---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is a mystery, and it should be so…"
description: "\"“Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow that accompanies being human and the choices one will have to make are a burden, too heavy for ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/alice-hoffman-427_burden_life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-fo_1911687.png"
---

#  Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow…

![“Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow that accompanies being human and the choices one will have to make are a burden, too heavy for most to know before their time comes.” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/alice-hoffman-427_burden_life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-fo_1911687.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/alice-hoffman-427_burden_life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-fo_1911687.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/alice-hoffman-427_burden_life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-fo_1911687.png)

> ““Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow that accompanies being human and the choices one will have to make are a burden, too heavy for most to know before their time comes.””

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life’s mysteries and sorrows are inherent; confronting choices is burdensome yet essential.

**In simple terms:** Mystery and sorrow shape life.

Key Takeaway

Embrace uncertainty and make thoughtful choices.

Themes

existential sorrow choice

Mood

poetic introspective

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- career decisions
- relationships
- grief processing
- personal growth

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology literature

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you handle life’s unknowns?
- What choices feel most weighty now?

A Different Perspective

Avoiding reflection can lead to stagnation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [Questions, inside the larger mystery of sorrow, which contains us and our daily transit, and is large enough indeed to contain the whole shifting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/questions-inside-the-larger-mystery-of-sorrow-which-contains-us-and/)

[Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/)

> [“But it is a heavy burden. So heavy that none could lay it on another. I do not lay it on you. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/but-it-is-a-heavy-burden-so-heavy-that-none-could-lay-it-on-another-i/)

[J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/)

> [“When the burden is too heavy on your heart. Cast the weight upon the Lord, for he cares that, you call out to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/when-the-burden-is-too-heavy-on-your-heart-cast-the-weight-upon-the/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [“It doesn't matter if the burden is heavy. It matters that we carry it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous-authors/it-doesn-t-matter-if-the-burden-is-heavy-it-matters-that-we-carry-it/)

Anonymous Authors

> [People should meet an acceptable threshold of appropriateness. But for many women in the public eye, it just seems that the burden is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/people-should-meet-an-acceptable-threshold-of-appropriateness-but-for/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Leave each one his touch of folly; it helps to lighten life's burden which, if he could see himself as he is, might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/leave-each-one-his-touch-of-folly-it-helps-to-lighten-life-s-burden/)

[John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/)

> [No burden is so heavy for a man to bear as a succession of happy days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-planck/no-burden-is-so-heavy-for-a-man-to-bear-as-a-succession-of-happy-days/)

[Max Planck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-planck/)

> [“Everything we seek so enthusiastically before we reach adulthood—love, work, faith—turns into a burden too heavy to bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/everything-we-seek-so-enthusiastically-before-we-reach-adulthood-love-2/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“Resentment is a burden too heavy and painful to bare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/resentment-is-a-burden-too-heavy-and-painful-to-bare/)

[Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/)

> [It may be that what you could be haunts you. It is real. It is a weight you have to carry around. Each failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/it-may-be-that-what-you-could-be-haunts-you-it-is-real-it-is-a-weight/)

[Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/)

> [“My bundle is light. My burden is heavy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mccormick/my-bundle-is-light-my-burden-is-heavy/)

[Patricia McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mccormick/)

> [“Eventually the burden becomes too heavy and you outgrow the weight of the world. You feel the fear and live anyway, a more authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/eventually-the-burden-becomes-too-heavy-and-you-outgrow-the-weight-of/)

[Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/)

> [Can freedom become a burden, too heavy for man to bear, something he tries to escape from?..Is there not also, perhaps, besides an innate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/can-freedom-become-a-burden-too-heavy-for-man-to-bear-something-he/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [Inside my head I carry: my baby goat, my baby brother, my ama's face, our family's future. My bundle is light. My burden is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mccormick/inside-my-head-i-carry-my-baby-goat-my-baby-brother-my-ama-s-face-our/)

[Patricia McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mccormick/)

> [“whilst you love me, I cannot again fall into that miserable state which renders life a burden almost too heavy to be borne.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kelahan/whilst-you-love-me-i-cannot-again-fall-into-that-miserable-state/)

[Michael Kelahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kelahan/)

## More by Alice Hoffman

> [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“All of the quarters in his hand were tarnished. He had no idea that the silver in a man’s pockets always turns black if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/all-of-the-quarters-in-his-hand-were-tarnished-he-had-no-idea-that/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [But most important of all, she explained that it was all right to say 'No. I disagree.' that was a gift. I understood it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/but-most-important-of-all-she-explained-that-it-was-all-right-to-say/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“It was after dark when the woods were most filled with magic, when there were fireflies and the mist was rising from the streams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-was-after-dark-when-the-woods-were-most-filled-with-magic-when/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Never look back, that's what she's told herself. Don't think about swans or being alone in the dark. Don't think of storms, or lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-back-that-s-what-she-s-told-herself-don-t-think-about/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [This was what it meant to be human, to know that time moved and all things changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/this-was-what-it-meant-to-be-human-to-know-that-time-moved-and-all/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“She preferred cats to human beings and turned down every offer from the men who fell in love with her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/she-preferred-cats-to-human-beings-and-turned-down-every-offer-from/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [I'm a really eclectic reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-m-a-really-eclectic-reader/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [It's not the lie that's the problem; it's the distance the lie forges between you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-s-not-the-lie-that-s-the-problem-it-s-the-distance-the-lie-forges/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Her vision was going, but she could see him, the way people see clouds-beautiful, racing by, casting shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/her-vision-was-going-but-she-could-see-him-the-way-people-see-clouds/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [That's why there are ten gates to pass through before you reach the garden. If life were easy there would be one gate. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/that-s-why-there-are-ten-gates-to-pass-through-before-you-reach-the/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“...the summer of the gypsy moths when all the trees in their yard were bare, the leaves chewed by caterpillars. You could hear crunching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-summer-of-the-gypsy-moths-when-all-the-trees-in-their-yard-were/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“The best way to die is when you're living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-best-way-to-die-is-when-you-re-living/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Haylin was given a good talking-to by the headmaster and made to write a paper about workers’ rights, which he considered a privilege rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/haylin-was-given-a-good-talking-to-by-the-headmaster-and-made-to/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/my-darling-girl-when-are-you-going-to-realize-that-being-normal-is/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

[Explore all 571 Alice Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

## More Burden quotes

> [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/)

[Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/)

> [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/)

Simone Abou Samra

> [Trump's enduring appeal is a resource to be harnessed by the Republican Party, not a burden to be jettisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/trump-s-enduring-appeal-is-a-resource-to-be-harnessed-by-the/)

[Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/)

> [We want to free our citizens from the burden of excessive paper documents in every office. We want paperless transactions. We will set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-want-to-free-our-citizens-from-the-burden-of-excessive-paper/)

[Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/)

> [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/)

[Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/)

> [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/)

[Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/)

> ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/)

[Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/)

> [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/)

[Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/)

> [“What a burden it must be to know all the terrible things you've done and support it with arms unfit to carry it all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-weikel/what-a-burden-it-must-be-to-know-all-the-terrible-things-you-ve-done/)

[K. Weikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-weikel/)

> [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/)

[Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/)

> [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/)

[Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/)

> [It's a burden trying to keep a secret. It's hard. It probably takes more out of you trying to hold it and keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/it-s-a-burden-trying-to-keep-a-secret-it-s-hard-it-probably-takes/)

[Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/)

> [I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blaine/i-ve-always-liked-artists-like-chris-burden-who-would-take/)

[David Blaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blaine/)

> [Our office...subjects us to great burdens and labors, dangers and temptations, with little reward or gratitude from the world. But Christ himself will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-office-subjects-us-to-great-burdens-and-labors-dangers-and/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [The debt immense of endless gratitude, So burthensome, still paying, still to owe; Forgetful what from him I still receivd, And understood not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-debt-immense-of-endless-gratitude-so-burthensome-still-paying/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

[Browse all 2,567 Burden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow that accompanies being human and the choices one will have to make are a burden, too heavy for most to know before their time comes.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alice Hoffman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-for-the-sorrow-that-accompanies/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Burden"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-for-the-sorrow-that-accompanies/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/alice-hoffman-427_burden_life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-fo_1911687.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/alice-hoffman-427_burden_life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-fo_1911687.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/alice-hoffman-427_burden_life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-fo_1911687.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow that accompanies being human and the choices one will…” — Alice Hoffman",
                "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": "Alice Hoffman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Life is a mystery, and it...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-for-the-sorrow-that-accompanies/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/life-is-a-mystery-and-it-should-be-so-for-the-sorrow-that-accompanies/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
