--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don’t know Who—or what—put the…" description: "\"“I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/anne-lamott-188_existence_i-don-t-know-who-or-what-put-the-questio_2471056.png" --- # I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know… ![“I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone—or Something—and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal. —DAG…” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/anne-lamott-188_existence_i-don-t-know-who-or-what-put-the-questio_2471056.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/anne-lamott-188_existence_i-don-t-know-who-or-what-put-the-questio_2471056.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/anne-lamott-188_existence_i-don-t-know-who-or-what-put-the-questio_2471056.png) > ““I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone—or Something—and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal. —DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD, Markings”” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging an unknown source of purpose can inspire faith in life's meaning and guide personal surrender to a higher calling. **In simple terms:** Finding purpose in mystery gives direction. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty as a path to purpose. Themes faith purpose spirituality Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - life decisions - spiritual practice - creative work Key Concepts existential meaning self‑surrender Questions to Reflect On - What does “yes” mean for you? - How can you act on this sense of purpose? A Different Perspective Purpose may feel vague without concrete steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answering Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answering-moment-474149/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dag-hammarskjold-227082/) [Did Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-answer-474150/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-meaningful-474148/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Remember Answering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-answering-474151/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know Who, or what, put the question, I don't know when it was put. I don't even remember answering. But at some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/i-don-t-know-who-or-what-put-the-question-i-don-t-know-when-it-was/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [At some moment I did answer "Yes" to someone or something. And from that hour on I was certain that existence is meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/at-some-moment-i-did-answer-yes-to-someone-or-something-and-from-that/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [“For all that has been: Thanks! For all that shall be: Yes! —DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD, Markings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-richo/for-all-that-has-been-thanks-for-all-that-shall-be-yes-dag-hammarskj/) [David Richo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-richo/) > [To engage human energy, human skill, and human talent in the service of peace, for the alternative is unthinkable - war, destruction, and desolation;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-lutuli/to-engage-human-energy-human-skill-and-human-talent-in-the-service-of/) [Albert Lutuli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-lutuli/) > [“PRAY that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for." Dag Hammarskjold Swedish diplomat (1905 - 1961)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/pray-that-your-loneliness-may-spur-you-into-finding-something-to-live/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [So let us here resolve that Dag Hammarskjold did not live, or die, in vain. Let us call a truce to terror. Let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/so-let-us-here-resolve-that-dag-hammarskjold-did-not-live-or-die-in/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Peacekeeping is a soldier-intensive business in which the quality of troops matters as much as the quantity. It is not just soldiering under a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wentz/peacekeeping-is-a-soldier-intensive-business-in-which-the-quality-of/) [Larry Wentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wentz/) > [When your mom thinks you have an attitude with her but all you did was answer her question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-your-mom-thinks-you-have-an-attitude-with-her-but-all-you-did/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ["This - is now my way - where is yours"? Thus did I answer those who asked me "the way". For the way -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/this-is-now-my-way-where-is-yours-thus-did-i-answer-those-who-asked/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We still did not answer the questions that are important to us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-still-did-not-answer-the-questions-that-are-important-to-us/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Question is not, what they have did for you and not answer is, what you have did for them, but its is, what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subi-foa/question-is-not-what-they-have-did-for-you-and-not-answer-is-what-you/) [Subi Foa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subi-foa/) > [I did once answer the question 'What would you say on your tombstone?' I know what I would say: 'Mario Cuomo, 1932 - dash,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-did-once-answer-the-question-what-would-you-say-on-your-tombstone-i/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [We all know that somebody did it, but how did they find the answer?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thaw/we-all-know-that-somebody-did-it-but-how-did-they-find-the-answer/) [John Thaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thaw/) > [“What sort of look are you going for?” Damn, how did he answer this? “Something…normal,” he finally said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-blake/what-sort-of-look-are-you-going-for-damn-how-did-he-answer-this/) [Toni Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-blake/) > [Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/well-if-i-called-the-wrong-number-why-did-you-answer-the-phone/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [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/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. 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