--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There it is — happiness. Here it comes…" description: "\"“There it is — happiness. Here it comes, closer and closer. I can hear its footsteps. And if we never see it or know it, well, that’s all right too. Ot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/anton-chekhov-298_happiness_there-it-is-happiness-here-it-comes-clos_1557753.jpg" --- # There it is — happiness. Here it comes, closer and closer… ![“There it is — happiness. Here it comes, closer and closer. I can hear its footsteps. And if we never see it or know it, well, that’s all right too. Others will.” quote by Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/anton-chekhov-298_happiness_there-it-is-happiness-here-it-comes-clos_1557753.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/anton-chekhov-298_happiness_there-it-is-happiness-here-it-comes-clos_1557753.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/anton-chekhov-298_happiness_there-it-is-happiness-here-it-comes-clos_1557753.jpg) > ““There it is — happiness. Here it comes, closer and closer. I can hear its footsteps. And if we never see it or know it, well, that’s all right too. Others will.”” [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness approaches like a distant sound, sometimes unseen but still felt, and others may experience it even if we do not. **In simple terms:** Happiness may be heard before seen. Key Takeaway Stay open to subtle joys. Themes happiness anticipation perception Mood thoughtful hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily commute - waiting for news - creative work Key Concepts mindfulness expectation Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice happiness’s “footsteps”? - How do you respond when joy feels distant? A Different Perspective Happiness can be elusive and subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comes Closer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-closer-325753/) [Footsteps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footsteps/) [Footsteps Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footsteps-know-5837389/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-comes/) [Hear Footsteps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-footsteps-612885/) ## Related quotes > [Can you hear those footsteps behindd you?... Thats not me running after you... 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Put this record on and you’ll hear footsteps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/the-enticing-allure-of-nashville-is-that-there-is-always-something/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [You can hear the footsteps of God when silence reigns in the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/you-can-hear-the-footsteps-of-god-when-silence-reigns-in-the-mind/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Advent: the time to listen for footsteps - you can't hear footsteps when you're running yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/advent-the-time-to-listen-for-footsteps-you-can-t-hear-footsteps-when/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [I believe that if I should die, and you were to walk near my grave, from the very depths of the earth I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-p-rez-gald-s/i-believe-that-if-i-should-die-and-you-were-to-walk-near-my-grave/) [Benito Perez Galdos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-p-rez-gald-s/) > [“I didn't hear the footsteps. Or see the shadow. 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That's not me running behind you that's karma chasing up to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-you-hear-those-footsteps-behind-you-that-s-not-me-running-behind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He wanted to hear his own footsteps to prove that he trod the ground.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-wanted-to-hear-his-own-footsteps-to-prove-that-he-trod-the-ground/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [When friends and lovers die and your world gets quieter; that's when the silence comes closer; that's when next isn't the least bit theoretical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/when-friends-and-lovers-die-and-your-world-gets-quieter-that-s-when/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [“The closer they come to transcending technique and the memorization of lines--the closer to really beginning to act, in short--the more Chinese they begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-closer-they-come-to-transcending-technique-and-the-memorization/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## More by Anton Chekhov > [“Using vile means to attain worthy ends makes the ends themselves vile. Let them ride on the backs of doctors and medical assistants, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/using-vile-means-to-attain-worthy-ends-makes-the-ends-themselves-vile/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-ever-my-life-can-be-of-any-use-to-you-come-and-claim-it/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [There are still many more days of failure ahead, whole seasons of failure, things will go terribly wrong, you will have huge disappointments ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-are-still-many-more-days-of-failure-ahead-whole-seasons-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“But here was all the timorousness and angularity of inexperienced youth, a feeling of awkwardness, and an impression of bewilderment, as if someone had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/but-here-was-all-the-timorousness-and-angularity-of-inexperienced/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“At the water's edge, barrels of pitch blazed like huge bonfires. 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If the people placed over him are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/no-matter-how-corrupt-and-unjust-a-convict-may-be-he-loves-fairness/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“It is my opinion that every woman can be a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/it-is-my-opinion-that-every-woman-can-be-a-writer/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/his-reading-suggested-a-man-swimming-in-the-sea-among-the-wreckage-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Experience often repeated, truly bitter experience, had taught him long ago that with decent people, especially Moscow people -- always slow to move and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/experience-often-repeated-truly-bitter-experience-had-taught-him-long/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Why do you always wear black?” "I am mourning for my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/why-do-you-always-wear-black-i-am-mourning-for-my-life/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) [Explore all 679 Anton Chekhov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## More Footsteps quotes > [Pleasure has no logic; it never treads in its own footsteps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/pleasure-has-no-logic-it-never-treads-in-its-own-footsteps/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [“I hear them, the fallen priest and the lady. Their footsteps sound like the soft hush of rain over the stone floors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/i-hear-them-the-fallen-priest-and-the-lady-their-footsteps-sound-like/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [After a while, footsteps sounded on the flagstones outside and there was a gentle tap at the door. Of course, one of them would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/after-a-while-footsteps-sounded-on-the-flagstones-outside-and-there/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) > [And all my days are trances, And all my nightly dreams Are where thy dark eye glances, And where thy footstep gleams-- In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-all-my-days-are-trances-and-all-my-nightly-dreams-are-where-thy/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Another growl came, and then very heavy footsteps - like T-rex-shaking-the-water-cup-jurassic-park-style heavy foot steps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-allison-moulton/another-growl-came-and-then-very-heavy-footsteps-like-t-rex-shaking/) [Courtney Allison Moulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-allison-moulton/) > [Walking the streets on winter nights kept him warm, despite the cold nocturnal passions of uprising winds. His footsteps led between trade-marked houses, two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sillitoe/walking-the-streets-on-winter-nights-kept-him-warm-despite-the-cold/) [Alan Sillitoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sillitoe/) > [Can you hear those footsteps behindd you?... Thats not me running after you... Thats karma catching up to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynter-ryleigh/can-you-hear-those-footsteps-behindd-you-thats-not-me-running-after/) [Wynter Ryleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynter-ryleigh/) > [I listen to a lot of artists like Tori Amos, Cherry Glazerr, and Patti Smith, and I kind of wanted to follow in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-listen-to-a-lot-of-artists-like-tori-amos-cherry-glazerr-and-patti/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [Don't tell us the sky is the limit when there are footsteps on the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-tell-us-the-sky-is-the-limit-when-there-are-footsteps-on-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you. But if you walk the footsteps of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-think-the-only-people-who-are-people-are-the-people-who-look-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My advice to someone to follow in my footsteps is to have patience. 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