---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He keeps us waiting rather than wishing…"
description: "\"“He keeps us waiting rather than wishing for him. I feel it a matter of perfect indifference whether he arrives at any moment or not at all.” — Lady Ha..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/ian-kelly-243373_indifference_he-keeps-us-waiting-rather-than-wishing_2840037.jpg"
---

#  He keeps us waiting rather than wishing for him. I feel it…

![“He keeps us waiting rather than wishing for him. I feel it a matter of perfect indifference whether he arrives at any moment or not at all.” — Lady Harriet Cavendish of George Beau Brummell” quote by Ian Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/ian-kelly-243373_indifference_he-keeps-us-waiting-rather-than-wishing_2840037.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/ian-kelly-243373_indifference_he-keeps-us-waiting-rather-than-wishing_2840037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e35/ian-kelly-243373_indifference_he-keeps-us-waiting-rather-than-wishing_2840037.jpg)

> ““He keeps us waiting rather than wishing for him. I feel it a matter of perfect indifference whether he arrives at any moment or not at all.” — Lady Harriet Cavendish of George Beau Brummell””

Ian Kelly

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

It describes a loved one's indifferent presence, where waiting is imposed rather than hoped for, and arrival is irrelevant.

**In simple terms:** Waiting feels indifferent and meaningless.

Key Takeaway

Accept uncertainty, focus on present.

Themes

indifference waiting expectation relationships

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- romantic relationships
- friendship
- family dynamics

Key Concepts

psychology existentialism human behavior

Questions to Reflect On

- How does indifference affect intimacy?
- Can waiting become a choice?

A Different Perspective

The quote may romanticize emotional detachment.

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[Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/)

## Related quotes

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> [The man, with his brain, can pierce the intoxicating mirage of things and contemplate a frozen universe in the most perfect indifference to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/the-man-with-his-brain-can-pierce-the-intoxicating-mirage-of-things/)

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> [Thoughts in mind, feelings can't define, pasts left behind, problems falling in line, clock ticking for the right time, sitting waiting wishing for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romeo-huerbana/thoughts-in-mind-feelings-can-t-define-pasts-left-behind-problems/)

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[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [I think... the secret is to just settle for the shape of your life takes...Instead of you know, always waiting and wishing for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-think-the-secret-is-to-just-settle-for-the-shape-of-your-life-takes/)

[Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/)

> [Check, yes Juliet, I'll be waiting. Wishing, wanting yours for the taking. Just sneak out and don't tell a soul goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/we-the-kings/check-yes-juliet-i-ll-be-waiting-wishing-wanting-yours-for-the-taking/)

[We The Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/we-the-kings/)

> [I thought of something in mind; a feeling that I couldn't define, the past that I left behind, the problems that are falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romeo-huerbana/i-thought-of-something-in-mind-a-feeling-that-i-couldn-t-define-the/)

[Romeo Huerbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romeo-huerbana/)

> [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/)

[Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/)

> [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/)

Arthur Graham

> [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/)

[Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/)

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[Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/)

> [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/)

[Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/)

[Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/)

> [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/)

[Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/)

## More Indifference quotes

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> [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/)

[Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/)

[Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/)

> [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/)

[Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/)

> [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/)

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[Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/)

> [Indifference to one's own faith is no proof of tolerance. Loyalty to one's own is part of a larger loyalty to faith generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abba-hillel-silver/indifference-to-one-s-own-faith-is-no-proof-of-tolerance-loyalty-to/)

Abba Hillel Silver

> [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/)

[Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/)

[Browse all 1,128 Indifference quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/)

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