--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could happily lean on a gate all the…" description: "\"I could happily lean on a gate all the livelong day, chatting to passers-by about the wind and the rain. I do a lot of gate-leaning while I am supposed..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/tom-hodgkinson-2852_bed_i-could-happily-lean-on-a-gate-all-the-l_2666201.png" --- # I could happily lean on a gate all the livelong day… ![“I could happily lean on a gate all the livelong day, chatting to passers-by about the wind and the rain. I do a lot of gate-leaning while I am supposed to be gardening; instead of hoeing, I lean on the gate, stare at the vegetable beds and ponder.” quote by Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/tom-hodgkinson-2852_bed_i-could-happily-lean-on-a-gate-all-the-l_2666201.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/tom-hodgkinson-2852_bed_i-could-happily-lean-on-a-gate-all-the-l_2666201.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/tom-hodgkinson-2852_bed_i-could-happily-lean-on-a-gate-all-the-l_2666201.png) > “I could happily lean on a gate all the livelong day, chatting to passers-by about the wind and the rain. I do a lot of gate-leaning while I am supposed to be gardening; instead of hoeing, I lean on the gate, stare at the vegetable beds and ponder.” [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leisure can become an excuse for avoidance, turning idle time into procrastination. **In simple terms:** Idle time often hides avoidance. Key Takeaway Recognize when relaxation becomes avoidance. Themes leisure procrastination mindfulness Mood reflective lighthearted Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - creative work - personal projects Key Concepts habit formation self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What tasks are you avoiding? - How can you balance rest and productivity? A Different Perspective Leisure without purpose can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Chatting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chatting/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Gardening Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening-instead-2467263/) [Gate Leaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gate-leaning-2467262/) [Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gates/) [Leaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaning/) [Pondering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pondering/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Supposed Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-gardening-2467264/) [Vegetables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vegetables/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [When walking, you see things that you miss in a motor car or on the train. You give your mind space to ponder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/when-walking-you-see-things-that-you-miss-in-a-motor-car-or-on-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [“Some people would regard people who look like they do as ugly if they did not look like them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-would-regard-people-who-look-like-they-do-as-ugly-if-they/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Nothing else so destroys the power to stand alone as the habit of leaning upon others. If you lean, you will never be strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/nothing-else-so-destroys-the-power-to-stand-alone-as-the-habit-of/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/a-mother-is-not-a-person-to-lean-on-but-a-person-to-make-leaning/) [Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/) > [I've always believed that parents are not for leaning upon, but rather exist to make leaning unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/i-ve-always-believed-that-parents-are-not-for-leaning-upon-but-rather/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Slouching or leaning back may send the wrong signals. When you sit down for a formal interview, lean forward to show interest and active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-minshew/slouching-or-leaning-back-may-send-the-wrong-signals-when-you-sit/) [Kathryn Minshew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-minshew/) > [No one can let you down if you're not leaning on them. People can't hurt you unless you allow them to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-can-let-you-down-if-you-re-not-leaning-on-them-people-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness His own thy will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/leaning-on-him-make-with-reverent-meekness-his-own-thy-will/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [The Puritans were accustomed to explain faith by the word 'recumbency.' It meant leaning upon a thing. Lean with all your weight upon Christ.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-puritans-were-accustomed-to-explain-faith-by-the-word-recumbency/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [I had a guitar leaning against the wall and I'd squint at it. It was almost like a dog that had been kicked -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/i-had-a-guitar-leaning-against-the-wall-and-i-d-squint-at-it-it-was/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [There is a heavy leaning to try and extract information from me, and I always have to clamp down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gilkes/there-is-a-heavy-leaning-to-try-and-extract-information-from-me-and-i/) [Alexander Gilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gilkes/) > [“leaning hard into the wind in order to complete the job expected of him. He was an Eagle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kent-krueger/leaning-hard-into-the-wind-in-order-to-complete-the-job-expected-of/) [William Kent Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kent-krueger/) > [How can you stand alone when leaning on a crutch is all youve ever known...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-can-you-stand-alone-when-leaning-on-a-crutch-is-all-youve-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I think I’m gonna have to catch her when she collapses against me, face pressed into my chest, but I don’t. She’s just tired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callie-hart/i-think-i-m-gonna-have-to-catch-her-when-she-collapses-against-me/) [Callie Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callie-hart/) > [An arch consists of two weaknesses which, leaning one against the other, make a strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/an-arch-consists-of-two-weaknesses-which-leaning-one-against-the/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## More by Tom Hodgkinson > [By taking out a loan, I am committing myself to years of interest repayments, and therefore to years of wage slavery. And the UK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/by-taking-out-a-loan-i-am-committing-myself-to-years-of-interest/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Writing a book is a brilliant thing because once you've finished it, you've done it, and there's the potential for it to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/writing-a-book-is-a-brilliant-thing-because-once-you-ve-finished-it/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Truly, the bench is a boon to idlers. Whoever first came up with the idea is a genius: free public resting places where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/truly-the-bench-is-a-boon-to-idlers-whoever-first-came-up-with-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Beauty, pleasure, freedom and plenty of sleep: these are the hallmarks of a successful idler's break. Travel should not be hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/beauty-pleasure-freedom-and-plenty-of-sleep-these-are-the-hallmarks/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [These days we seem more bound to our bosses than ever before. 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I think idlers are generally seen as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/the-idea-of-a-government-is-to-create-an-ordered-willing-work-force/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [When stuck years ago in a job I hated, my only friend was the public bench. As the tedious mornings dragged on, how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/when-stuck-years-ago-in-a-job-i-hated-my-only-friend-was-the-public/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [All poets are idlers, even if all idlers are not poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/all-poets-are-idlers-even-if-all-idlers-are-not-poets/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Pain will never leave us. Instead of putting energy into destroying pain, we need to put energy into creating pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/pain-will-never-leave-us-instead-of-putting-energy-into-destroying/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Sensible people advise against drinking on an empty stomach, but to my mind it is the best sort of drinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/sensible-people-advise-against-drinking-on-an-empty-stomach-but-to-my/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Paradoxically, to be truly idle, you also have to be efficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/paradoxically-to-be-truly-idle-you-also-have-to-be-efficient/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Am I the only person in the world who is shocked and amazed at the ongoing flattery of uebergeek Mark Zuckerberg?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/am-i-the-only-person-in-the-world-who-is-shocked-and-amazed-at-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [I would like to propose slow cycling. Commute by bike. At a stroke, you remove the need for and absurd cost of public transport.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/i-would-like-to-propose-slow-cycling-commute-by-bike-at-a-stroke-you/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) [Explore all 144 Tom Hodgkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. 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