--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think Seneca is right: life feels…" description: "\"“I think Seneca is right: life feels longer the more you engage with it… I should be loving sculpture! But I have not gone deeply into sculpture. Inste..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/zadie-smith-584_artist_i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longe_1840604.jpg" --- # I think Seneca is right: life feels longer the more you… ![“I think Seneca is right: life feels longer the more you engage with it… I should be loving sculpture! But I have not gone deeply into sculpture. Instead, having been utterly insensitive to sculpture, I fill the time that might have been usefully devoted to sculpture with things like drinking and…” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/zadie-smith-584_artist_i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longe_1840604.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/zadie-smith-584_artist_i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longe_1840604.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/zadie-smith-584_artist_i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longe_1840604.jpg) > ““I think Seneca is right: life feels longer the more you engage with it… I should be loving sculpture! But I have not gone deeply into sculpture. Instead, having been utterly insensitive to sculpture, I fill the time that might have been usefully devoted to sculpture with things like drinking and staring into space.”” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels longer when actively engaged; neglecting passions leads to wasted time. **In simple terms:** Engage fully to make life feel richer. Key Takeaway Pursue interests actively. Themes purpose engagement time creativity Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - learning a new skill - dedicating time to art - avoiding idle habits Key Concepts existential fulfillment self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What passion have you postponed? - How can you integrate small creative acts daily? A Different Perspective Passion pursuit can be daunting without resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seneca/) [Staring into space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-into-space/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The decision of such judges as Claudius and his Senate is worth very little in the question of a man's innocence or guilt; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-decision-of-such-judges-as-claudius-and-his-senate-is-worth-very/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Seneca and stoicism as a back door to explain why everything antifragile has to have more upside than downside”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/seneca-and-stoicism-as-a-back-door-to-explain-why-everything/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“All cruelty springs from weakness.” -Seneca”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-wild/all-cruelty-springs-from-weakness-seneca/) [Clarissa Wild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-wild/) > [“Ernest Hemingway wrote that happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing. However, if we are intelligent yet unhappy, then perhaps we are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giannis-delimitsos/ernest-hemingway-wrote-that-happiness-in-intelligent-people-is-the/) [Giannis Delimitsos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giannis-delimitsos/) > [“Seneca describes this in an extraordinary passage, in which he astutely observes that most human suffering relates to rumination about the past or worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seneca-describes-this-in-an-extraordinary-passage-in-which-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In February 62, Seneca came up against an unalterable reality. Nero ceased to listen to his old tutor, he shunned his company, encouraged slander…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/in-february-62-seneca-came-up-against-an-unalterable-reality-nero/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [This body is not a home, but an inn; and that only for a short time. Seneca Friendship is composed of a single soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/this-body-is-not-a-home-but-an-inn-and-that-only-for-a-short-time/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Whether the prayer of Seneca was granted we do not know; but, as we do not again hear of Marcus, it is probable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-william-farrar/whether-the-prayer-of-seneca-was-granted-we-do-not-know-but-as-we-do/) Frederic William Farrar > [“The transition is a keen one, I assure you, from a schoolmaster to a sailor, and requires a strong decoction of Seneca and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-transition-is-a-keen-one-i-assure-you-from-a-schoolmaster-to-a/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [We stand in need of such reflections to comfort us for the loss of some illustrious characters, which in our eyes might have seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/we-stand-in-need-of-such-reflections-to-comfort-us-for-the-loss-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Once we face our fear, once we treat our anxiety itself as a thing, we can then choose otherwise. Instead of filling the unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-jones/once-we-face-our-fear-once-we-treat-our-anxiety-itself-as-a-thing-we/) [David W. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-jones/) > [“According to Seneca, Chrysippus’ quipped that the wise man needs nothing and yet he can make good use of anything, whereas the fool ‘needs’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/according-to-seneca-chrysippus-quipped-that-the-wise-man-needs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...certain people have good, ordinary blood and others have an animated, lively sort of blood that comes to the face quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/certain-people-have-good-ordinary-blood-and-others-have-an-animated/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“As Seneca warned Nero: No matter how many of us you kill, you will never kill your successor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/as-seneca-warned-nero-no-matter-how-many-of-us-you-kill-you-will/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Go SENECA BOBCATS!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori/go-seneca-bobcats/) [Tori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-cannot-believe-homosexuality-is-that-much-fun-heterosexuality/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Either everything is sacred or nothing is. And if he starts burning other people’s things, then he loses something sacred also. Everyone gets what’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/either-everything-is-sacred-or-nothing-is-and-if-he-starts-burning/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [My feeling is, having lived in different classes, that people want equality of opportunity... that's the thing that makes me despair: the idea that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/my-feeling-is-having-lived-in-different-classes-that-people-want/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I don't keep any copies of my books in the house - they go to my mum's flat. I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. A friendship that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/in-short-it-was-precisely-the-kind-of-friendship-and-englishman-makes/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I suppose I often think of my writing as quite impersonal. But it turned out, when my father died, writing was exactly what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-suppose-i-often-think-of-my-writing-as-quite-impersonal-but-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Some of us are happy with our African hair, thank you very much. I don't want some poor Indian girl's hair. And I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/some-of-us-are-happy-with-our-african-hair-thank-you-very-much-i-don/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-lot-of-women-when-they-re-young-feel-they-have-very-good-friends/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Explore all 457 Zadie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think Seneca is right: life feels longer the more you engage with it… I should be loving sculpture! But I have not gone deeply into sculpture. Instead, having been utterly insensitive to sculpture, I fill the time that might have been usefully devoted to sculpture with things like drinking and staring into space.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zadie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longer-the-more-you-engage-with-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longer-the-more-you-engage-with-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/zadie-smith-584_artist_i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longe_1840604.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/zadie-smith-584_artist_i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longe_1840604.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/zadie-smith-584_artist_i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longe_1840604.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think Seneca is right: life feels longer the more you engage with it… I should be loving sculpture! But I…” — Zadie Smith", "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": "Zadie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I think Seneca is right: life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longer-the-more-you-engage-with-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-think-seneca-is-right-life-feels-longer-the-more-you-engage-with-it/#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 } } ] } ```