--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the plains of hesitation bleach the…" description: "\"On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of decision, sat down to wait, and waiting died.\" — Sam Ewing" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-ewing-12918_bones_on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-b_198873.jpg" --- # On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless… ![“On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of decision, sat down to wait, and waiting died.” quote by Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-ewing-12918_bones_on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-b_198873.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-ewing-12918_bones_on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-b_198873.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-ewing-12918_bones_on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-b_198873.jpg) > “On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of decision, sat down to wait, and waiting died.” [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Indecision kills potential; waiting leads to missed opportunities and loss. **In simple terms:** Hesitation causes loss. Key Takeaway Act decisively. Themes decision action potential Mood urgent reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - relationships - health decisions - investment timing Key Concepts Opportunity cost psychology of waiting Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance reflection with action? - What small step can break the paralysis? A Different Perspective Waiting may be necessary for gathering information. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Hesitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hesitation/) [Plains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plains/) ## Related quotes > [Upon the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions, who when on the dawn of victory paused to rest, and there resting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dretschmer/upon-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-bones-of-countless-millions/) John Dretschmer > [On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/on-the-plains-of-hesitation-lie-the-blackened-bones-of-countless/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [Countless millions who have walked this earth before us have gone through this, so this is just an experience we all share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-bundy/countless-millions-who-have-walked-this-earth-before-us-have-gone/) [Ted Bundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-bundy/) > [My story is the story of countless millions of children whose families and nations were torn apart for money in the name of Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/my-story-is-the-story-of-countless-millions-of-children-whose/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) > [I'm so thankful for my one year at regular high school in White Plains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-damiano/i-m-so-thankful-for-my-one-year-at-regular-high-school-in-white-plains/) [Jennifer Damiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-damiano/) > [My own great-grandfather suffered so much from asthma that he had to walk a mile or two behind the covered wagons crossing the plains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/my-own-great-grandfather-suffered-so-much-from-asthma-that-he-had-to/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [The government sends low-flying helicopters to chase the horses into corrals and then takes them from the plains of the American West to federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-velez-mitchell/the-government-sends-low-flying-helicopters-to-chase-the-horses-into/) [Jane Velez-Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-velez-mitchell/) > [What, ultimately, is Greece if it is not the people who live in this country? It's not the mountains and the plains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-tsipras/what-ultimately-is-greece-if-it-is-not-the-people-who-live-in-this/) [Alexis Tsipras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-tsipras/) > [A Pike, in the California dialect, is a native of Missouri, Arkansas, Northern Texas, or Southern Illinois. The first emigrants that came over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/a-pike-in-the-california-dialect-is-a-native-of-missouri-arkansas/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [You can find dozens of books about people taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad. I knew I had to do something different to cross Siberia. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-frazier/you-can-find-dozens-of-books-about-people-taking-the-trans-siberian/) [Ian Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-frazier/) > [Death and worse happened on the plains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/death-and-worse-happened-on-the-plains/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [As a young girl, I saw commitment in my grandmother, who helped Grandpa homestead our farm on the Kansas prairie. Somehow they outlasted the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/as-a-young-girl-i-saw-commitment-in-my-grandmother-who-helped-grandpa/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [“These men flocked to the plains, and were rather stimulated than retarded by the danger of an Indian war. This was another potent agency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-sherman/these-men-flocked-to-the-plains-and-were-rather-stimulated-than/) [William T. Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-sherman/) > [Centuries-old habitats such as coral gardens are destroyed in an instant by bottom trawls, pulverized by weighted nets into barren plains. And global carbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/centuries-old-habitats-such-as-coral-gardens-are-destroyed-in-an/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [My great-grandmother grew up in a sod house in Nebraska. When she was a tiny girl - in other words, only four human generations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/my-great-grandmother-grew-up-in-a-sod-house-in-nebraska-when-she-was/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) ## More by Sam Ewing > [Success is when your name is in everything but the telephone directory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/success-is-when-your-name-is-in-everything-but-the-telephone-directory/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [Youth is when you think you'll live forever. Old age is when you wonder how you've lived so long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/youth-is-when-you-think-you-ll-live-forever-old-age-is-when-you/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [The sight of home looks best after you've traveled hundreds of miles to get away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/the-sight-of-home-looks-best-after-you-ve-traveled-hundreds-of-miles/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [We are all born into the world with nothing. Everything we acquire after that is profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/we-are-all-born-into-the-world-with-nothing-everything-we-acquire/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [Some people are much like blisters-they don't show up until the work is done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/some-people-are-much-like-blisters-they-don-t-show-up-until-the-work/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [If you lend someone 20 dollars and never see that person again, it's probably worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/if-you-lend-someone-20-dollars-and-never-see-that-person-again-it-s/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [Crime in the cities is very discouraging. Apartment house dwellers have locks, bolts, chains and bars on their doors. It takes a tenant longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/crime-in-the-cities-is-very-discouraging-apartment-house-dwellers/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [The fastest way to meet new people is to pick up somebody else's change at a cocktail bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/the-fastest-way-to-meet-new-people-is-to-pick-up-somebody-else-s/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [In many instances, marriage vows would be more accurate if the phrase were changed to 'Until debt do us part'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/in-many-instances-marriage-vows-would-be-more-accurate-if-the-phrase/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [Don't drive as if you own the road; drive as if you own the car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/don-t-drive-as-if-you-own-the-road-drive-as-if-you-own-the-car/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [Success has a simple formula: do your best, and people may like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/success-has-a-simple-formula-do-your-best-and-people-may-like-it/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [It's not the hours you put in your work that counts, it's the work you put in the hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/it-s-not-the-hours-you-put-in-your-work-that-counts-it-s-the-work-you/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/inflation-is-when-you-pay-fifteen-dollars-for-the-ten-dollar-haircut/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [An expert is someone called in at the last minute to share the blame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/an-expert-is-someone-called-in-at-the-last-minute-to-share-the-blame/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [The brain is like a TV set; when it goes blank, it's a good idea to turn off the sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/the-brain-is-like-a-tv-set-when-it-goes-blank-it-s-a-good-idea-to/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) [Explore all 52 Sam Ewing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) ## More Bones quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. 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To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/review-v-t-to-set-your-wisdom-holding-not-a-doubt-of-it-although-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. 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Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) Browse all 2,113 Bones quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of decision, sat down to wait, and waiting died.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Ewing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-bones-of-countless-millions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bones" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-bones-of-countless-millions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-ewing-12918_bones_on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-b_198873.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-ewing-12918_bones_on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-b_198873.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-ewing-12918_bones_on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-b_198873.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of decision, sat down to…” — Sam Ewing", "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": "Sam Ewing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On the plains of hesitation bleach...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-bones-of-countless-millions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/on-the-plains-of-hesitation-bleach-the-bones-of-countless-millions/#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 } } ] } ```