--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're a lukewarm people for all our feast…" description: "\"“We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard work. Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie awake at night willing the darkne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/jeanette-winterson-166_awake-at-night_we-re-a-lukewarm-people-for-all-our-feas_3136232.jpg" --- # We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard… ![“We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard work. Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie awake at night willing the darkness to part and show us a vision. Our children frighten us in their intimacy, but we make sure they grow up like us. Lukewarm like us. On a night…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/jeanette-winterson-166_awake-at-night_we-re-a-lukewarm-people-for-all-our-feas_3136232.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/jeanette-winterson-166_awake-at-night_we-re-a-lukewarm-people-for-all-our-feas_3136232.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/jeanette-winterson-166_awake-at-night_we-re-a-lukewarm-people-for-all-our-feas_3136232.jpg) > ““We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard work. Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie awake at night willing the darkness to part and show us a vision. Our children frighten us in their intimacy, but we make sure they grow up like us. Lukewarm like us. On a night like this, hands and faces hot, we can believe that tomorrow will show us angels in jars and that the well-known woods will suddenly reveal another path. Last time we had a bonfire, a neighbour tried to pull down the boards of his house. \[...\] I sometimes wonder why none of us tried to stop him. I think we wanted him to do it, to do it for us. To tear down our long-houred lives and let us start again. Clean and simple with open hands.”” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes a society numb to wonder, yearning for transformative experiences that break routine and reveal new possibilities. **In simple terms:** People crave change but stay passive; Key Takeaway Seek moments that disrupt complacency. Themes nostalgia yearning transformation passivity Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family dynamics - personal crisis - rituals - community gatherings Key Concepts existentialism ritual awakening Questions to Reflect On - What small act could you initiate to break routine? - How do you recognize genuine transformation? A Different Perspective Change may be fleeting and not guarantee lasting fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) ## Related quotes > [We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard work. Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/we-re-a-lukewarm-people-for-all-our-feast-days-and-hard-work-not-much/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“There was nothing of either fire or ice in it; only a tepid warmth, like lukewarm water that when you first stepped in felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-stabenow/there-was-nothing-of-either-fire-or-ice-in-it-only-a-tepid-warmth/) [Dana Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-stabenow/) > [Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-love-others-but-do-not-seek-to-love-others-as-much-as/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church...so long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. Lukewarm people tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-give-money-to-charity-and-to-the-church-so-long-as-it/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-don-t-really-want-to-be-saved-from-their-sin-they-2/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-will-serve-god-and-others-but-there-are-limits-to-how/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so that they don't have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-do-not-live-by-faith-their-lives-are-structured-so/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [“Lukewarm people gauge their morality or 'goodness' by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren't as hard-core for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-gauge-their-morality-or-goodness-by-comparing/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-think-about-life-on-earth-much-more-often-than/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people call 'radical' what Jesus expected of all His followers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-call-radical-what-jesus-expected-of-all-his-followers/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie awake at night willing the darkness to part and show us a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/not-much-touches-us-but-we-long-to-be-touched-we-lie-awake-at-night/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. If they have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-give-money-to-charity-and-to-the-church-as-long-as-it/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-don-t-really-want-to-be-saved-from-their-sin-they/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [“Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-are-continually-concerned-with-playing-it-safe-they/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-feel-secure-because-they-attend-church-made-a/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Awake at night quotes > [“When I was a child, I often used to lie awake at night, in fearful anticipation of some unpleasant event the following day, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/when-i-was-a-child-i-often-used-to-lie-awake-at-night-in-fearful/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [“I sometimes lie awake at night wishing I had all the answers. 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As if you pull them out of the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) Browse all 169 Awake at night quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard work. Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie awake at night willing the darkness to part and show us a vision. Our children frighten us in their intimacy, but we make sure they grow up like us. Lukewarm like us. On a night like this, hands and faces hot, we can believe that tomorrow will show us angels in jars and that the well-known woods will suddenly reveal another path. Last time we had a bonfire, a neighbour tried to pull down the boards of his house. [...] I sometimes wonder why none of us tried to stop him. I think we wanted him to do it, to do it for us. 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