--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of answering your question…" description: "\"Instead of answering your question directly I shall quote from the Indian poet Tagore: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy/ I awoke and saw that life..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/paulo-coelho-10_awoke_instead-of-answering-your-question-direc_3097106.jpg" --- # Instead of answering your question directly I shall quote… ![“Instead of answering your question directly I shall quote from the Indian poet Tagore: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy/ I awoke and saw that life was service/I acted and behold, service was joy.” In fact, through my work I discover life, people, and everything which happens around us.” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/paulo-coelho-10_awoke_instead-of-answering-your-question-direc_3097106.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/paulo-coelho-10_awoke_instead-of-answering-your-question-direc_3097106.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/paulo-coelho-10_awoke_instead-of-answering-your-question-direc_3097106.jpg) > “Instead of answering your question directly I shall quote from the Indian poet Tagore: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy/ I awoke and saw that life was service/I acted and behold, service was joy.” In fact, through my work I discover life, people, and everything which happens around us.” [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## 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 joy and service are intertwined; serving others reveals true happiness. **In simple terms:** Service brings joy; joy fuels service. Key Takeaway Serve to find joy. Themes philosophy service joy purpose Mood hopeful thoughtful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - career choice - daily interactions Key Concepts interconnectedness self‑actualization humanism Questions to Reflect On - What does service mean to you? - How can you integrate service into daily life? A Different Perspective Service may feel burdensome without intention. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tagore/) ## Related quotes > [“I slept and dreamt that life was joy/ I awoke and saw that life was service/I acted and behold, service was joy.” In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-slept-and-dreamt-that-life-was-joy-i-awoke-and-saw-that-life-was-2/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-slept-and-dreamt-that-life-was-joy-i-awoke-and-saw-that-life-was/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“The great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. / I awoke and saw that life was service.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-great-indian-poet-rabindranath-tagore-wrote-i-slept-and-dreamt/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I dreamt and saw that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was duty. I served and found that duty was joy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/i-dreamt-and-saw-that-life-was-joy-i-awoke-and-saw-that-life-was-duty/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [“I have dreamt of a life you will never know; the life of a loving and caring companion. I simply thought you should know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-findley/i-have-dreamt-of-a-life-you-will-never-know-the-life-of-a-loving-and/) [Timothy Findley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-findley/) > [I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they've gone through and through me, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-ve-dreamt-in-my-life-dreams-that-have-stayed-with-me-ever-after-and/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I slept and dreamt that life was beauty; I woke and found that life was duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-slept-and-dreamt-that-life-was-beauty-i-woke-and-found-that-life/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“It felt like he'd been pushing himself into my life from the very first time I dreamt of him. Ever since, my life had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-kentowski/it-felt-like-he-d-been-pushing-himself-into-my-life-from-the-very/) [L.J. Kentowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-kentowski/) > [“I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-have-dreamt-in-my-life-dreams-that-have-stayed-with-me-ever-after/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-ve-dreamt-in-my-life-dreams-that-have-stayed-with-me-ever-after/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Life's Gifts I saw a woman sleeping. In her sleep she dreamt Life stood before her, and held in each hand a gift—in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-times/life-s-gifts-i-saw-a-woman-sleeping-in-her-sleep-she-dreamt-life/) London Times > [Sometimes I do wake up in the mornings and feel like I've just had the most incredible dream. I've just dreamt my life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/sometimes-i-do-wake-up-in-the-mornings-and-feel-like-i-ve-just-had/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I've never landed in a series that I could have dreamt in my life. That's why, when people say, 'Well what are roles you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-ve-never-landed-in-a-series-that-i-could-have-dreamt-in-my-life/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I had to persevere because this was my life. This championship, this was the stuff I dreamt of all my life, and I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-had-to-persevere-because-this-was-my-life-this-championship-this/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [“I slept and dreamt life is beauty, I woke and found life is duty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucious/i-slept-and-dreamt-life-is-beauty-i-woke-and-found-life-is-duty/) Confucious ## More by Paulo Coelho > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Eat when it is time to eat. And walk when it is time to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/eat-when-it-is-time-to-eat-and-walk-when-it-is-time-to-walk/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/joy-is-like-sex-it-begins-and-ends-i-want-pleasure-i-want-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Trudi se da zivis, sjecanja su za starije ljude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/trudi-se-da-zivis-sjecanja-su-za-starije-ljude/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-someone-leaves-it-s-because-someone-else-is-about-to-arrive/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/she-didn-t-need-to-understand-the-meaning-of-life-it-was-enough-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The simpler the pose, the better; the more sober, the more beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-simpler-the-pose-the-better-the-more-sober-the-more-beautiful/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Explore all 3,665 Paulo Coelho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More Awoke quotes > [“Aelin awoke, drenched in sweat and twisted in the sheets, fear clenching her like a fist. She willed herself to breathe, to blink—to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/aelin-awoke-drenched-in-sweat-and-twisted-in-the-sheets-fear/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [It never dawned on me to be born I just awoke to the fact one day. My first orgasm was a similar experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-carlysle/it-never-dawned-on-me-to-be-born-i-just-awoke-to-the-fact-one-day-my/) [Jules Carlysle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-carlysle/) > [Mary awoke from her nightmare with a pounding heart, convinced that she had only imagined Elizabeth's cruel plot. A full moon was shining into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george/mary-awoke-from-her-nightmare-with-a-pounding-heart-convinced-that/) [Margaret George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george/) > [“After Aris awoke from and intense dream: '"Are you well? You were... making noises." Dysis sounded like she couldn't tell whether to be embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-e-banghart/after-aris-awoke-from-and-intense-dream-are-you-well-you-were-making/) [Tracy E. Banghart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-e-banghart/) > [“Harry awoke at half past five the next morning as abruptly and completely as if somebody had yelled in his ear. For a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/harry-awoke-at-half-past-five-the-next-morning-as-abruptly-and/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“He awoke. Not the instant awareness of being jolted by an alarm or the gentle rising from dozing in and out, but a gradual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olan-thorensen/he-awoke-not-the-instant-awareness-of-being-jolted-by-an-alarm-or-the/) Olan Thorensen > [“Celaena awoke as dawn poured into her room. Chaol still held her to him, just as he had all night, as if she would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/celaena-awoke-as-dawn-poured-into-her-room-chaol-still-held-her-to/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [When the first light dawned on the earth, and the birds awoke, and the brave river was heard rippling confidently seaward, and the nimble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-the-first-light-dawned-on-the-earth-and-the-birds-awoke-and-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I awoke you from your sleep because I saw that you were having a nightmare. And now you are cross and say to me:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-awoke-you-from-your-sleep-because-i-saw-that-you-were-having-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“On the far horizon waved some flicker of light My heart, a city of suffering, awoke in a state of dream My eyes, turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faiz-ahmed-faiz/on-the-far-horizon-waved-some-flicker-of-light-my-heart-a-city-of/) Faiz Ahmed Faiz > [“I awoke in the deepest night to find I had been divided from myself. There lay my body sleeping and dreaming, and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-micklem/i-awoke-in-the-deepest-night-to-find-i-had-been-divided-from-myself/) [Sarah Micklem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-micklem/) > [When she awoke, the world was on fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/when-she-awoke-the-world-was-on-fire/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [“And as the hands of the clocks clicked to eight past one, the house awoke to the sudden and definite realization that now was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-thomas/and-as-the-hands-of-the-clocks-clicked-to-eight-past-one-the-house/) Scott Thomas > [From a night of more sleep than she had expected, Marianne awoke the next morning to the same consciousness of misery in which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/from-a-night-of-more-sleep-than-she-had-expected-marianne-awoke-the/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Move him into the sun Gently its touch awoke him once, At home, whispering of fields unsown. Always it woke him, even in France,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/move-him-into-the-sun-gently-its-touch-awoke-him-once-at-home/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) Browse all 90 Awoke quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Instead of answering your question directly I shall quote from the Indian poet Tagore: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy/ I awoke and saw that life was service/I acted and behold, service was joy.” In fact, through my work I discover life, people, and everything which happens around us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/instead-of-answering-your-question-directly-i-shall-quote-from-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awoke" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/instead-of-answering-your-question-directly-i-shall-quote-from-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/paulo-coelho-10_awoke_instead-of-answering-your-question-direc_3097106.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/paulo-coelho-10_awoke_instead-of-answering-your-question-direc_3097106.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/paulo-coelho-10_awoke_instead-of-answering-your-question-direc_3097106.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instead of answering your question directly I shall quote from the Indian poet Tagore: “I slept and dreamt…” — Paulo Coelho", "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": "Paulo Coelho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Instead of answering your question directly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/instead-of-answering-your-question-directly-i-shall-quote-from-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/instead-of-answering-your-question-directly-i-shall-quote-from-the/#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 } } ] } ```