--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What exactly did people do when they had…" description: "\"“What exactly did people do when they had all the time in the world and could do whatever they liked? (p 153)”\" — Sharon Creech" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/sharon-creech-8614_busyness_what-exactly-did-people-do-when-they-had_2810734.jpg" --- # What exactly did people do when they had all the time in… ![“What exactly did people do when they had all the time in the world and could do whatever they liked? (p 153)” quote by Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/sharon-creech-8614_busyness_what-exactly-did-people-do-when-they-had_2810734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/sharon-creech-8614_busyness_what-exactly-did-people-do-when-they-had_2810734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/sharon-creech-8614_busyness_what-exactly-did-people-do-when-they-had_2810734.jpg) > ““What exactly did people do when they had all the time in the world and could do whatever they liked? (p 153)”” [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People historically used free time for varied pursuits. **In simple terms:** People used free time for many activities. Key Takeaway Explore leisure creatively. Themes leisure history creativity Mood inquisitive inspired Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - hobbies - volunteering - learning - artistic projects Key Concepts anthropology social history Questions to Reflect On - What would you do with unlimited time? - How have past societies valued leisure? A Different Perspective May ignore constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Busyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busyness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [What exactly did people do when they had all the time in the world and could do whatever they liked?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-exactly-did-people-do-when-they-had-all-the-time-in-the-world/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I wish everybody in the world liked me, but a lot of them don't. 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It was a celebration of being alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/by-the-time-i-got-to-the-bottom-i-understood-what-guthrie-ment-when/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Something I am wondering: if you cannot hear do you have no sounds in your head? Do you see a silent movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/something-i-am-wondering-if-you-cannot-hear-do-you-have-no-sounds-in/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“But I thought about all the things that had to have spun into place in order for us to be alive and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/but-i-thought-about-all-the-things-that-had-to-have-spun-into-place/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [And what did I think when I was small and why did I forget? And what else will I forget when I grow older?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/and-what-did-i-think-when-i-was-small-and-why-did-i-forget-and-what/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I once fell 20 feet from a tree, was knocked unconscious, and when I picked myself up and straggled home, my parents thought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-once-fell-20-feet-from-a-tree-was-knocked-unconscious-and-when-i/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I wondered about Mrs. Winterbottom and what she meant about living a tiny life. If she didn't like all that baking and cleaning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-wondered-about-mrs-winterbottom-and-what-she-meant-about-living-a/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Sometimes when you are trying not to think about something it keeps popping back in your head you can't help it you think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/sometimes-when-you-are-trying-not-to-think-about-something-it-keeps/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“What's important is the ambition that results from our weakness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-s-important-is-the-ambition-that-results-from-our-weakness/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I started thinking about life insurance and how nice it would be if you could get insurance that your life would be happy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-started-thinking-about-life-insurance-and-how-nice-it-would-be-if/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“I could tell you an extensively strange story, I warned. 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You can't cage a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/a-person-isn-t-a-bird-you-can-t-cage-a-person/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [What I have since realized is that if people expect you to be brave, sometimes you pretend that you are, even when you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-people-expect-you-to-be-brave/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I am drawn to the ways in which we are shaped by people and by place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-am-drawn-to-the-ways-in-which-we-are-shaped-by-people-and-by-place/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) [Explore all 79 Sharon Creech quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## More Busyness quotes > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The worst fear of the race yes, the world suddenly transformed into a senseless nightmare, horrible dissolution of things. Nothing compares, even oblivion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-worst-fear-of-the-race-yes-the-world-suddenly-transformed-into-a/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [Busyness kills more Christians than bullets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/busyness-kills-more-christians-than-bullets/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [Busyness is a common cure of lonliness but it's like trying to heal a toothache by taking your mind off it. Busyness is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/busyness-is-a-common-cure-of-lonliness-but-it-s-like-trying-to-heal-a/) Senoraroy > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/we-become-so-caught-up-in-the-busyness-of-our-lives-were-we-to-step/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Today we live in a world that judges its achievements by speed and busyness. Â… We are so busy making things happen that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/today-we-live-in-a-world-that-judges-its-achievements-by-speed-and/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“A person can hurry through or sleep walk through life, but whenever they stop to catch their breath or awaken from a long nap,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/a-person-can-hurry-through-or-sleep-walk-through-life-but-whenever/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“A step you'll need to take is to stop buying into the notion that busyness equates to importance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-step-you-ll-need-to-take-is-to-stop-buying-into-the-notion-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Busyness has become such a social value that we will even create it, we will create that sense of breathlessness because we think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-schulte/busyness-has-become-such-a-social-value-that-we-will-even-create-it/) [Brigid Schulte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-schulte/) > [Extreme busyness is a symptom of deficient vitality, and a faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/extreme-busyness-is-a-symptom-of-deficient-vitality-and-a-faculty-for/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“So don’t ignore the physical danger of busyness. Just remember the most serious threats are spiritual. When we are crazy busy, we put our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/so-don-t-ignore-the-physical-danger-of-busyness-just-remember-the/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [“Learn the difference between busyness and accomplishments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kim/learn-the-difference-between-busyness-and-accomplishments/) John Kim > [How small we humans are. All our scrambling around, trying to buttress ourselves against death. All our efforts to insulate ourselves against uncertainty with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-horan/how-small-we-humans-are-all-our-scrambling-around-trying-to-buttress/) [Nancy Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-horan/) > [Extreme busyness, whether at school or college, kirk or market, is a symptom of deficient vitality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/extreme-busyness-whether-at-school-or-college-kirk-or-market-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Browse all 108 Busyness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busyness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What exactly did people do when they had all the time in the world and could do whatever they liked? 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