--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... 'I've been doing everything for an…" description: "\"... 'I've been doing everything for an awfully long time, and I've seen and lived as hard as I could, and it's been unbelievable, I tell you, unbelieva..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/tove-jansson-1846_care_i-ve-been-doing-everything-for-an-awfull_1316970.jpg" --- # ... 'I've been doing everything for an awfully long time… ![“... 'I've been doing everything for an awfully long time, and I've seen and lived as hard as I could, and it's been unbelievable, I tell you, unbelievable. But now I have the feeling everything's gliding away from me, and I don't remember, and I don't care, and yet now is right when I need it!'…” quote by Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/tove-jansson-1846_care_i-ve-been-doing-everything-for-an-awfull_1316970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/tove-jansson-1846_care_i-ve-been-doing-everything-for-an-awfull_1316970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/tove-jansson-1846_care_i-ve-been-doing-everything-for-an-awfull_1316970.jpg) > “... 'I've been doing everything for an awfully long time, and I've seen and lived as hard as I could, and it's been unbelievable, I tell you, unbelievable. But now I have the feeling everything's gliding away from me, and I don't remember, and I don't care, and yet now is right when I need it!'. \[pp. 84-85\]” [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After years of relentless effort, the narrator feels life slipping away, yet a sudden clarity emerges that the present moment is precisely what is needed. **In simple terms:** Hard work can feel futile, but the present can become a turning point. Key Takeaway Embrace the present even when past efforts feel wasted. Themes exhaustion clarity present moment resilience Mood melancholic hopeful introspective Type literary motivational When to use this quote - career burnout - personal crisis - creative block - spiritual awakening Key Concepts existential fatigue mindfulness renewal Questions to Reflect On - What does the present offer you now? - How can you transform exhaustion into clarity? A Different Perspective The feeling of loss may be temporary and can lead to new purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Gliding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gliding/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When we see our enemies and friends gliding away before us, let us not forget that we are subject to the general law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/when-we-see-our-enemies-and-friends-gliding-away-before-us-let-us-not/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is nothing in the whole world which abides. All things are in a state of ebb and flow, and every shadow passes away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-world-which-abides-all-things-are-in-a/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [To hear people mentioning me for All-Star is an unbelievable feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goran-dragic/to-hear-people-mentioning-me-for-all-star-is-an-unbelievable-feeling/) [Goran Dragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goran-dragic/) > [When I was young, I would go to the races and it was an unbelievable feeling when you'd watch them race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mats-sundin/when-i-was-young-i-would-go-to-the-races-and-it-was-an-unbelievable/) [Mats Sundin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mats-sundin/) > [When you're looking at a sea of people there ready for a band, it is an unbelievable feeling. You've just got to seize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-shomo/when-you-re-looking-at-a-sea-of-people-there-ready-for-a-band-it-is/) [Caleb Shomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-shomo/) > [So I got a chance to meet a whole bunch of those old real, real rough but gentle men. They lived hard, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/little-milton/so-i-got-a-chance-to-meet-a-whole-bunch-of-those-old-real-real-rough/) [Little Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/little-milton/) > [I grew up in low-income areas and I've seen people take negative energy and just accept it. They give into and end up living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamarcus-aldridge/i-grew-up-in-low-income-areas-and-i-ve-seen-people-take-negative/) [LaMarcus Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamarcus-aldridge/) > [So when I realised I could sing for a living - do what I loved and be paid for it - I thought, 'This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-jones/so-when-i-realised-i-could-sing-for-a-living-do-what-i-loved-and-be/) [Tom Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-jones/) > [And the vision that I had when I decided to come here is all coming true. Through adversity, through everything we've been through, we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micky-arison/and-the-vision-that-i-had-when-i-decided-to-come-here-is-all-coming/) Micky Arison > [The joy and love that I get from playing football are unbelievable. It is such a feeling that I want to give everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-chhetri/the-joy-and-love-that-i-get-from-playing-football-are-unbelievable-it/) [Sunil Chhetri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-chhetri/) > [When I won the world title, I am not going to lie, it was an unbelievable feeling. It was like a weight off my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callum-smith/when-i-won-the-world-title-i-am-not-going-to-lie-it-was-an/) [Callum Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callum-smith/) > [Growing up, watching the Premier League as far back as I can remember, feeling the trophy and having the medal around my neck was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-rooney/growing-up-watching-the-premier-league-as-far-back-as-i-can-remember/) [Wayne Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-rooney/) > [It's an unbelievable feeling. I'm world champ. I'm world champ! I made history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-degale/it-s-an-unbelievable-feeling-i-m-world-champ-i-m-world-champ-i-made/) [James DeGale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-degale/) > [It's an unbelievable feeling and an honour to call myself a Manchester United player and something I know that only a small number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-wan-bissaka/it-s-an-unbelievable-feeling-and-an-honour-to-call-myself-a/) [Aaron Wan-Bissaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-wan-bissaka/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More by Tove Jansson > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [“The star we're looking for isn't so very friendly," said Moomintroll. "Quite the contrary, in fact." "What did you say?" said Sniff. Moomintroll went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/the-star-we-re-looking-for-isn-t-so-very-friendly-said-moomintroll/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [It looks rather ordinary," said the Snork. "Unless you consider that a top hat is always somewhat extraordinary, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/it-looks-rather-ordinary-said-the-snork-unless-you-consider-that-a/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [“But Moominpappa wasn't listening, because just at that moment he had got the right grip on a big round boulder, and with a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/but-moominpappa-wasn-t-listening-because-just-at-that-moment-he-had/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [Everyone must imagine his own snakes because no one else's snakes can ever be as awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/everyone-must-imagine-his-own-snakes-because-no-one-else-s-snakes-can/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [All men have parties and are pals who never let each other down. 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One day you are all a society of outlaws, adventurous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-cannot-stress-enough-the-perils-of-your-friends-marrying-or/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [“Sophia," she said, "this is really not something to argue about. You can see for yourself that life is hard enough without being punished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/sophia-she-said-this-is-really-not-something-to-argue-about-you-can/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [Before we left, Grandmother talked a lot about the arctic night we would fly through. 'Isn't it a mystical word, "arctic"? Pure and quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/before-we-left-grandmother-talked-a-lot-about-the-arctic-night-we/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [It is still summer, but the summer is no longer alive. It has come to a standstill; nothing withers, and fall is not ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/it-is-still-summer-but-the-summer-is-no-longer-alive-it-has-come-to-a/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [“It'd be awful if the world exploded, it's so wonderfully splendid”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/it-d-be-awful-if-the-world-exploded-it-s-so-wonderfully-splendid/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [“Grandmother walked up over the bare granite and thought about birds in general. It seemed to her no other creature had the same dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/grandmother-walked-up-over-the-bare-granite-and-thought-about-birds/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [But he thought all the strange words were beautiful, and he had never had a book of his own before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/but-he-thought-all-the-strange-words-were-beautiful-and-he-had-never/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Explore all 159 Tove Jansson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) ## More Care quotes > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/) [Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. 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