--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a gift in your lap and it's…" description: "\"There's a gift in your lap and it's beautifully wrapped and it's not your birthday. You feel wonderful, you feel like somebody knows you're alive, you ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/aimee-bender-2250_alive_there-s-a-gift-in-your-lap-and-it-s-beau_428804.png" --- # There's a gift in your lap and it's beautifully wrapped… ![“There's a gift in your lap and it's beautifully wrapped and it's not your birthday. You feel wonderful, you feel like somebody knows you're alive, you feel fear because it could be a bomb, because you think you're that important.” quote by Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/aimee-bender-2250_alive_there-s-a-gift-in-your-lap-and-it-s-beau_428804.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/aimee-bender-2250_alive_there-s-a-gift-in-your-lap-and-it-s-beau_428804.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/aimee-bender-2250_alive_there-s-a-gift-in-your-lap-and-it-s-beau_428804.png) > “There's a gift in your lap and it's beautifully wrapped and it's not your birthday. You feel wonderful, you feel like somebody knows you're alive, you feel fear because it could be a bomb, because you think you're that important.” [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexpected opportunities can feel both exciting and threatening, highlighting our desire for significance and fear of failure. **In simple terms:** Surprises bring joy and anxiety about importance. Key Takeaway Embrace opportunity, manage fear. Themes opportunity fear significance uncertainty Mood hopeful anxious Type inspirational cautionary When to use this quote - career offers - personal relationships - creative projects - life decisions Key Concepts Psychology of risk existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - What hidden gifts are you overlooking? - How can you turn fear into motivation? A Different Perspective The fear may paralyze and cause missed chances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Beautifully Wrapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautifully-wrapped-1809673/) [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Birthday Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday-feel-3784557/) [Bombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bombs/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Feel Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-wonderful-611073/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Gift Lap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-lap-3784558/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Lap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lap/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) [Wrapped Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrapped-birthday-2052091/) ## Related quotes > [“He wore red, white, and blue, but he didn’t look patriotic—he looked like a sloppily wrapped birthday present. But it’s not his fault. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/he-wore-red-white-and-blue-but-he-didn-t-look-patriotic-he-looked/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Like a gift, beautifully wrapped at the foot of your bed each morning, today asks that you open it and enjoy everything inside. Exhaust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/like-a-gift-beautifully-wrapped-at-the-foot-of-your-bed-each-morning/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“Just because the package was beautifully wrapped didn’t mean it wasn’t still full of shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/just-because-the-package-was-beautifully-wrapped-didn-t-mean-it-wasn/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [Happy birthday to someone I feel incredibly close to when I'm intoxicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-birthday-to-someone-i-feel-incredibly-close-to-when-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just wanted to be the first one to wish you a happy birthday so I can feel superior to your other well-wishers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-wanted-to-be-the-first-one-to-wish-you-a-happy-birthday-so-i-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just wanted to take a moment and say 'Thank You' to everyone for all of the birthday wishes. It means a lot to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-wanted-to-take-a-moment-and-say-thank-you-to-everyone-for-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is the only thing in this world that covers up all the pain and makes us feel wonderful again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-only-thing-in-this-world-that-covers-up-all-the-pain-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've had many, many loves. I always feel that something wonderful is going to happen. And it always does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-vanderbilt/i-ve-had-many-many-loves-i-always-feel-that-something-wonderful-is/) [Gloria Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-vanderbilt/) > [“Would I choose to continually be in this vicious cycle, or would I choose to feel wonderful and happy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dotts/would-i-choose-to-continually-be-in-this-vicious-cycle-or-would-i/) [Richard Dotts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dotts/) > [“As human beings, we have this incredible gift—the ability to make another person feel wonderful. With a word, a gesture, or a quiet smile.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace/as-human-beings-we-have-this-incredible-gift-the-ability-to-make/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace/) > [It may not always feel wonderful. but you're out there doing it. You're running while others are just walking. Or sitting around. I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-reber/it-may-not-always-feel-wonderful-but-you-re-out-there-doing-it-you-re/) [Deborah Reber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-reber/) > [Words are everything in this life - they can tear you down and abuse you, or they can make you feel so wonderful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-evans/words-are-everything-in-this-life-they-can-tear-you-down-and-abuse/) [Sara Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-evans/) > [“I feel wonderful. I feel like roses and sunshine and glitter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-e-schwab-2/i-feel-wonderful-i-feel-like-roses-and-sunshine-and-glitter/) [V. E. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-e-schwab-2/) > [I've never felt like this in any other country. I feel at home, I feel wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-houston/i-ve-never-felt-like-this-in-any-other-country-i-feel-at-home-i-feel/) [Whitney Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-houston/) > [Love is the only thing in the world that covers up all the pain and makes us feel wonderful again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-only-thing-in-the-world-that-covers-up-all-the-pain-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Aimee Bender > [“Does it work with sandwiches? he asked. I didn't move. He handed it over. George was watching with a kind of neutral curiosity, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/does-it-work-with-sandwiches-he-asked-i-didn-t-move-he-handed-it-over/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [There's a spectrum of those moments of connection and the moments we fail to connect, going from super-large successes to failures. Success would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/there-s-a-spectrum-of-those-moments-of-connection-and-the-moments-we/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [I did plays in college, and I have half of a play. But I'm kind of stuck. I keep revisiting it so maybe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/i-did-plays-in-college-and-i-have-half-of-a-play-but-i-m-kind-of/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“My genes, my love, are rubber bands and rope - make yourself a structure you can live inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/my-genes-my-love-are-rubber-bands-and-rope-make-yourself-a-structure/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [One thing I don't want to feel is marketplace pressure, so I'm really glad I enjoy teaching because I can rely on that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/one-thing-i-don-t-want-to-feel-is-marketplace-pressure-so-i-m-really/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [Language is the ticket to plot and character, after all, because both are built out of language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/language-is-the-ticket-to-plot-and-character-after-all-because-both/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [I give boring people something to discuss over corn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/i-give-boring-people-something-to-discuss-over-corn/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“The sensor did not seem to be restricted to my mother's food, and there was so much to sort through, a torrent of information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/the-sensor-did-not-seem-to-be-restricted-to-my-mother-s-food-and/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [I peeled the skin off a grape in slippery little triangles, and I understood then that I would be undressing every item of food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/i-peeled-the-skin-off-a-grape-in-slippery-little-triangles-and-i/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [It was like we were exchanging codes, on how to be a father and a daughter, like we'd read about it in a manual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/it-was-like-we-were-exchanging-codes-on-how-to-be-a-father-and-a/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“I started in our neighborhood, buying a pastrami burrito at Oki Dog and a deluxe gardenburger at Astro Burger and matzoh-ball soup at Greenblatt's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/i-started-in-our-neighborhood-buying-a-pastrami-burrito-at-oki-dog/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“I loved my dish towel. This one was two-toned, and had, on one side, stitchings of fat purple roses on a lavender background, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/i-loved-my-dish-towel-this-one-was-two-toned-and-had-on-one-side/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > […kissing George was a little like rolling in caramel after spending years surviving off rice sticks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/kissing-george-was-a-little-like-rolling-in-caramel-after-spending/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“And in it all, the sensation of shaking my fists at the sky, shaking my fists high up to the sky, because that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/and-in-it-all-the-sensation-of-shaking-my-fists-at-the-sky-shaking-my/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“He made a good salary but he did not flaunt it. He’d been raised in Chicago proper by a Lithuanian Jewish mother who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/he-made-a-good-salary-but-he-did-not-flaunt-it-he-d-been-raised-in/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) [Explore all 172 Aimee Bender quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a gift in your lap and it's beautifully wrapped and it's not your birthday. 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