--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ease up. the day was rued when we came…" description: "\"“ease up. the day was rued when we came upon it, or when it came upon us, and beheld us marring the horizon, sitting here like unconquerable savages, m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/padgett-powell-14196_sharpen_ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-up_360519.jpg" --- # ease up. the day was rued when we came upon it, or when it… ![“ease up. the day was rued when we came upon it, or when it came upon us, and beheld us marring the horizon, sitting here like unconquerable savages, men missing their dogs and talking pointlessly unless talk to the dead. let's sharpen something.” quote by Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/padgett-powell-14196_sharpen_ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-up_360519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/padgett-powell-14196_sharpen_ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-up_360519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/padgett-powell-14196_sharpen_ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-up_360519.jpg) > ““ease up. the day was rued when we came upon it, or when it came upon us, and beheld us marring the horizon, sitting here like unconquerable savages, men missing their dogs and talking pointlessly unless talk to the dead. let's sharpen something.”” [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage suggests easing the burden of a day by confronting the horizon’s challenges together, sharpening resolve despite futility. **In simple terms:** Face challenges together, sharpen resolve, and move forward. Key Takeaway Embrace shared struggle and sharpen focus. Themes resilience companionship acceptance determination Mood thoughtful determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - personal crises - creative writing - group therapy Key Concepts collective action existential reflection human endurance Questions to Reflect On - How do you find purpose in shared struggle? - What does “sharpen something” mean to you? A Different Perspective It may romanticize hardship without offering practical solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [If you don't take the time to sharpen your axe, you'll spend your whole life hacking away at missed opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-toth/if-you-don-t-take-the-time-to-sharpen-your-axe-you-ll-spend-your/) [Blake Toth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-toth/) > [“Sharpen one blade at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allynn-riggs/sharpen-one-blade-at-a-time/) [Allynn Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allynn-riggs/) > [“Whenever you feel a little stricken down in pain, think about this. The knife has to be sharpened by striking and rubbing it against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/whenever-you-feel-a-little-stricken-down-in-pain-think-about-this-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The theater, for me, has always been a place where I'm free to be more creative, a place to sharpen my tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/the-theater-for-me-has-always-been-a-place-where-i-m-free-to-be-more/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) > [“If you do not sharpen your axe, it will take twice the same amount of time to cut down the same amount of trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-you-do-not-sharpen-your-axe-it-will-take-twice-the-same-amount-of/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [About the use of language: it is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt axe. It is equally vain to try to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/about-the-use-of-language-it-is-impossible-to-sharpen-a-pencil-with-a/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [Yes, education is the catalyst that will hone and sharpen our talents, skills, and abilities and cause them to blossom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/yes-education-is-the-catalyst-that-will-hone-and-sharpen-our-talents/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Within each individual young person you meet, you have the same fields to plow. The trick is just to wake thmem up, to sharpen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/within-each-individual-young-person-you-meet-you-have-the-same-fields/) [Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/) > [Meditation helps sharpen the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-christo/meditation-helps-sharpen-the-mind/) [Bob Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-christo/) > [“Who would sharpen a point aginst the darkness of the world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/who-would-sharpen-a-point-aginst-the-darkness-of-the-world/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“ADEPT ADAPTATION Potholes on the road of life sharpen our maneuverability skills Kamil Ali”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/adept-adaptation-potholes-on-the-road-of-life-sharpen-our/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“Watch your dreams and watch our friends. Take time and watch your friend again with sharpened eyes. Turn on your dreams again; watch them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/watch-your-dreams-and-watch-our-friends-take-time-and-watch-your/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Need to sharpen my blade. Make it shiny, gleamy, and oh, so... deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/need-to-sharpen-my-blade-make-it-shiny-gleamy-and-oh-so-deadly/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Sharpen your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/sharpen-your-heart/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [Meditation will sharpen your senses and your awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/meditation-will-sharpen-your-senses-and-your-awareness/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) ## More by Padgett Powell > [If you could have a famous writer, dead or alive, write an obituary for you and really puff you up to have been something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/if-you-could-have-a-famous-writer-dead-or-alive-write-an-obituary-for/) [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) > [That's part of fiction, creating a world better than the one you live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/that-s-part-of-fiction-creating-a-world-better-than-the-one-you-live/) [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) > [I don't know any more about America than one knows being trapped in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/i-don-t-know-any-more-about-america-than-one-knows-being-trapped-in-it/) [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) > [I've had an addiction for a long time to the whole business of maximizing one's potential, what I call human activation. 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Make it shiny, gleamy, and oh, so... deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/need-to-sharpen-my-blade-make-it-shiny-gleamy-and-oh-so-deadly/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Watch your dreams and watch our friends. Take time and watch your friend again with sharpened eyes. Turn on your dreams again; watch them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/watch-your-dreams-and-watch-our-friends-take-time-and-watch-your/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“ADEPT ADAPTATION Potholes on the road of life sharpen our maneuverability skills Kamil Ali”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/adept-adaptation-potholes-on-the-road-of-life-sharpen-our/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“Who would sharpen a point aginst the darkness of the world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/who-would-sharpen-a-point-aginst-the-darkness-of-the-world/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Meditation helps sharpen the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-christo/meditation-helps-sharpen-the-mind/) [Bob Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-christo/) > [Within each individual young person you meet, you have the same fields to plow. The trick is just to wake thmem up, to sharpen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/within-each-individual-young-person-you-meet-you-have-the-same-fields/) [Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/) > [Yes, education is the catalyst that will hone and sharpen our talents, skills, and abilities and cause them to blossom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/yes-education-is-the-catalyst-that-will-hone-and-sharpen-our-talents/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [About the use of language: it is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt axe. It is equally vain to try to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/about-the-use-of-language-it-is-impossible-to-sharpen-a-pencil-with-a/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [“If you do not sharpen your axe, it will take twice the same amount of time to cut down the same amount of trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-you-do-not-sharpen-your-axe-it-will-take-twice-the-same-amount-of/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [The theater, for me, has always been a place where I'm free to be more creative, a place to sharpen my tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/the-theater-for-me-has-always-been-a-place-where-i-m-free-to-be-more/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) > [“Whenever you feel a little stricken down in pain, think about this. The knife has to be sharpened by striking and rubbing it against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/whenever-you-feel-a-little-stricken-down-in-pain-think-about-this-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Sharpen one blade at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allynn-riggs/sharpen-one-blade-at-a-time/) [Allynn Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allynn-riggs/) > [Meditation will sharpen your senses and your awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/meditation-will-sharpen-your-senses-and-your-awareness/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) Browse all 53 Sharpen quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ease up. the day was rued when we came upon it, or when it came upon us, and beheld us marring the horizon, sitting here like unconquerable savages, men missing their dogs and talking pointlessly unless talk to the dead. let's sharpen something.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Padgett Powell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-upon-it-or-when-it-came-upon-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sharpen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-upon-it-or-when-it-came-upon-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/padgett-powell-14196_sharpen_ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-up_360519.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/padgett-powell-14196_sharpen_ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-up_360519.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/padgett-powell-14196_sharpen_ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-up_360519.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“ease up. the day was rued when we came upon it, or when it came upon us, and beheld us marring the horizon…” — Padgett Powell", "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": "Padgett Powell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“ease up. the day was rued...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-upon-it-or-when-it-came-upon-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/ease-up-the-day-was-rued-when-we-came-upon-it-or-when-it-came-upon-us/#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 } } ] } ```