--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all have time to expend on what is…" description: "\"“We all have time to expend on what is essential to our nature.”\" — Thornton Wilder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thornton-wilder-1495_nature_we-all-have-time-to-expend-on-what-is-es_3175937.jpg" --- # We all have time to expend on what is essential to our… ![“We all have time to expend on what is essential to our nature.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thornton-wilder-1495_nature_we-all-have-time-to-expend-on-what-is-es_3175937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thornton-wilder-1495_nature_we-all-have-time-to-expend-on-what-is-es_3175937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thornton-wilder-1495_nature_we-all-have-time-to-expend-on-what-is-es_3175937.jpg) > ““We all have time to expend on what is essential to our nature.”” [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must prioritize what aligns with our true selves, rather than waste time on trivialities. **In simple terms:** Focus on what truly matters. Key Takeaway Identify and pursue your essential purpose. Themes purpose priorities self‑knowledge Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - personal relationships - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism human nature Questions to Reflect On - What does “essential to our nature” mean for you? - How can you protect that time? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Essential Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essential-nature-623154/) [Expend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expend-652091/) [Expend Essential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expend-essential-5800339/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Expend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-expend-1244838/) ## Related quotes > [We spend so much time and expend so much energy trying to gain a sense of worth from othersultimately, only God's opinion of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-j-grenz/we-spend-so-much-time-and-expend-so-much-energy-trying-to-gain-a/) [Stanley J. Grenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-j-grenz/) > [To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/to-spend-time-is-to-pass-it-in-a-specified-manner-to-waste-time-is-to/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Nihilists expend everything and everyone except themselves. They are the indispensable men, without whom the world might try to live almost happily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark-macinnes/nihilists-expend-everything-and-everyone-except-themselves-they-are/) [Helen Clark MacInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark-macinnes/) > [How very popular to say, 'spend more on this, expend more on that.' And of course, we all have our favorite causes; I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/how-very-popular-to-say-spend-more-on-this-expend-more-on-that-and-of/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We all have our essential nature. 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Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [“What is more boundless than imagination? What is more primordial than the art of creation? 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Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [No matter how confused or deluded we may be at the moment, the underlying and essential nature of our being is clear and pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-matter-how-confused-or-deluded-we-may-be-at-the-moment-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you are open to receiving the essential nature of life, its intelligence will flow through you like a great river.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-are-open-to-receiving-the-essential-nature-of-life-its/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) ## More by Thornton Wilder > [“He respected the slight nervous shadow that crossed her face when he came too near her. 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It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/without-your-wounds-where-would-your-power-be-it-is-your-melancholy/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [There's nothing like mixing with woman to bring out all the foolishness in a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/there-s-nothing-like-mixing-with-woman-to-bring-out-all-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) [Explore all 232 Thornton Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. 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