--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not the length of life that…" description: "\"“It is not the length of life that matters. It’s the depth. But while burrowing, keep the sun above you.”\" — Matt Haig" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/matt-haig-1036_life_it-is-not-the-length-of-life-that-matter_2228973.jpg" --- # It is not the length of life that matters. It’s the depth… ![“It is not the length of life that matters. It’s the depth. But while burrowing, keep the sun above you.” quote by Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/matt-haig-1036_life_it-is-not-the-length-of-life-that-matter_2228973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/matt-haig-1036_life_it-is-not-the-length-of-life-that-matter_2228973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/matt-haig-1036_life_it-is-not-the-length-of-life-that-matter_2228973.jpg) > ““It is not the length of life that matters. It’s the depth. But while burrowing, keep the sun above you.”” [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s value lies in its depth, not length; stay hopeful and keep your inner light shining while digging deep. **In simple terms:** Depth matters more than lifespan. Key Takeaway Seek depth and stay hopeful. Themes purpose depth hope Mood optimistic encouraging Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - personal growth - mental health - creative pursuits Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you deepen your life without losing balance? - What keeps your inner sun shining during challenges? A Different Perspective Focusing only on depth may neglect practical needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burrowing/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Reggie Jackson hit one off me that's still burrowing its way to Los Angeles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quisenberry/reggie-jackson-hit-one-off-me-that-s-still-burrowing-its-way-to-los/) [Dan Quisenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quisenberry/) > [Indeed Christianity passes. Passes - it has gone! It has littered the beaches of life with churches, cathedrals, shrines and crucifixes, prejudices and intolerances,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indeed-christianity-passes-passes-it-has-gone-it-has-littered-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like a small animal burrowing into its hole, I shift furniture around, and back myself into a cozy corner, with my back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/like-a-small-animal-burrowing-into-its-hole-i-shift-furniture-around/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Selfishness is the most constant of human motives. Patriotism, humanity, or the love of God may lead to sporadic outbursts sweep away the heaped-up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-chesnutt/selfishness-is-the-most-constant-of-human-motives-patriotism-humanity/) [Charles W. Chesnutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-chesnutt/) > [Denial is pushing something out of your awareness. Anything you hide in the basement has a way of burrowing under the house and showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-sasportas/denial-is-pushing-something-out-of-your-awareness-anything-you-hide/) Howard Sasportas > [“...I could feel her burrowing into my heart. I didn't know if the burrowing was like a kitten cuddling up to its mother or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-porter/i-could-feel-her-burrowing-into-my-heart-i-didn-t-know-if-the/) Jason Porter > [They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/they-always-mean-beautiful-things-like-hummingbirds-i-always-reply-by/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [People sometimes ask me if I would not give anything to be white, I answer, in the words of the song, most emphatically, 'No.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-williams/people-sometimes-ask-me-if-i-would-not-give-anything-to-be-white-i/) [Bert Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-williams/) > [The only times you touch the ball with your hand are when you tee it up and when you pick it out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-venturi/the-only-times-you-touch-the-ball-with-your-hand-are-when-you-tee-it/) [Ken Venturi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-venturi/) > [“She had been on the surface of the leaf, the leaf like a page, and the page that of a book; then by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zurcher/she-had-been-on-the-surface-of-the-leaf-the-leaf-like-a-page-and-the/) [Andrew Zurcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zurcher/) > [Of women, the most we can say, not being Frenchmen, is that they are burrowing animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/of-women-the-most-we-can-say-not-being-frenchmen-is-that-they-are/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“Tackled some giant, burrowing beetles the other week, if you can believe that…. At that stage I didn’t know about it either – only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-speed/tackled-some-giant-burrowing-beetles-the-other-week-if-you-can/) [Mark Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-speed/) > [And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/and-i-despise-your-books-i-despise-wisdom-and-the-blessings-of-this/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [But without a caring society, without each citizen voluntarily accepting the weight of responsibility, government is destined to grow even larger, taking more of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/but-without-a-caring-society-without-each-citizen-voluntarily/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [So let's hear another one of your irrational fears. 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It felt refined and tantalising, all at once, like a polite collective pre-orgasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-felt-civilised-and-modern-it-felt-refined-and-tantalising-all-at/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [If you can't give children optimism, then what are you doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-can-t-give-children-optimism-then-what-are-you-doing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“He just wanted to live inside a moment of that life with her forever, to pluck it like a flower and press it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/he-just-wanted-to-live-inside-a-moment-of-that-life-with-her-forever/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“That is one of the patterns: when nothing is happening, nothing continues to happen, but after a while the lull becomes too much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-is-one-of-the-patterns-when-nothing-is-happening-nothing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [The single biggest act of bravery or madness anyone can do is the act of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/the-single-biggest-act-of-bravery-or-madness-anyone-can-do-is-the-act/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. I think, 'If you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-me-as-a-writer-i-desperately-want-to-be-read-i-m-very-conscious/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It’s not you. It’s them. (No, really. It is.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-s-not-you-it-s-them-no-really-it-is/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“We are all so weird that, really, none of us are. There are seven billion versions of strange on this freak wonder of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/we-are-all-so-weird-that-really-none-of-us-are-there-are-seven/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Sa asculti muzica, mi-am dat eu seama, nu era altceva decat placerea de a numara fara sa iti dai seama ca numeri.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/sa-asculti-muzica-mi-am-dat-eu-seama-nu-era-altceva-decat-placerea-de/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Beauty--be not caused," said Emily Dickinson. "It is." In one way she was wrong. The scattering of light over a long distance creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/beauty-be-not-caused-said-emily-dickinson-it-is-in-one-way-she-was/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I'm a firm believer in the connection between the body and the mind: feed one, feed both. I like to run, but only short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-the-connection-between-the-body-and-the-mind/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Look at the sky; remind yourself of the cosmos. Seek vastness at every opportunity in order to see the smallness of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/look-at-the-sky-remind-yourself-of-the-cosmos-seek-vastness-at-every/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [A book is a map. There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) [Explore all 294 Matt Haig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## More Burrowing quotes > [Reggie Jackson hit one off me that's still burrowing its way to Los Angeles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quisenberry/reggie-jackson-hit-one-off-me-that-s-still-burrowing-its-way-to-los/) [Dan Quisenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quisenberry/) > [But without a caring society, without each citizen voluntarily accepting the weight of responsibility, government is destined to grow even larger, taking more of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/but-without-a-caring-society-without-each-citizen-voluntarily/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/and-i-despise-your-books-i-despise-wisdom-and-the-blessings-of-this/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Tackled some giant, burrowing beetles the other week, if you can believe that…. At that stage I didn’t know about it either – only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-speed/tackled-some-giant-burrowing-beetles-the-other-week-if-you-can/) [Mark Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-speed/) > [Of women, the most we can say, not being Frenchmen, is that they are burrowing animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/of-women-the-most-we-can-say-not-being-frenchmen-is-that-they-are/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“She had been on the surface of the leaf, the leaf like a page, and the page that of a book; then by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zurcher/she-had-been-on-the-surface-of-the-leaf-the-leaf-like-a-page-and-the/) [Andrew Zurcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zurcher/) > [The only times you touch the ball with your hand are when you tee it up and when you pick it out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-venturi/the-only-times-you-touch-the-ball-with-your-hand-are-when-you-tee-it/) [Ken Venturi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-venturi/) > [People sometimes ask me if I would not give anything to be white, I answer, in the words of the song, most emphatically, 'No.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-williams/people-sometimes-ask-me-if-i-would-not-give-anything-to-be-white-i/) [Bert Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-williams/) > [They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/they-always-mean-beautiful-things-like-hummingbirds-i-always-reply-by/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [“...I could feel her burrowing into my heart. I didn't know if the burrowing was like a kitten cuddling up to its mother or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-porter/i-could-feel-her-burrowing-into-my-heart-i-didn-t-know-if-the/) Jason Porter > [Denial is pushing something out of your awareness. Anything you hide in the basement has a way of burrowing under the house and showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-sasportas/denial-is-pushing-something-out-of-your-awareness-anything-you-hide/) Howard Sasportas > [Selfishness is the most constant of human motives. Patriotism, humanity, or the love of God may lead to sporadic outbursts sweep away the heaped-up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-chesnutt/selfishness-is-the-most-constant-of-human-motives-patriotism-humanity/) [Charles W. Chesnutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-chesnutt/) > [Like a small animal burrowing into its hole, I shift furniture around, and back myself into a cozy corner, with my back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/like-a-small-animal-burrowing-into-its-hole-i-shift-furniture-around/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Indeed Christianity passes. Passes - it has gone! It has littered the beaches of life with churches, cathedrals, shrines and crucifixes, prejudices and intolerances,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indeed-christianity-passes-passes-it-has-gone-it-has-littered-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So let's hear another one of your irrational fears. Mia grasped me by the arms and pulled herself in to my chest, like she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/so-let-s-hear-another-one-of-your-irrational-fears-mia-grasped-me-by/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) [Browse all 23 Burrowing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burrowing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is not the length of life that matters. It’s the depth. 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