---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The waterwheel accepts water and turns…"
description: "\"The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away, weeping.\" — Rumi"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/rumi-56_accepting_the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-a_1945151.jpg"
---

#  The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away…

![“The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away, weeping.” quote by Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/rumi-56_accepting_the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-a_1945151.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/rumi-56_accepting_the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-a_1945151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/rumi-56_accepting_the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-a_1945151.jpg)

> “The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away, weeping.”

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The waterwheel absorbs water, turns, then releases it, expressing sorrow through its ceaseless giving.

**In simple terms:** A waterwheel takes in, works, and gives away, feeling sorrow.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the cycle of taking in, acting, and letting go.

Themes

nature spirituality cycle

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- gardening
- creative work
- emotional processing
- relationships

Key Concepts

sorrow self‑sacrifice flow

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you release what you give away?
- When does giving become draining?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize suffering without addressing personal boundaries.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/)

## Related quotes

> [I become a waterwheel, turning and tasting you, as long as water moves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-become-a-waterwheel-turning-and-tasting-you-as-long-as-water-moves/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“Ya think you's walkin' on water, but turns out you just got piss in your shoes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/ya-think-you-s-walkin-on-water-but-turns-out-you-just-got-piss-in/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a man’s two stretched arms. The timbers, braced and bolted with rusty iron were heavy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hansen/the-waterwheel-was-twice-a-man-s-height-wider-than-a-man-s-two/)

[Joseph Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hansen/)

> [“Since the water turns into Ice Different physical shapes the eye See but indeed their building blocks still remain same easy, (H2O) Farah Said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-said/since-the-water-turns-into-ice-different-physical-shapes-the-eye-see/)

farah Said

> [You left ground and sky weeping, mind and soul full of grief. No one can take your place in existence, or in absence. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-left-ground-and-sky-weeping-mind-and-soul-full-of-grief-no-one-2/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [You left ground and sky weeping, mind and soul full of grief. No one can take your place in existence or in absence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-left-ground-and-sky-weeping-mind-and-soul-full-of-grief-no-one/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“The cloud weeps, and then the garden sprouts. The baby cries, and the mother's milk flows. The nurse of creation has said, Let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-cloud-weeps-and-then-the-garden-sprouts-the-baby-cries-and-the/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [In this mob of I's inside, which one is me? Hear me out. I know I'm wandering, but don't start putting a lid on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/in-this-mob-of-i-s-inside-which-one-is-me-hear-me-out-i-know-i-m/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [No one can tell if I’m laughing or weeping. I wonder myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/no-one-can-tell-if-i-m-laughing-or-weeping-i-wonder-myself/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [And then theres always the crying and the weeping that we hear-children, women, even men. And these images and these sounds are always with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/and-then-theres-always-the-crying-and-the-weeping-that-we-hear/)

[Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/)

> [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird's life, it sings away its grief. I believe we could well follow the pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/instead-of-weeping-when-a-tragedy-occurs-in-a-songbird-s-life-it/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I do not know when I am more perfectly happy than when I am weeping for sin at the foot of the cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-do-not-know-when-i-am-more-perfectly-happy-than-when-i-am-weeping/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [Eating, drinking, sleeping a little laughter ! much weeping! Is that all ? Do not die here like a worm. Wake up! Attain immortal bliss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/eating-drinking-sleeping-a-little-laughter-much-weeping-is-that-all/)

[Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/)

> [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/)

[Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/)

## More by Rumi

> [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-morning-inside-you-waiting-to-burst-open-into-light/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you... This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/sometimes-you-hear-a-voice-through-the-door-calling-you-this-turning/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“You’ve so distracted me, your absence fans my love. Don’t ask how. Then you come near. “Do not…” I say, and “Do not…,” you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-ve-so-distracted-me-your-absence-fans-my-love-don-t-ask-how-then/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [Today, let us swim wildly, joyously in gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/today-let-us-swim-wildly-joyously-in-gratitude/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [We are born of love. Love is our mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-are-born-of-love-love-is-our-mother/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hid and show what's hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/water-stories-the-body-all-the-things-we-do-are-mediums-that-hid-and/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“I came back to You because I could not find the kind and decent things I found in You anywhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-came-back-to-you-because-i-could-not-find-the-kind-and-decent/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

[Explore all 1,818 Rumi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

## More Accepting quotes

> [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/)

[Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/)

> [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/)

[Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/)

> [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/)

[John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/)

> [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/)

[Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/)

Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away, weeping.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rumi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-and-gives-it-away-weeping/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accepting"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-and-gives-it-away-weeping/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/rumi-56_accepting_the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-a_1945151.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/rumi-56_accepting_the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-a_1945151.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/rumi-56_accepting_the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-a_1945151.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away, weeping.” — Rumi",
                "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": "Rumi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The waterwheel accepts water and turns...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-and-gives-it-away-weeping/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-waterwheel-accepts-water-and-turns-and-gives-it-away-weeping/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
