--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every time I think I've touched bottom as…" description: "\"Every time I think I've touched bottom as far as boredom is concerned, new vistas of ennui open up.\" — Margaret Halsey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/margaret-halsey-6554_boredom_every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-a_2597419.jpg" --- # Every time I think I've touched bottom as far as boredom… ![“Every time I think I've touched bottom as far as boredom is concerned, new vistas of ennui open up.” quote by Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/margaret-halsey-6554_boredom_every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-a_2597419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/margaret-halsey-6554_boredom_every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-a_2597419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/margaret-halsey-6554_boredom_every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-a_2597419.jpg) > “Every time I think I've touched bottom as far as boredom is concerned, new vistas of ennui open up.” [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when boredom seems at its lowest, new forms of ennui emerge, suggesting boredom is an endless cycle. **In simple terms:** Boredom never truly ends; new boredom appears. Key Takeaway Seek novelty to break repetitive boredom. Themes boredom monotony existential angst Mood wry thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - daily routines - creative blocks - work tasks Key Concepts psychology philosophy habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What patterns trigger your boredom? - How can you create lasting engagement in routine tasks? A Different Perspective Constant novelty may be unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Boredom Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom-concerned-1914052/) [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Ennui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui/) [Far Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-boredom-1914054/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Touched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touched/) [Vistas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vistas/) [Vistas Ennui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vistas-ennui-1914053/) ## Related quotes > [... it takes a great deal to produce ennui in an Englishman and if you do, he only takes it as convincing proof that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/it-takes-a-great-deal-to-produce-ennui-in-an-englishman-and-if-you-do/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [In the long vista of the years to roll,\\\\ Let me not see my country's honor fade;\\\\ Oh! let me see our land retain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/in-the-long-vista-of-the-years-to-roll-let-me-not-see-my-country-s/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [There's another aspect about the Seventies. Blazing Saddles, as wonderful as it was, sort of hurt the Western. It made such fun of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/there-s-another-aspect-about-the-seventies-blazing-saddles-as/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Even the most heartening of philosophical vistas is no match for, say, a toothache, if it happens to be your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/even-the-most-heartening-of-philosophical-vistas-is-no-match-for-say/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn, A sun-lit pasture field, with cattle and horses feeding; And haze, and vista, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/through-the-ample-open-door-of-the-peaceful-country-barn-a-sun-lit/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-book-must-of-necessity-be-put-into-a-bookcase-and-the-bookcase/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The immensity of the universe didn’t suddenly change, but our ability to see and understand this truth changed dramatically. And with that greater light,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/the-immensity-of-the-universe-didn-t-suddenly-change-but-our-ability/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [You stand on the edge of eternity, with a vista that is so incredible, so powerful, so perfect that it's overwhelming. You are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-stand-on-the-edge-of-eternity-with-a-vista-that-is-so-incredible/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenkin-lloyd-jones/anyone-who-imagines-that-bliss-is-normal-is-going-to-waste-a-lot-of/) [Jenkin Lloyd Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenkin-lloyd-jones/) > [Beyond the terrace, a light breeze stirred the reeds at the edge of the pond. Looking out at this intimate vista, one could see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnham-schwartz/beyond-the-terrace-a-light-breeze-stirred-the-reeds-at-the-edge-of/) [John Burnham Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnham-schwartz/) > [I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-have-often-reflected-upon-the-new-vistas-that-reading-opened-to-me/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [If you are receptive and humble, mathematics will lead you by the hand. Again and again, when I have been at a loss how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dirac/if-you-are-receptive-and-humble-mathematics-will-lead-you-by-the-hand/) [Paul Dirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dirac/) > [“Over the vistas broke a cold gray light, such as seen in those false dawns that are neither night nor true morning, when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-w-jeter/over-the-vistas-broke-a-cold-gray-light-such-as-seen-in-those-false/) [K.W. Jeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-w-jeter/) > [Philosophy is at once the most sublime and the most trivial of human pursuits. It works in the minutest crannies and it opens outthe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/philosophy-is-at-once-the-most-sublime-and-the-most-trivial-of-human/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Here's the thing, who cares what you have to look at, I'm a big advocate of not obscuring vistas, but even if you build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/here-s-the-thing-who-cares-what-you-have-to-look-at-i-m-a-big/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) ## More by Margaret Halsey > [Life itself, however, flows and is sequential and punishes those who try to compartmentalize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/life-itself-however-flows-and-is-sequential-and-punishes-those-who/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [the crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o'clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-crucial-disadvantage-of-aggression-competitiveness-and-skepticism/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Englishwomen's shoes look as if they had been made by someone who had often heard shoes described, but had never seen any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/englishwomen-s-shoes-look-as-if-they-had-been-made-by-someone-who-had/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [it is a waste of time to ask more of people than they have to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/it-is-a-waste-of-time-to-ask-more-of-people-than-they-have-to-give/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I would have felt more comfortable on a girder fifty floors above the street, catching white-hot rivets in a pail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-would-have-felt-more-comfortable-on-a-girder-fifty-floors-above-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The position of children as a group, in a commercial society, is not wholly advantageous. A commercial society urges its citizens to be responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-position-of-children-as-a-group-in-a-commercial-society-is-not/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Money does not corrupt people. What corrupts people is lack of affection ... Money is simply the bandage which wounded people put over their wounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/money-does-not-corrupt-people-what-corrupts-people-is-lack-of/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Identity is not found, the way Pharaoh's daughter found Moses in the bulrushes. Identity is built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/identity-is-not-found-the-way-pharaoh-s-daughter-found-moses-in-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I am living with a rising generation which talks like people coming out of ether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-am-living-with-a-rising-generation-which-talks-like-people-coming/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [children are an embarrassment to a business civilization. A business society needs children for the same reason that a nomadic or a pastoral society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/children-are-an-embarrassment-to-a-business-civilization-a-business/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The only way not to worry about the race problem is to be doing something about it yourself. When you are, natural human vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-only-way-not-to-worry-about-the-race-problem-is-to-be-doing/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Employed as I had been employing it, liquor is a fixative of old patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/employed-as-i-had-been-employing-it-liquor-is-a-fixative-of-old/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [in the comparatively short time between my childhood and my daughter's, the business society has ceased urging people to produce and is now exerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/in-the-comparatively-short-time-between-my-childhood-and-my-daughter/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [A person may be totally unimaginative and have the social vision of a mole, and we still call him a decent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/a-person-may-be-totally-unimaginative-and-have-the-social-vision-of-a/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Infants, I note with envy, are receptive to enjoyment in a degree not attained by adults this side of the new Jerusalem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/infants-i-note-with-envy-are-receptive-to-enjoyment-in-a-degree-not/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) [Explore all 98 Margaret Halsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every time I think I've touched bottom as far as boredom is concerned, new vistas of ennui open up.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Halsey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-as-far-as-boredom-is-concerned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boredom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-as-far-as-boredom-is-concerned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/margaret-halsey-6554_boredom_every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-a_2597419.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/margaret-halsey-6554_boredom_every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-a_2597419.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/margaret-halsey-6554_boredom_every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-a_2597419.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every time I think I've touched bottom as far as boredom is concerned, new vistas of ennui open up.” — Margaret Halsey", "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": "Margaret Halsey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every time I think I've touched...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-as-far-as-boredom-is-concerned/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/every-time-i-think-i-ve-touched-bottom-as-far-as-boredom-is-concerned/#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 } } ] } ```