the fleeting glimmer of transitory life into eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-nursi/belief-is-so-valuable-and-living-that-it-infuses-with-life-everything/) [Said Nursi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-nursi/) > [“The joy of the bee tribes infuses my life with sweetness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/the-joy-of-the-bee-tribes-infuses-my-life-with-sweetness/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [Work infuses my whole life. My creative life is my real life, so it's hard to separate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-leigh/work-infuses-my-whole-life-my-creative-life-is-my-real-life-so-it-s/) [Julia Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-leigh/) > [I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-learned-a-long-time-ago-reuven-that-a-blink-of-an-eye-in-itself-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Takuan had taught him: the truly brave man is one who loves life, cherishing it as a treasure that once forfeited can never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/takuan-had-taught-him-the-truly-brave-man-is-one-who-loves-life/) [Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/) > [Hold tightly to your passion and never let go. Let it infuse your life with meaning and purpose and become the motivator for everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/hold-tightly-to-your-passion-and-never-let-go-let-it-infuse-your-life/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [The meaning of life, Nikodemos, is to live life with meaning. The purpose of life is merely to live it, perhaps to give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-morris/the-meaning-of-life-nikodemos-is-to-live-life-with-meaning-the/) [Janet Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-morris/) > [The key to contentedness is not the absence of work; neither is it to cap each day with the witless abandon of hollow entertainment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-williams/the-key-to-contentedness-is-not-the-absence-of-work-neither-is-it-to/) [Andrew Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-williams/) > [A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-man-must-fill-his-life-with-meaning-meaning-is-not-automatically/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Most people write me off when they see me. They do not know my story. They say I am just an African. They judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idowu-koyenikan/most-people-write-me-off-when-they-see-me-they-do-not-know-my-story/) [idowu koyenikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idowu-koyenikan/) > [Living a life with meaning means spreading the word. Even if you can't move, you can have a powerful effect with what you say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/living-a-life-with-meaning-means-spreading-the-word-even-if-you-can-t/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Life is. I am. Anything might happen. And I believe I may invest my life with meaning. The uncertainty is a blessing in disguise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/life-is-i-am-anything-might-happen-and-i-believe-i-may-invest-my-life/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) ## More by Elisabeth Tova Bailey > [“The snail had been a true mentor; its tiny existence had sustained me. Late one winter night I wrote in my journal: A last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/the-snail-had-been-a-true-mentor-its-tiny-existence-had-sustained-me/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“It seemed far more reasonable to belong to a species that had evolved natural tooth replacement than to belong to one that had developed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/it-seemed-far-more-reasonable-to-belong-to-a-species-that-had-evolved/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“Those of us with illnesses are the holders of the silent fears of those with good health.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/those-of-us-with-illnesses-are-the-holders-of-the-silent-fears-of/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“The life of a snail is as full of tasty food, comfortable beds of sorts, and a mix of pleasant and not-so-pleasant adventures as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/the-life-of-a-snail-is-as-full-of-tasty-food-comfortable-beds-of/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“There was no woodsy fragrance blowing through my room, and the snail, especially while it lived in the pot of violets, must have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-was-no-woodsy-fragrance-blowing-through-my-room-and-the-snail/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“There is a certain depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation: the only rule of existence is uncertainty, and the only movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that-is-piercing-in-its-isolation/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses-life-with-meaning-and/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“The crucial first step to survival in all organisms is habitat selection. If you get to the right place, everything else is likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/the-crucial-first-step-to-survival-in-all-organisms-is-habitat/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“I liked the sound of the word 'snail' every time I said it; the word was as small and simple as the creature itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/i-liked-the-sound-of-the-word-snail-every-time-i-said-it-the-word-was/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“Survival often depends on a specific focus: A relationship, a belief, or a hope balanced on the edge of possibility. Or something more ephemeral:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/survival-often-depends-on-a-specific-focus-a-relationship-a-belief-or/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“Millions of centuries of voyaging via animals, water, and wind brought my snail's family to colonize the woods near where I was staying. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/millions-of-centuries-of-voyaging-via-animals-water-and-wind-brought/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“I find that nothing is quite as I remember; in my absence, the world has changed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/i-find-that-nothing-is-quite-as-i-remember-in-my-absence-the-world/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“My bed was an island within the desolate sea of my room. Yet I knew that there were other people homebound from illness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/my-bed-was-an-island-within-the-desolate-sea-of-my-room-yet-i-knew/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation; the only rule of existence is uncertainty, and the only movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that-is-piercing-in-its-isolation-2/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“We are all hostages of time. We each have the same number of minutes and hours to live within a day, yet to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/we-are-all-hostages-of-time-we-each-have-the-same-number-of-minutes/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) [Explore all 25 Elisabeth Tova Bailey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) ## More Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/finding-someone-that-trusted-my-vision-helped-me-find-certainty-in/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) [Browse all 1,776 Certainty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties…Time unused and only endured still vanishes, as if time itself is starving, and each day is swallowed whole, leaving no crumbs, no memory, no trace at all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elisabeth Tova Bailey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses-life-with-meaning-and-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Certainty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses-life-with-meaning-and-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_certainty_given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses_2122616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_certainty_given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses_2122616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_certainty_given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses_2122616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness…” — Elisabeth Tova Bailey", "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": "Elisabeth Tova Bailey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Given the ease with which health...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses-life-with-meaning-and-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/given-the-ease-with-which-health-infuses-life-with-meaning-and-2/#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 } } ] } ```