--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I used to feel guilty about spending…" description: "\"I used to feel guilty about spending morning hours working on a book; about fleeing to the brook in the afternoon. It took several summers of being tot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/madeleine-l-engle-345_afternoon_i-used-to-feel-guilty-about-spending-mor_717159.png" --- # I used to feel guilty about spending morning hours working… ![“I used to feel guilty about spending morning hours working on a book; about fleeing to the brook in the afternoon. It took several summers of being totally frazzled by September to make me realize that this was a false guilt. I'm much more use to family and friends when I'm not physically and…” quote by Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/madeleine-l-engle-345_afternoon_i-used-to-feel-guilty-about-spending-mor_717159.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/madeleine-l-engle-345_afternoon_i-used-to-feel-guilty-about-spending-mor_717159.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/madeleine-l-engle-345_afternoon_i-used-to-feel-guilty-about-spending-mor_717159.png) > “I used to feel guilty about spending morning hours working on a book; about fleeing to the brook in the afternoon. It took several summers of being totally frazzled by September to make me realize that this was a false guilt. I'm much more use to family and friends when I'm not physically and spiritually depleted than when I spend my energies as though they were unlimited. They are not. The time at the typewriter and the time at the brook refresh me and put me into a more workable perspective.” [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author learns that guilt over work is misplaced; rest and nature restore energy, making time with loved ones more valuable. **In simple terms:** Rest and nature are essential for sustainable productivity. Key Takeaway Prioritize rest to protect relationships and creativity. Themes self‑care guilt productivity Mood reflective calm Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - writing schedule - family time - creative blocks - burnout prevention Key Concepts energy management boundaries well‑being Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when work becomes harmful? - What routines help you recharge? A Different Perspective Overworking can still be seen as dedication, ignoring personal limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooks/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [False Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-guilt-595961/) [Family and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-and-friends/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-guilty/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fleeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Guilt Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt-use-2625623/) [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [September](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/september/) [Spending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spending/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Typewriters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typewriters/) [Unlimited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlimited/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [“Expiating a sin does not mean doing something opposite to wallow in guilt, but to use that same guilt to achieve full knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-marino/expiating-a-sin-does-not-mean-doing-something-opposite-to-wallow-in/) [Massimo Marino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-marino/) > [I realize how depraved it was to instill false guilt in an innocent child's conscience, causing a distorted image of life, God, & self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-griffith/i-realize-how-depraved-it-was-to-instill-false-guilt-in-an-innocent/) [Mary Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-griffith/) > [True guilt is guilt at the obligation one owes to oneself to be oneself. False guilt is guilt felt at not being what other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/true-guilt-is-guilt-at-the-obligation-one-owes-to-oneself-to-be/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [A dirty conscience should not be ignored, but rather investigated. False guilt is an indication of a faulty belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/a-dirty-conscience-should-not-be-ignored-but-rather-investigated/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [I got so discouraged, I almost stopped writing. It was my 12-year-old son who changed my mind when he said to me, "Mother, you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-got-so-discouraged-i-almost-stopped-writing-it-was-my-12-year-old/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [In the meantime the big corporations are fleeing America for tax havens and places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Grand Cayman Islands; the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-the-meantime-the-big-corporations-are-fleeing-america-for-tax/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [The impact of climate change, extreme weather events, the reason people are fleeing their homes is quite significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-mayorkas/the-impact-of-climate-change-extreme-weather-events-the-reason-people/) [Alejandro Mayorkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-mayorkas/) > [Refugees are threatening, not just to Americans, but also in many countries the world over. And it's partially because, unlike immigrants, refugees do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-viet-thang/refugees-are-threatening-not-just-to-americans-but-also-in-many/) [Nguyen Viet Thang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nguyen-viet-thang/) > [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“continued through January, sending visitors fleeing back to the mainland like snorkelers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joann-bassett/continued-through-january-sending-visitors-fleeing-back-to-the/) [JoAnn Bassett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joann-bassett/) > [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and/) [Queen Noor of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-noor-of-jordan/) > [“Darkness is the absence of light. Therefore, darkness is always fleeing from where light is and scurrying off to where it is not. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/darkness-is-the-absence-of-light-therefore-darkness-is-always-fleeing/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense. It's an execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-shoot-someone-who-is-fleeing-it-s-not-self-defense-it-s-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Madeleine L'Engle > [“One of the hardest lessons I have to learn is how not to be judgmental about people who are judgmental. When I see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/one-of-the-hardest-lessons-i-have-to-learn-is-how-not-to-be/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/inspiration-more-often-comes-during-the-work-than-before-it-because/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-have-to-write-the-book-that-wants-to-be-written-and-if-the-book/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Goodness has never been a guarantee of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/goodness-has-never-been-a-guarantee-of-safety/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/faith-is-what-makes-life-bearable-with-all-its-tragedies-and/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Instead of rejoicing in this glorious “impossible” which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his mighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/instead-of-rejoicing-in-this-glorious-impossible-which-gives-meaning/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I have never lived before...Until this summer, I did not know what it was to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-have-never-lived-before-until-this-summer-i-did-not-know-what-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [On the other side of pain, there is still love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/on-the-other-side-of-pain-there-is-still-love/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-and-it-is-only-in-vulnerability-and-risk/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating then anything she had ever imagined with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-was-the-most-horrible-the-most-repellent-thing-she-had-ever-seen/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I feel as though I'm not breathing when I'm out of his presence. He's the oxygen in my air, the sun in my universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-feel-as-though-i-m-not-breathing-when-i-m-out-of-his-presence-he-s/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/rather-than-feeling-lost-and-unimportant-and-meaningless-set-against/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-sometimes-he-will-say-it-s-been/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [If we aren't capable of being hurt we aren't capable of feeling joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-we-aren-t-capable-of-being-hurt-we-aren-t-capable-of-feeling-joy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) [Explore all 660 Madeleine L'Engle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I used to feel guilty about spending morning hours working on a book; about fleeing to the brook in the afternoon. It took several summers of being totally frazzled by September to make me realize that this was a false guilt. 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