---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I sat up, sliding them off, and the quiet…"
description: "\"I sat up, sliding them off, and the quiet around me did not, for once, seem empty and vast. Instead, for the first time in a while, it felt like it alr..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/sarah-dessen-110_empty_i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet_62081.png"
---

#  I sat up, sliding them off, and the quiet around me did…

![“I sat up, sliding them off, and the quiet around me did not, for once, seem empty and vast. Instead, for the first time in a while, it felt like it already was full.” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/sarah-dessen-110_empty_i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet_62081.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/sarah-dessen-110_empty_i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet_62081.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/sarah-dessen-110_empty_i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet_62081.png)

> “I sat up, sliding them off, and the quiet around me did not, for once, seem empty and vast. Instead, for the first time in a while, it felt like it already was full.”

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

## About This Quote

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

The narrator experiences a shift from perceiving silence as void to feeling it as already brimming with presence, highlighting an inner change in perception.

**In simple terms:** Silence can feel full, not empty.

Key Takeaway

Perception transforms emptiness into richness.

Themes

perception mindfulness solitude inner peace presence

Mood

contemplative hopeful

Type

narrative reflective

When to use this quote

- quiet moments after loss
- early morning reflection
- post‑meditation
- after a breakup
- during a solitary walk

Key Concepts

subjective experience environmental awareness

Practical Applications

- writing evocative prose
- therapeutic journaling

Questions to Reflect On

- How does changing perception alter emotional weight?
- When have you felt emptiness become richness?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [I’m me, and at the same time not me. That’s what it felt like. A very still, quiet feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-me-and-at-the-same-time-not-me-that-s-what-it-felt-like-a-very/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“It then occurred to him that he had never had a better time. He felt fifty years younger. He also felt like a schoolboy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/it-then-occurred-to-him-that-he-had-never-had-a-better-time-he-felt/)

[Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/)

> [I would never say out loud that I am raising my children alone, but a lot of the time it has felt like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-ross/i-would-never-say-out-loud-that-i-am-raising-my-children-alone-but-a/)

[Liberty Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-ross/)

> [instead, we just sat there, together but really apart, watching a show about a stranger and all her secrets, while keeping our own to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/instead-we-just-sat-there-together-but-really-apart-watching-a-show/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [But for now, I just sat there on the bed and listened to my song. The one that had been written for me by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-for-now-i-just-sat-there-on-the-bed-and-listened-to-my-song-the/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [We sat there, not talking, for a few minutes. He ate the Moon Pie; only skinny people can scarf down junk food like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/we-sat-there-not-talking-for-a-few-minutes-he-ate-the-moon-pie-only/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [Rogerson," I asked him sweetly as we sat watching a video in the pool house, "where would I find the pelagic zone?" "In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/rogerson-i-asked-him-sweetly-as-we-sat-watching-a-video-in-the-pool/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [My mother has always been the point I calibrated myself against. In knowing where she was, I could always locate myself, as well. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/my-mother-has-always-been-the-point-i-calibrated-myself-against-in/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [In myths and movies, the mentor can play a few roles: they bring the hero a magical gift, teach them how to use a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-duarte/in-myths-and-movies-the-mentor-can-play-a-few-roles-they-bring-the/)

[Nancy Duarte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-duarte/)

> [“Anne's horizons had closed in since the night she had sat there after coming home from Queen's; but if the path set before her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anne-s-horizons-had-closed-in-since-the-night-she-had-sat-there-after/)

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

> [Deep in the shady sadness of a vale Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn, Far from the fiery noon and eve's one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/deep-in-the-shady-sadness-of-a-vale-far-sunken-from-the-healthy/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [“A man was asleep in my bed for the first time ever, and it felt anything but wrong. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/a-man-was-asleep-in-my-bed-for-the-first-time-ever-and-it-felt/)

[Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/)

> [Time felt slower when we do nothing but wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/time-felt-slower-when-we-do-nothing-but-wait/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [There came a time when I felt I was not going to be satisfied with life unless I could write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/there-came-a-time-when-i-felt-i-was-not-going-to-be-satisfied-with/)

[James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/)

> [There was a time when I felt that I was not getting work as per my potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-bhasin/there-was-a-time-when-i-felt-that-i-was-not-getting-work-as-per-my/)

[Neha Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-bhasin/)

## More by Sarah Dessen

> [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [“if i were a book i would be so open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/if-i-were-a-book-i-would-be-so-open/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [Harder to get in than out, like so little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/harder-to-get-in-than-out-like-so-little-else/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [“At times, I found myself questioning his very existence, even though I knew I had, in fact, spotted him, with my own eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/at-times-i-found-myself-questioning-his-very-existence-even-though-i/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/no-relationship-is-perfect-ever-there-are-always-some-ways-you-have/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [When you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/when-you-had-to-do-something-you-had-to-do-it-and-eventually-if-you/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [the truth about forever is that it is happening right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-truth-about-forever-is-that-it-is-happening-right-now/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [I jammed my hand in my jacket pocket, bracing myself fo the next hit, and fel something. Something grainy and samll, sticking to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-jammed-my-hand-in-my-jacket-pocket-bracing-myself-fo-the-next-hit/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [“But maybe that isn't so bad. You can't love anyone that way more than once in a lifetime. It's too hard and it hurts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-maybe-that-isn-t-so-bad-you-can-t-love-anyone-that-way-more-than/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-was-just-one-night-one-chance-to-vary-and-see-where-it-took-me/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [“For me, however, it was a mix of the two, this constant push and pull. I loved it here. But I'd been in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/for-me-however-it-was-a-mix-of-the-two-this-constant-push-and-pull-i/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [I think whenever a writer is really enjoying themselves and liking what they are doing, that shows on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-think-whenever-a-writer-is-really-enjoying-themselves-and-liking/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

[Explore all 1,251 Sarah Dessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

## More Empty quotes

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/)

[Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/)

> [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/)

[Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/)

> [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/)

[Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/)

> [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/)

Jamgon Kongtrul

> [Education turns an empty mind into an open mind. It turns information into behavioural transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-khera/education-turns-an-empty-mind-into-an-open-mind-it-turns-information/)

[Shiv Khera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-khera/)

> [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/)

[Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/)

> [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [I don't see the future as bright, language-wise. I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/)

[Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/)

> [I get letters every year from women who think Valentine's Day is an empty exercise, but are ironically pretty exercised when their boyfriends neglect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-get-letters-every-year-from-women-who-think-valentine-s-day-is-an/)

[Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/)

Browse all 3,081 Empty quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I sat up, sliding them off, and the quiet around me did not, for once, seem empty and vast. Instead, for the first time in a while, it felt like it already was full.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sarah Dessen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet-around-me-did-not-for-once/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Empty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet-around-me-did-not-for-once/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/sarah-dessen-110_empty_i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet_62081.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/sarah-dessen-110_empty_i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet_62081.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/sarah-dessen-110_empty_i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet_62081.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I sat up, sliding them off, and the quiet around me did not, for once, seem empty and vast. Instead, for the…” — Sarah Dessen",
                "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": "Sarah Dessen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I sat up, sliding them off,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet-around-me-did-not-for-once/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-sat-up-sliding-them-off-and-the-quiet-around-me-did-not-for-once/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
