--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It takes time for the absent to assume…" description: "\"It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts.\" — Sidonie Gabrielle Colette" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-1197_absence_it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-t_2161800.jpg" --- # It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in… ![“It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts.” quote by Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-1197_absence_it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-t_2161800.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-1197_absence_it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-t_2161800.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-1197_absence_it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-t_2161800.jpg) > “It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts.” [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our minds slowly form a clearer picture of those who are not present, revealing their true nature over time. **In simple terms:** Absence lets true character emerge gradually. Key Takeaway Observe how distance reveals character. Themes perception absence character memory Mood nostalgic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - long-distance relationships - grief - reflection on missing people Key Concepts psychology social cognition Questions to Reflect On - How does distance change your view of someone? - Do you notice new traits over time? A Different Perspective The mind may idealize or distort absent individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts. After death they take on a firmer outline and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-their-true-shape-in-our-2/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [What a wonderful thing it is that drop of seed, from which we are produced, bears in itself the impressions, not only of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/what-a-wonderful-thing-it-is-that-drop-of-seed-from-which-we-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“How much better things would be if we all tried to mold and shape our own thoughts and actions rather than those of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-miller/how-much-better-things-would-be-if-we-all-tried-to-mold-and-shape-our/) [John G. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-miller/) > [Ultimately the first, best step in getting your work noticed is to write good work. If people don't engage in your writing, no amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-scalzi/ultimately-the-first-best-step-in-getting-your-work-noticed-is-to/) [John Scalzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-scalzi/) > [Fear breeds upon itself because it is a hermaphrodite capable of endless reproduction. Fear is a contagious disease, spreading from its first victim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/fear-breeds-upon-itself-because-it-is-a-hermaphrodite-capable-of/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [Everything requires time. It is the only truly universal condition. All work takes place in time and uses up time. Yet most people take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/everything-requires-time-it-is-the-only-truly-universal-condition-all/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Eventually, it is found out but it takes time especially in the conditions when communication is difficult, when the enemy is making it extremely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-slovo/eventually-it-is-found-out-but-it-takes-time-especially-in-the/) [Joe Slovo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-slovo/) > [Nearly two and a half million people die every year that are on the voter rolls. So it takes time to get dead people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/nearly-two-and-a-half-million-people-die-every-year-that-are-on-the/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [Emotional healing is almost always a process. It takes time. There is a very important reason for this. Our heavenly Father is not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-mcclung/emotional-healing-is-almost-always-a-process-it-takes-time-there-is-a/) [Floyd McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-mcclung/) > [It takes time to get a dance right, to create something memorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/it-takes-time-to-get-a-dance-right-to-create-something-memorable/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [The playfulness that I talk about comes very slowly. You cannot just jump out of your seriousness which you have accumulated for lives. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-playfulness-that-i-talk-about-comes-very-slowly-you-cannot-just/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It takes time for an acorn to turn into an oak, but the oak is already implied in the acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-takes-time-for-an-acorn-to-turn-into-an-oak-but-the-oak-is-already/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [It's fun chasing boys, especially when you're young, but I think it takes time and life experience to notice the other boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reese-witherspoon/it-s-fun-chasing-boys-especially-when-you-re-young-but-i-think-it/) [Reese Witherspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reese-witherspoon/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Debunking bad science should be constant obligation of the science community, even if it takes time away from serious research or seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/debunking-bad-science-should-be-constant-obligation-of-the-science/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) ## More by Sidonie Gabrielle Colette > [I love my past, I love my present. I am not ashamed of what I have had, and I am not sad because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/i-love-my-past-i-love-my-present-i-am-not-ashamed-of-what-i-have-had/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [You do not notice changes in what is always before you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/you-do-not-notice-changes-in-what-is-always-before-you/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/our-perfect-companions-never-have-fewer-than-four-feet/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [The faults of husbands are often caused by the excess virtues of their wives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/the-faults-of-husbands-are-often-caused-by-the-excess-virtues-of/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [Look for a long time at what pleases you, and a longer time at what pains you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you-and-a-longer-time-at-what/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [I believe there are more urgent and honorable occupations than the incomparable waste of time we call suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/i-believe-there-are-more-urgent-and-honorable-occupations-than-the/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [Is suffering so very serious? I have come to doubt it. It may be quite childish, a sort of undignified pastime I'm referring to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/is-suffering-so-very-serious-i-have-come-to-doubt-it-it-may-be-quite/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [No temptation can ever be measured by the value of its object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/no-temptation-can-ever-be-measured-by-the-value-of-its-object/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [A happy childhood is poor preparation for human contacts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/a-happy-childhood-is-poor-preparation-for-human-contacts/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [I've entered the world of wine without any professional training, but a definite appetite for good bottles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/i-ve-entered-the-world-of-wine-without-any-professional-training-but/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [There is no need to waste pity on young girls who are having their moments of disillusionment, for in another moment they will recover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/there-is-no-need-to-waste-pity-on-young-girls-who-are-having-their/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [Jealousy is not at all low, but it catches us humbled and bowed down, at first sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/jealousy-is-not-at-all-low-but-it-catches-us-humbled-and-bowed-down/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [A pretty little collection of weaknesses and a terror of spiders are our indispensable stock-in-trade with the men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/a-pretty-little-collection-of-weaknesses-and-a-terror-of-spiders-are/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [By means of an image we are often able to hold on to our lost belongings. But it is the desperateness of losing which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/by-means-of-an-image-we-are-often-able-to-hold-on-to-our-lost/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [By an image we hold on to our lost treasures, but it is the wrenching loss that forms the image, composes, binds the bouquet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/by-an-image-we-hold-on-to-our-lost-treasures-but-it-is-the-wrenching/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) [Explore all 57 Sidonie Gabrielle Colette quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sidonie Gabrielle Colette" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-their-true-shape-in-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-their-true-shape-in-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-1197_absence_it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-t_2161800.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-1197_absence_it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-t_2161800.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-1197_absence_it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-t_2161800.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts.” — Sidonie Gabrielle Colette", "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": "Sidonie Gabrielle Colette", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It takes time for the absent...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-their-true-shape-in-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/it-takes-time-for-the-absent-to-assume-their-true-shape-in-our/#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 } } ] } ```