--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's easy to operate under the illusion…" description: "\"It's easy to operate under the illusion that what we are doing is so important we cannot stop doing it. ... Stopping is a spiritual act. It is the refu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/sue-monk-kidd-404_drink_it-s-easy-to-operate-under-the-illusion_3062575.png" --- # It's easy to operate under the illusion that what we are… ![“It's easy to operate under the illusion that what we are doing is so important we cannot stop doing it. ... Stopping is a spiritual act. It is the refuge where we drink life in.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/sue-monk-kidd-404_drink_it-s-easy-to-operate-under-the-illusion_3062575.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/sue-monk-kidd-404_drink_it-s-easy-to-operate-under-the-illusion_3062575.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/sue-monk-kidd-404_drink_it-s-easy-to-operate-under-the-illusion_3062575.png) > “It's easy to operate under the illusion that what we are doing is so important we cannot stop doing it. ... Stopping is a spiritual act. It is the refuge where we drink life in.” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often cling to tasks believing they are essential, but pausing can be a spiritual practice that restores vitality. **In simple terms:** Stopping can renew life. Key Takeaway Allow yourself regular breaks to recharge. Themes mindfulness spirituality balance Mood calm thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - workplace stress - creative blocks - daily routines - mental health Key Concepts presence detachment Questions to Reflect On - When did you last pause to breathe? - What does “refuge” mean to you in daily life? A Different Perspective Constant activity may be mistaken for productivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) ## Related quotes > [Stopping is a spiritual art. It is the refuge where we drink life in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/stopping-is-a-spiritual-art-it-is-the-refuge-where-we-drink-life-in/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Writing is a deeply spiritual act that can have a profound effect upon the practitioner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-theroux/writing-is-a-deeply-spiritual-act-that-can-have-a-profound-effect/) [Phyllis Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-theroux/) > [“The 'whirling dance' is actually a deeply spiritual act of 'zikr' the rememberence of the Creator through physical movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-arouet/the-whirling-dance-is-actually-a-deeply-spiritual-act-of-zikr-the/) Joseph Arouet > [I look on trade and every mechanical craft as education also. But let me discriminate what is precious herein. There is in each ofthese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-look-on-trade-and-every-mechanical-craft-as-education-also-but-let/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I believe that the most spiritual act is the most practical in the true sense of the term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adgjm-ptwsenoraroy/i-believe-that-the-most-spiritual-act-is-the-most-practical-in-the/) Adgjm/ptwSenoraroy > [Stop doing what is wrong, and do good... Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-doing-what-is-wrong-and-do-good-look-for-peace-and-do-all-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “\[T\]he hidden linguistic universe of companianate couples... rests entirely on one generative phrase: 'Would you please stop doing that.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kipnis/t-he-hidden-linguistic-universe-of-companianate-couples-rests/) [Laura Kipnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kipnis/) > [I wonder at what point do you stop doing what you think is right and you start doing what the majority of the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-pelley/i-wonder-at-what-point-do-you-stop-doing-what-you-think-is-right-and/) [Scott Pelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-pelley/) > [Sometimes people don't notice the things you do for them until you stop doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israa-ali/sometimes-people-don-t-notice-the-things-you-do-for-them-until-you/) [Israa Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israa-ali/) > [Success is ever so dangerous. Once you rise to success, it's so easy to stop doing the things that made you successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/success-is-ever-so-dangerous-once-you-rise-to-success-it-s-so-easy-to/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [Sometimes people don't notice things we do for them until we stop doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan-sharma/sometimes-people-don-t-notice-things-we-do-for-them-until-we-stop/) [Sushan Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan-sharma/) > [Whatever excites you, go do it. Whatever drains you, stop doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/whatever-excites-you-go-do-it-whatever-drains-you-stop-doing-it/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [“It’s usually not a good idea to stop doing features entirely, to “clean up” the code. It might be, but I’d bet it isn’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-usually-not-a-good-idea-to-stop-doing-features-entirely-to-clean/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't let nobody try to stop y'all from doing what y'all trying to do man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-rock/don-t-let-nobody-try-to-stop-y-all-from-doing-what-y-all-trying-to-do/) [Jay Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-rock/) > [If you're in a meeting and a man talks loudly over you, rather than copying that behaviour and normalising it, what you could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-foster/if-you-re-in-a-meeting-and-a-man-talks-loudly-over-you-rather-than/) [Dawn Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-foster/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. For them I dove with arms outstretched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-mermaids-came-to-me-finally-in-the-pink-hours-of-my-life-they-are/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [I eventually found that the soul is more than an immortal commodity to win and save. It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Drink quotes > [When you drink from the stream remember the spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/when-you-drink-from-the-stream-remember-the-spring/) Chinese Proverbs > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I do a lot of vocal exercises and drink hot tea, which I hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darci-lynne-farmer/i-do-a-lot-of-vocal-exercises-and-drink-hot-tea-which-i-hate/) [Darci Lynne Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darci-lynne-farmer/) > [“Never date a man who can’t out-drink you in tequila.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-l-maxwell/never-date-a-man-who-can-t-out-drink-you-in-tequila/) [Gina L. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-l-maxwell/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Obediently, I squash into a corner with a glass of cider. A chalkboard menu declares that the special of the day is stargazy pie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-madeleine/obediently-i-squash-into-a-corner-with-a-glass-of-cider-a-chalkboard/) [Laura Madeleine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-madeleine/) > [I still get nervous about singing. I drink tea with honey and lemon before every concert. And I need to have scented candles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-still-get-nervous-about-singing-i-drink-tea-with-honey-and-lemon/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [“I don't drink since it ruined the best thing I ever had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-lauren/i-don-t-drink-since-it-ruined-the-best-thing-i-ever-had/) [Kimberly Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-lauren/) > [Before everyshow I do like a thousand... I drink ten glasses of water!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-brothers/before-everyshow-i-do-like-a-thousand-i-drink-ten-glasses-of-water/) [Jonas Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-brothers/) > [I've never even been into those supplements or any of that. I don't even drink energy shakes. I'm not into that kind of stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/i-ve-never-even-been-into-those-supplements-or-any-of-that-i-don-t/) [Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/) > [I get pretty focused when I start working on something. And I drink a lot of water, way more than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-woodman/i-get-pretty-focused-when-i-start-working-on-something-and-i-drink-a/) [Nick Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-woodman/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) Browse all 5,653 Drink quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's easy to operate under the illusion that what we are doing is so important we cannot stop doing it. ... Stopping is a spiritual act. 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