--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It often happens that those who spend…" description: "\"It often happens that those who spend their time giving light to others, remain in darkness themselves.\" — Mother Teresa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mother-teresa-196_darkness_it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-th_995217.jpg" --- # It often happens that those who spend their time giving… ![“It often happens that those who spend their time giving light to others, remain in darkness themselves.” quote by Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mother-teresa-196_darkness_it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-th_995217.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mother-teresa-196_darkness_it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-th_995217.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mother-teresa-196_darkness_it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-th_995217.jpg) > “It often happens that those who spend their time giving light to others, remain in darkness themselves.” [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Helping others can lead to personal neglect and feeling lost. **In simple terms:** Helping others may cause personal darkness. Key Takeaway Balance giving with self‑care. Themes selflessness burn balance Mood reflective somber Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - caregiving - personal boundaries Key Concepts altruism self‑neglect Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure you care for yourself while helping others? - What signs show you need personal renewal? A Different Perspective Neglecting self‑care can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-light/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light Remain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-remain-2063625/) [Remain Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remain-darkness-2063624/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-giving-314087/) ## Related quotes > [“When you fall into darkness do not spend all your energy and light rather than to remain in darkness,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamaran-ihsan-salih/when-you-fall-into-darkness-do-not-spend-all-your-energy-and-light/) [Kamaran Ihsan Salih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamaran-ihsan-salih/) > [The light is too painful for someone who wants to remain in darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-light-is-too-painful-for-someone-who-wants-to-remain-in-darkness/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I should very much like to remain in the darkness of not having been analyzed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-should-very-much-like-to-remain-in-the-darkness-of-not-having-been/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Ring the bells that still can ring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/ring-the-bells-that-still-can-ring/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I don't want to sit on the sidelines and not value the gift of being here. Instead of the idea of time ticking away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-don-t-want-to-sit-on-the-sidelines-and-not-value-the-gift-of-being/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When I give you my time I'm giving you a portion of my life that I will never get back so please don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa/when-i-give-you-my-time-i-m-giving-you-a-portion-of-my-life-that-i/) [ALYSSA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa/) > [When I spend my time with you, I am giving you a portion of my life that I never get it back again. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-bassam/when-i-spend-my-time-with-you-i-am-giving-you-a-portion-of-my-life/) [Ali Bassam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-bassam/) > [I'll put the time into getting a real tan when you put the time into giving me a real orgasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ll-put-the-time-into-getting-a-real-tan-when-you-put-the-time-into/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This time we're not giving up, let's make it last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramore/this-time-we-re-not-giving-up-let-s-make-it-last-forever/) [Paramore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramore/) > [Being 'back in my body' means being able to do the things I love, but do them in the way I love, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-rogers/being-back-in-my-body-means-being-able-to-do-the-things-i-love-but-do/) [Maggie Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-rogers/) > [When someone gives you their time, they are giving you a portion of their life that they will never get back. Its one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/when-someone-gives-you-their-time-they-are-giving-you-a-portion-of/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Lee Levy Cape Town Says.. When you give some your LOVE & Time, you giving a part of your life that will never again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-levy-cape-town/lee-levy-cape-town-says-when-you-give-some-your-love-time-you-giving/) [Lee Levy Cape Town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-levy-cape-town/) > [You're not worth my time so why am I giving you my time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-not-worth-my-time-so-why-am-i-giving-you-my-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best gift you can give to someone is your time, because you're giving them something you can never get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-gift-you-can-give-to-someone-is-your-time-because-you-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When it comes to people I love and care about, I may condense the time, but I'm giving them every ounce of my energy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-shetty/when-it-comes-to-people-i-love-and-care-about-i-may-condense-the-time/) [Jay Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-shetty/) ## More by Mother Teresa > [Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/love-is-a-fruit-in-season-at-all-times-and-within-the-reach-of-every/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [All works of love are works of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/all-works-of-love-are-works-of-peace/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Speak in a low, persuasive tone. Listen; be teachable. Laugh at good stories and learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/keep-the-corners-of-your-mouth-turned-up-speak-in-a-low-persuasive/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/holy-living-consists-in-doing-god-s-work-with-a-smile/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I don't look at anything. Every person whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, he is my brother, my sister. I think we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-don-t-look-at-anything-every-person-whether-he-is-hindu-muslim-or/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We may not be able to give much but we can always give the joy that springs in a heart that is in LOVE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-may-not-be-able-to-give-much-but-we-can-always-give-the-joy-that/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/maybe-if-i-didn-t-pick-up-that-one-person-i-wouldn-t-have-picked-up/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-too-are-called-to-withdraw-at-certain-intervals-into-deeper/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/people-are-unrealistic-illogical-and-self-centered-love-them-anyway/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Recovering in a Calcutta, India hospital. I think I'm more difficult than critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/recovering-in-a-calcutta-india-hospital-i-think-i-m-more-difficult/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [So many signatures for such a small heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/so-many-signatures-for-such-a-small-heart/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [They should give until it hurts, maybe a very small thing, maybe just a packet of cigarettes, but instead of by smoking that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/they-should-give-until-it-hurts-maybe-a-very-small-thing-maybe-just-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-by-forgiving-that-one-is-forgiven/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [The more we empty ourselves, the more room we give God to fill us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-more-we-empty-ourselves-the-more-room-we-give-god-to-fill-us/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/joy-is-prayer-joy-is-strength-joy-is-love-joy-is-a-net-of-love-by/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) [Explore all 951 Mother Teresa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It often happens that those who spend their time giving light to others, remain in darkness themselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mother Teresa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-their-time-giving-light-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-their-time-giving-light-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mother-teresa-196_darkness_it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-th_995217.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mother-teresa-196_darkness_it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-th_995217.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mother-teresa-196_darkness_it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-th_995217.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It often happens that those who spend their time giving light to others, remain in darkness themselves.” — Mother Teresa", "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": "Mother Teresa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It often happens that those who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-their-time-giving-light-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-often-happens-that-those-who-spend-their-time-giving-light-to/#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 } } ] } ```