--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started caregiving, I was not on…" description: "\"When I started caregiving, I was not on very firm ground. My first marriage had dissolved. I was working at an ice-cream stand in my thirties. I learne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/jonathan-evison-12103_anything_when-i-started-caregiving-i-was-not-on-v_2688502.png" --- # When I started caregiving, I was not on very firm ground… ![“When I started caregiving, I was not on very firm ground. My first marriage had dissolved. I was working at an ice-cream stand in my thirties. I learned that when you don't have anything to give, that's when you really give, and then you get back so much more.” quote by Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/jonathan-evison-12103_anything_when-i-started-caregiving-i-was-not-on-v_2688502.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/jonathan-evison-12103_anything_when-i-started-caregiving-i-was-not-on-v_2688502.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/jonathan-evison-12103_anything_when-i-started-caregiving-i-was-not-on-v_2688502.png) > “When I started caregiving, I was not on very firm ground. My first marriage had dissolved. I was working at an ice-cream stand in my thirties. I learned that when you don't have anything to give, that's when you really give, and then you get back so much more.” [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Giving without expectation leads to unexpected abundance and personal fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Giving freely brings greater returns. Key Takeaway Give selflessly, expect nothing, receive more. Themes generosity caregiving personal growth reciprocity Mood warm inspirational reflective Type motivational therapeutic When to use this quote - volunteering - family support - community service - mindful practice Key Concepts altruism psychological reward empathy development Questions to Reflect On - How do you set healthy boundaries? - What does “giving” mean to you? A Different Perspective Self‑sacrifice can lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissolved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissolved/) [Ice cream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ice-cream/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Thirties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirties/) ## Related quotes > [ In the most rigorous \[Roman\] laws, a wife was condemned to support a gamester, a drunkard, or a libertine, unless he were guilty of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/in-the-most-rigorous-roman-laws-a-wife-was-condemned-to-support-a/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“and our marriage dissolved, like margarita salt on the tongue, leaving behind the bitter aftertaste of something that started out sweet but ended sour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-brogan/and-our-marriage-dissolved-like-margarita-salt-on-the-tongue-leaving/) [Tracy Brogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-brogan/) > [“You might as well tell me there was nobody but Adam in the garden when Eve picked the apple. 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Real divorce, the divorce of the heart and nerve and fiber, does not exist, since there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/however-often-marriage-is-dissolved-it-remains-indissoluble-real/) [Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/) > [By the time a partnership dissolves, it has dissolved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/by-the-time-a-partnership-dissolves-it-has-dissolved/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“the sky’s sediment had sunk to a place where all the woe of the words ‘I am’ dissolved into blue peace. He said it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-sky-s-sediment-had-sunk-to-a-place-where-all-the-woe-of-the-words/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/that-is-happiness-to-be-dissolved-into-something-complete-and-great/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Consequences don’t just go away. 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The wise man sees there is no ground on which to build the idea of 'self;'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/the-foolish-man-conceives-the-idea-of-self-the-wise-man-sees-there-is/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [“he was solid. he was there as i dissolved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/he-was-solid-he-was-there-as-i-dissolved/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [As marriage and the family institution constitute the foundation and chief cornerstone of civil society, it is of the greatest moment that the marriage-tie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-bradley/as-marriage-and-the-family-institution-constitute-the-foundation-and/) [Joseph P. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-bradley/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## More by Jonathan Evison > [Homesteading is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/homesteading-is-gone/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [If I walk into a place, a party, say, and there's a bookshelf, I immediately gravitate toward it. Unless there's a bar. But even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/if-i-walk-into-a-place-a-party-say-and-there-s-a-bookshelf-i/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [I usually write in my underwear, with a space heater running full blast, and three dogs sleeping at me feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/i-usually-write-in-my-underwear-with-a-space-heater-running-full/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [I've been blessed with an optimistic disposition, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/i-ve-been-blessed-with-an-optimistic-disposition-i-think/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [I know I've lost my mind. But I'm not concerned, because it's the first thing I've lost in a long time that actually feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/i-know-i-ve-lost-my-mind-but-i-m-not-concerned-because-it-s-the-first/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [“A man’s destiny is not in the eyes of others. It’s in his own. And that, my young friend, is as good as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/a-man-s-destiny-is-not-in-the-eyes-of-others-it-s-in-his-own-and-that/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [“... when it seemed at every turn that the winds of fate had blown our lives afoul, financially, emotionally, or idealistically. Look at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/when-it-seemed-at-every-turn-that-the-winds-of-fate-had-blown-our/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [“He didn't look back, the cold-blooded little prick. 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I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) > [We live in such a special time when literally anything we can think of is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/we-live-in-such-a-special-time-when-literally-anything-we-can-think/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [You know, I'm from Baltimore; nobody has anything. When somebody had talent, I was hiring my uncle, my cousin, you know? Getting people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/you-know-i-m-from-baltimore-nobody-has-anything-when-somebody-had/) [Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/) > [I said to my agent, 'I want short, sharp, well-paid jobs because I haven't got time for anything else.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-whitelaw/i-said-to-my-agent-i-want-short-sharp-well-paid-jobs-because-i-haven/) [Billie Whitelaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-whitelaw/) > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [If the Bible is correct, and the Earth is only 6,000 years old, that means there were no dinosaurs, and museum curators have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shock/if-the-bible-is-correct-and-the-earth-is-only-6-000-years-old-that/) [Ron Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shock/) > [Don't do anything drastic like getting your eyebrows tattooed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-lee/don-t-do-anything-drastic-like-getting-your-eyebrows-tattooed/) [Greta Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-lee/) > [Whenever you define family as anything other than a man and a woman married together, you have just introduced an ethical nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/whenever-you-define-family-as-anything-other-than-a-man-and-a-woman/) [Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) Browse all 9,437 Anything quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I started caregiving, I was not on very firm ground. My first marriage had dissolved. I was working at an ice-cream stand in my thirties. 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