--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each of us, when our day's work is done…" description: "\"Each of us, when our day's work is done, must seek our ideal, whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg, or the sweet silence of the musty..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/o-henry-3281_bookshelves_each-of-us-when-our-day-s-work-is-done-m_1086289.jpg" --- # Each of us, when our day's work is done, must seek our… ![“Each of us, when our day's work is done, must seek our ideal, whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg, or the sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.” quote by O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/o-henry-3281_bookshelves_each-of-us-when-our-day-s-work-is-done-m_1086289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/o-henry-3281_bookshelves_each-of-us-when-our-day-s-work-is-done-m_1086289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/o-henry-3281_bookshelves_each-of-us-when-our-day-s-work-is-done-m_1086289.jpg) > “Each of us, when our day's work is done, must seek our ideal, whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg, or the sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.” [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After work, people pursue personal passions, whether simple or extravagant, to find fulfillment beyond duty. **In simple terms:** Seek personal joy after daily duties. Key Takeaway Prioritize your ideal after work. Themes passion fulfillment leisure Mood reflective contemplative Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - evening relaxation - creative hobbies - family time Key Concepts individualism desire balance Questions to Reflect On - What ideal do you neglect after work? - How does leisure shape your identity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [You cannot seek for the ideal outside the realm of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-blum/you-cannot-seek-for-the-ideal-outside-the-realm-of-reality/) [Leon Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-blum/) > [Of all the nonsense written about love, none is more absurd than the notion that ideal love is selfless. To love is to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/of-all-the-nonsense-written-about-love-none-is-more-absurd-than-the/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Ideal Love, stepped down to the level of the practical, day-to-day life, must mean the service of each to all within his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilakanta-sri-ram/ideal-love-stepped-down-to-the-level-of-the-practical-day-to-day-life/) [Nilakanta Sri Ram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilakanta-sri-ram/) > [The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-olbermann/the-world-bursts-at-the-seams-with-people-ready-to-tell-you-you-re/) [Keith Olbermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-olbermann/) > [You put aside the work that's done, and seek some work to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/you-put-aside-the-work-that-s-done-and-seek-some-work-to-do/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“What we desire, what we work for, or what we seek after, are those things that merely lead us along the paths of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wu-wei/what-we-desire-what-we-work-for-or-what-we-seek-after-are-those/) [Wu Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wu-wei/) > [If a negative atmosphere pervades where you live or work, go elsewhere. Seek out friends, business associates, and mentors with positive attitudes who share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-devos/if-a-negative-atmosphere-pervades-where-you-live-or-work-go-elsewhere/) [Richard M. DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-devos/) > [My ideal meal varies, depending on the time of year. Lobster on a deck overlooking a beach at sunset is one - but all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-ideal-meal-varies-depending-on-the-time-of-year-lobster-on-a-deck/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“We would call no one a lobster without good and sufficient claws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/we-would-call-no-one-a-lobster-without-good-and-sufficient-claws/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [The ideal love affair should be conducted by post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-ideal-love-affair-should-be-conducted-by-post/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [For love that is not requited in equal measure is not love at all; it is not sacred. And holding on to the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-mcgowan/for-love-that-is-not-requited-in-equal-measure-is-not-love-at-all-it/) [Kathleen McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-mcgowan/) > [“As beautiful as you are my lady, You sick answers to why love is never by your side Your heart wonders around trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molemo-sylence/as-beautiful-as-you-are-my-lady-you-sick-answers-to-why-love-is-never/) Molemo.Sylence > [How many times have you said, 'This is it. I've finally found my one true love'? And how many times has the reality turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-many-times-have-you-said-this-is-it-i-ve-finally-found-my-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How many times have you said, 'This is it. I've finally found my one true love'? And how many times has the reality turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/how-many-times-have-you-said-this-is-it-i-ve-finally-found-my-one-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [An ideal's love-fraught, imperious call That bides the spheres become articulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-preston-peabody/an-ideal-s-love-fraught-imperious-call-that-bides-the-spheres-become/) Josephine Preston Peabody ## More by O. Henry > [He seemed to be made of sunshine and blood-red tissue and clear weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/he-seemed-to-be-made-of-sunshine-and-blood-red-tissue-and-clear/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [“It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/it-did-not-exactly-beggar-description-but-it-certainly-had-that-word/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Fortune is a prize to be won. Adventure is the road to it. Chance is what may lurk in the shadows at the roadside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/fortune-is-a-prize-to-be-won-adventure-is-the-road-to-it-chance-is/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/she-plucked-from-my-lapel-the-invisible-strand-of-lint-the-universal/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There is no well defined boundary line between honesty and dishonesty. The frontiers of one blend with the outside limits of the other, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-is-no-well-defined-boundary-line-between-honesty-and-dishonesty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [All great men have declared that they owe their sucess to the aid and encouragement of some brilliant woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/all-great-men-have-declared-that-they-owe-their-sucess-to-the-aid-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Those whom we first love we seldom marry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/those-whom-we-first-love-we-seldom-marry/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/young-artists-must-pave-their-way-to-art-by-drawing-pictures-for/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [A good story is like a bitter pill, with the sugar coating inside of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/a-good-story-is-like-a-bitter-pill-with-the-sugar-coating-inside-of-it/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lamp posts and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from-park-benches-lamp-posts-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There are stories in everything. I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts, and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-are-stories-in-everything-i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I never have time to read now. I did all my reading before I was twenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-never-have-time-to-read-now-i-did-all-my-reading-before-i-was-twenty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Bride knoweth bride at the glance of an eye. And between them swiftly passes comfort and meaning in a language that man and widows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/bride-knoweth-bride-at-the-glance-of-an-eye-and-between-them-swiftly/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [No friendship is an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/no-friendship-is-an-accident/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) [Explore all 135 O. Henry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## More Bookshelves quotes > [I have a nice bookshelf in my office, but not my house. I'm crass, but not that crass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/i-have-a-nice-bookshelf-in-my-office-but-not-my-house-i-m-crass-but/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [...Mr. Wodehouse is a prose stylist of such startling talent that Frankie nearly skipped around with glee when she first read some of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/mr-wodehouse-is-a-prose-stylist-of-such-startling-talent-that-frankie/) [E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) > [“She says I ought to throw out at least two books for every one I buy. I had new bookshelves put up in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-edwards/she-says-i-ought-to-throw-out-at-least-two-books-for-every-one-i-buy/) [Martin Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-edwards/) > [You ever buy a book and not read it? You feel almost guilty having it up on a bookshelf. People are like, "Hey, how's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/you-ever-buy-a-book-and-not-read-it-you-feel-almost-guilty-having-it/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [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 source images and ideas from different parts of my experiences, and sometimes they are things that are made-up, or just appear out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-stone/i-source-images-and-ideas-from-different-parts-of-my-experiences-and/) Julia Stone > [The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-time-will-come-when-with-elation-you-will-greet-yourself-arriving/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“If I am alive this is my book, and my father lives now in the afterlife that is a book, a thing not vague…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/if-i-am-alive-this-is-my-book-and-my-father-lives-now-in-the/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [My mom didn't write, but she loved to read. She liked books 'that made you a little nervous.' Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Peter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-easton/my-mom-didn-t-write-but-she-loved-to-read-she-liked-books-that-made/) [Michael Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-easton/) > [There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in...We should be thankful we cannot see the horrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/there-is-always-one-moment-in-childhood-when-the-door-opens-and-lets/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [I learned to build bookshelves and brought books to my room, gathering them around me thickly. I read by day and into the night.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-learned-to-build-bookshelves-and-brought-books-to-my-room-gathering/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Bookaholics are the ones who start to feel uncomfortable and uneasy in another person’s house, and suddenly realize there are no bookshelves or magazines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lee-hadden/bookaholics-are-the-ones-who-start-to-feel-uncomfortable-and-uneasy/) Robert Lee Hadden > [I stretched out my hand towards the little bookshelf where I kept cookery and devotional books, the most comfortable bedside reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/i-stretched-out-my-hand-towards-the-little-bookshelf-where-i-kept/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-would-be-the-most-content-if-my-children-grew-up-to-be-the-kind-of/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Jamie felt a strong desire to go across and see what the open books were, to go to the shelves and run his knuckles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/jamie-felt-a-strong-desire-to-go-across-and-see-what-the-open-books/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) Browse all 135 Bookshelves quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each of us, when our day's work is done, must seek our ideal, whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg, or the sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "O. 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