--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There in bed, happiness comes over me…" description: "\"“There in bed, happiness comes over me. Not like something that belongs to me, but like a wheel of fire rolling through the room and the world. For a m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef8/peter-h-eg-3553_discipline_there-in-bed-happiness-comes-over-me-not_3121074.jpg" --- # There in bed, happiness comes over me. Not like something… ![“There in bed, happiness comes over me. Not like something that belongs to me, but like a wheel of fire rolling through the room and the world. For a moment I think I’ll manage to let it pass and be able to lie there, aware of what I have, and not wish for anything more. The next moment I want to…” quote by Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef8/peter-h-eg-3553_discipline_there-in-bed-happiness-comes-over-me-not_3121074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef8/peter-h-eg-3553_discipline_there-in-bed-happiness-comes-over-me-not_3121074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef8/peter-h-eg-3553_discipline_there-in-bed-happiness-comes-over-me-not_3121074.jpg) > ““There in bed, happiness comes over me. Not like something that belongs to me, but like a wheel of fire rolling through the room and the world. For a moment I think I’ll manage to let it pass and be able to lie there, aware of what I have, and not wish for anything more. The next moment I want to hang on. I want it to continue. He has to lie beside me tomorrow, too. This is my chance. My only, my last chance. I swing my legs onto the floor. Now I’m panic-stricken. This is what I’ve been working to avoid for thirty-seven years. I’ve systematically practiced the only thing in the world that is worth learning. How to renounce. I’ve stopped hoping for anything. When experienced humility becomes an Olympic discipline, I’ll be on the national team. I’ve never had any patience for other people’s unhappy love affairs. I hate their weakness.”” [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A yearning for fleeting happiness clashes with lifelong self-denial, exposing the tension between desire and renunciation. **In simple terms:** Desire meets self‑denial and Key Takeaway Recognize and balance desire with acceptance. Themes desire renunciation humility loneliness self‑discipline Mood melancholic introspective conflicted Type literary philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - therapy - philosophical contemplation Key Concepts existentialism psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What does true humility feel like? - Can desire coexist with renunciation? A Different Perspective The pursuit of humility may suppress genuine emotion and connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Experienced Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experienced-humility-5479643/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-love/) [Humility Olympic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility-olympic-5479641/) [Last chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-chance/) [Moment Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-think/) [Moment Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-want/) [Olympic Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olympic-discipline-5479642/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“healing begins the moment you want it to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayyirah-waheed/healing-begins-the-moment-you-want-it-to/) [Nayyirah Waheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayyirah-waheed/) > [For a single moment I want to feel like the universe isn't about to crush me and the heart isn't about to explode. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinahi-martinez/for-a-single-moment-i-want-to-feel-like-the-universe-isn-t-about-to/) [Sinahi Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinahi-martinez/) > [“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/when-you-take-a-flower-in-your-hand-and-really-look-at-it-it-s-your-2/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [“That moment, the one right before their gone. It feels like a hundred different moments each with its own thought. By the time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuvraj-sandhu/that-moment-the-one-right-before-their-gone-it-feels-like-a-hundred/) [Yuvraj Sandhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuvraj-sandhu/) > [“When you're in the moment everything you want is right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/when-you-re-in-the-moment-everything-you-want-is-right/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [That awkward moment when you want to scratch but you're in public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-awkward-moment-when-you-want-to-scratch-but-you-re-in-public/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm in a 'I can do whatever' phase. I'm taking this '106 & Park' opportunity into full force. I'm really focused on doing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/i-m-in-a-i-can-do-whatever-phase-i-m-taking-this-106-park-opportunity/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/when-you-take-a-flower-in-your-hand-and-really-look-at-it-it-s-your/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [“For a moment I want to believe him. For a moment I want to sit on the floor and cry out the ocean lodged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/for-a-moment-i-want-to-believe-him-for-a-moment-i-want-to-sit-on-the/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [If I get a free moment, I want to get outside, play golf, go fishin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eads/if-i-get-a-free-moment-i-want-to-get-outside-play-golf-go-fishin/) [George Eads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eads/) > [For a single moment, I want to kiss you & tell you, baby please don't go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-a-single-moment-i-want-to-kiss-you-tell-you-baby-please-don-t-go/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It brings me back to the moment, and I want to live the moment with everything I’ve got.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/it-brings-me-back-to-the-moment-and-i-want-to-live-the-moment-with/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [That moment when you see someone and you want to talk to them so bad but you feel like its going to be awkward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rgclutch/that-moment-when-you-see-someone-and-you-want-to-talk-to-them-so-bad/) [RGclutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rgclutch/) > [It's important to seize the moment. If there's something you want to say, don't put it off, because you might miss your chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-harris/it-s-important-to-seize-the-moment-if-there-s-something-you-want-to/) [Rolf Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-harris/) > [For just one night, even if it's only a brief moment. I want to forget everything that was once us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-just-one-night-even-if-it-s-only-a-brief-moment-i-want-to-forget/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Peter Høeg > [“Time is something you have to hold on to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/time-is-something-you-have-to-hold-on-to/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“When you are in the company of people who look down upon themselves as though they were animals, you too become like an animal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/when-you-are-in-the-company-of-people-who-look-down-upon-themselves/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“With age I have voluntarily chosen certain limitations. I don't have the energy to start over again. To learn new skills or fight my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/with-age-i-have-voluntarily-chosen-certain-limitations-i-don-t-have/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“That was the way of the rule. They had so many to keep an eye on. As long as you kept a low profile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/that-was-the-way-of-the-rule-they-had-so-many-to-keep-an-eye-on-as/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“That was what we meant by science. That both question and answer are tied up with uncertainty, and that they are painful. But that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/that-was-what-we-meant-by-science-that-both-question-and-answer-are/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [I like him. I have a weakness for losers. Invalids, foreigners, the fat boy of the class, the ones nobody ever wants to dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/i-like-him-i-have-a-weakness-for-losers-invalids-foreigners-the-fat/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“There's no simple aritmetic for life's distribution of happiness and sorrow, no such thing as a standard share.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/there-s-no-simple-aritmetic-for-life-s-distribution-of-happiness-and/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“She said she had been thinking about the way you remembered your past. What you remembered, she said, was a string of events and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/she-said-she-had-been-thinking-about-the-way-you-remembered-your-past/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“The cookies combine butter and spices in such a way that you could eat a hundred of them and only realize how sick you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/the-cookies-combine-butter-and-spices-in-such-a-way-that-you-could/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [It's these small differences in people's karma that determine if we get up or remain lying on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/it-s-these-small-differences-in-people-s-karma-that-determine-if-we/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [There's a look of mischief in his eyes. 'Smilla. Why is it that such an elegant and petite girl like you has such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/there-s-a-look-of-mischief-in-his-eyes-smilla-why-is-it-that-such-an/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [When my mother didn't come back I realized that any moment could be the last. Nothing in life should simply be a passage from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/when-my-mother-didn-t-come-back-i-realized-that-any-moment-could-be/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [She was transparent, like a watercolor. As if she were about to dissolve in sound, in tones not yet created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/she-was-transparent-like-a-watercolor-as-if-she-were-about-to/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“As far as I'm concerned, you could send all the cars in the world through a compactor and shoot them out through the stratosphere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-you-could-send-all-the-cars-in-the-world/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [I don't fall in love anymore. Just like I don't get the mumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/i-don-t-fall-in-love-anymore-just-like-i-don-t-get-the-mumps/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) [Explore all 110 Peter Høeg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) ## More Discipline quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) [W.J. Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-turner/) > [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There in bed, happiness comes over me. Not like something that belongs to me, but like a wheel of fire rolling through the room and the world. For a moment I think I’ll manage to let it pass and be able to lie there, aware of what I have, and not wish for anything more. The next moment I want to hang on. I want it to continue. He has to lie beside me tomorrow, too. This is my chance. My only, my last chance. I swing my legs onto the floor. Now I’m panic-stricken. This is what I’ve been working to avoid for thirty-seven years. I’ve systematically practiced the only thing in the world that is worth learning. How to renounce. I’ve stopped hoping for anything. When experienced humility becomes an Olympic discipline, I’ll be on the national team. I’ve never had any patience for other people’s unhappy love affairs. 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