--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we recall the past, we usually find…" description: "\"When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/bob-hope-1406_happiness_when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find_2363350.jpg" --- # When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the… ![“When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.” quote by Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/bob-hope-1406_happiness_when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find_2363350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/bob-hope-1406_happiness_when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find_2363350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/bob-hope-1406_happiness_when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find_2363350.jpg) > “When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.” [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflecting on memory, we see that ordinary moments often bring the deepest happiness, not grand events. **In simple terms:** Every things bring the most joy. Key Takeaway Cherish simple moments. Themes happiness memory simplicity Mood warm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family gatherings - daily routines - personal milestones - travel experiences Key Concepts nostalgia subjective well‑being Questions to Reflect On - What simple moment made you happiest? - How can you create more ordinary joy? A Different Perspective Great events can also be fleeting and less reliable for lasting joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Retrospect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retrospect/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“The best way to get past something was usually to simply do something else, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-carlson/the-best-way-to-get-past-something-was-usually-to-simply-do-something/) [Melody Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-carlson/) > [“They live their lives as a sort of temporal blur around the point where their body actually is – anticipating the future, or holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/they-live-their-lives-as-a-sort-of-temporal-blur-around-the-point/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Your childhood," said Yackle coaxingly, as if she could smell his thoughts. As if she could sniff out those passages he hadn't chosen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/your-childhood-said-yackle-coaxingly-as-if-she-could-smell-his/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [In retrospect, perhaps the biggest reason my mother was cared for but not helped for twenty years was the simplest: Her functioning was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/in-retrospect-perhaps-the-biggest-reason-my-mother-was-cared-for-but/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [But as the scissors snip-snapped through her hair and the razor shaved the rest, she realized with a sudden awful panic that she could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/but-as-the-scissors-snip-snapped-through-her-hair-and-the-razor/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [It is painful to recall a past intensity, to estimate your distance from the Belsen heap, to make your peace with numbers. Just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/it-is-painful-to-recall-a-past-intensity-to-estimate-your-distance/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Scientists say that when we recall something from our past, it isn’t as simple as taking out a photograph from an album. Because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-nickless/scientists-say-that-when-we-recall-something-from-our-past-it-isn-t/) [Barbara Nickless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-nickless/) > [“I’ve long suspected that many of my memories of childhood are actually drawn from old pictures, that they are a composite of snapshots, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-long-suspected-that-many-of-my-memories-of-childhood-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's in vain to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-s-in-vain-to-recall-the-past-unless-it-works-some-influence-upon/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [As failures go, attempting to recall the past is like trying to grasp the meaning of existence. Both make one feel like a baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-failures-go-attempting-to-recall-the-past-is-like-trying-to-grasp/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [As failures go, attempting to recall the past is like claiming to grasp the meaning of existence. Both make one feel like a baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-failures-go-attempting-to-recall-the-past-is-like-claiming-to/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“some memories, too, might better be forgotten. didn't Obasan once say, "it is better to forget"? what purpose is served by hauling forth the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/some-memories-too-might-better-be-forgotten-didn-t-obasan-once-say-it/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [“I recall that now and I recall everything for what do we have but the past to parent us?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-driskell/i-recall-that-now-and-i-recall-everything-for-what-do-we-have-but-the/) Kathleen Driskell > [It is pleasant to recall past troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/it-is-pleasant-to-recall-past-troubles/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“We never keep to the present. We recall the past; we anticipate the future as if we found it too slow in coming and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-never-keep-to-the-present-we-recall-the-past-we-anticipate-the-2/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) ## More by Bob Hope > [I ruined my hands in the ring. The referee kept stepping on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-ruined-my-hands-in-the-ring-the-referee-kept-stepping-on-them/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-grew-up-with-six-brothers-that-s-how-i-learned-to-dance-waiting-for/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [Having so many gold courses so close together was ideal for me. With my slice I could enjoy three or four golf courses at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/having-so-many-gold-courses-so-close-together-was-ideal-for-me-with/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [Timing is the essence of life, and definitely of comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/timing-is-the-essence-of-life-and-definitely-of-comedy/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [That's life. The older you get, the tougher it is to score.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/that-s-life-the-older-you-get-the-tougher-it-is-to-score/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [Contrary to what certain comedians have led you to believe, the national French pastime is picnicking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/contrary-to-what-certain-comedians-have-led-you-to-believe-the/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [She spoke perfect English, which led to considerable trouble. She couldn't understand us at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/she-spoke-perfect-english-which-led-to-considerable-trouble-she/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [My father told me all about the birds and the bees, the liar - I went steady with a woodpecker till I was twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/my-father-told-me-all-about-the-birds-and-the-bees-the-liar-i-went/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [I need money. I have a staff of 30, and four houses, never mind the government, to support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-need-money-i-have-a-staff-of-30-and-four-houses-never-mind-the/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [In England when you make a movie even the weather is against you. In Hollywood the weatherman gets a shooting schedule from all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/in-england-when-you-make-a-movie-even-the-weather-is-against-you-in/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [Tokyo cab drivers are all ex-kamikaze pilots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/tokyo-cab-drivers-are-all-ex-kamikaze-pilots/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [Go figure a crazy, mixed-up country where ballet outsells boxing. I wouldn't be surprised if their wrestling was on the level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/go-figure-a-crazy-mixed-up-country-where-ballet-outsells-boxing-i/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [Bing Crosby and I play a lot of golf together and I have a small course at my place where we often play for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/bing-crosby-and-i-play-a-lot-of-golf-together-and-i-have-a-small/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [I was lucky, you know, I always had a beautiful girl and the money was good. Although I would have done the whole thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-was-lucky-you-know-i-always-had-a-beautiful-girl-and-the-money-was/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [You could buy my book in a paperback edition for a dollar, and in hard covers for $3.50. And for fifty cents extra, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/you-could-buy-my-book-in-a-paperback-edition-for-a-dollar-and-in-hard/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) [Explore all 245 Bob Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Hope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find-that-it-is-the-simplest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find-that-it-is-the-simplest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/bob-hope-1406_happiness_when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find_2363350.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/bob-hope-1406_happiness_when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find_2363350.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/bob-hope-1406_happiness_when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find_2363350.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in…” — Bob Hope", "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": "Bob Hope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we recall the past, we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find-that-it-is-the-simplest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/when-we-recall-the-past-we-usually-find-that-it-is-the-simplest/#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 } } ] } ```