--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was one thing to leave a life behind…" description: "\"“It was one thing to leave a life behind and another to abandon it to fate.”\" — Brian Rathbone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/brian-rathbone-23679_life_it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind_1766834.jpg" --- # It was one thing to leave a life behind and another to… ![“It was one thing to leave a life behind and another to abandon it to fate.” quote by Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/brian-rathbone-23679_life_it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind_1766834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/brian-rathbone-23679_life_it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind_1766834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/brian-rathbone-23679_life_it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind_1766834.jpg) > ““It was one thing to leave a life behind and another to abandon it to fate.”” [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaving a life behind is a conscious choice; abandoning it to fate implies surrendering control to external forces. **In simple terms:** Choosing to let fate decide is different from actively moving on. Key Takeaway Recognize where you have agency. Themes choice control fate agency Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career change - relationship breakup - major life decision - spiritual reflection Key Concepts determinism free will Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel you are choosing or resigning? - What aspects can you still influence? A Different Perspective Life still requires personal responsibility despite uncertainty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [There's something magical about putting yourself into life. You've got to stand up and take responsibility for your own life and you cannot abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kurtis/there-s-something-magical-about-putting-yourself-into-life-you-ve-got/) [Bill Kurtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kurtis/) > [Go at life with abandon; give it all you've got. And life will give all it has to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/go-at-life-with-abandon-give-it-all-you-ve-got-and-life-will-give-all/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [In every age of transition men are never so firmly bound to one way of life as when they are about to abandon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-levin/in-every-age-of-transition-men-are-never-so-firmly-bound-to-one-way/) [Bernard Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-levin/) > [“Why do I do such things. I hope the answer is that I embrace life with abandon. But I fear the truth is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/why-do-i-do-such-things-i-hope-the-answer-is-that-i-embrace-life-with/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [“Most people in my situation didn't end up with the love of their life. Too often they had to abandon their dreams and deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-walt/most-people-in-my-situation-didn-t-end-up-with-the-love-of-their-life/) [Jasmine Walt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-walt/) > [“The knowledge that he had left me with no intent ever to return had come over me in tiny droplets of realization spread over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/the-knowledge-that-he-had-left-me-with-no-intent-ever-to-return-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [One day that guy or girl will MISS YOU. I mean that person who was so special to you, whom you trusted and loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orebela-gbenga/one-day-that-guy-or-girl-will-miss-you-i-mean-that-person-who-was-so/) [Orebela Gbenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orebela-gbenga/) > [Honestly blows my mind how someone you've been through so much with can just leave your life like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-blows-my-mind-how-someone-you-ve-been-through-so-much-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How can I leave you in my life when you have given me so much Love in my heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-can-i-leave-you-in-my-life-when-you-have-given-me-so-much-love-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Leave your life. Leave everyone you love, every care, every stress, every commitment. Live alone. Understand what it feels like to know that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-carlino/leave-your-life-leave-everyone-you-love-every-care-every-stress-every/) [Renée Carlino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-carlino/) > [Tonight we dance, I leave my life in your hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-iglesias/tonight-we-dance-i-leave-my-life-in-your-hands/) [Enrique Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-iglesias/) > [On the field, I will leave everything there and give my life to help the team, whatever it is. I do it out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk/on-the-field-i-will-leave-everything-there-and-give-my-life-to-help/) [Hulk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk/) > [Things change, and friends leave, but life doesn't stop for anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/things-change-and-friends-leave-but-life-doesn-t-stop-for-anybody/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Some people, when they die, leave so much life behind that we wonder how they did it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-davis/some-people-when-they-die-leave-so-much-life-behind-that-we-wonder/) [Patti Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-davis/) > [“When she was reading, she didn’t just leave her own life behind, she stepped into someone else’s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-morgan/when-she-was-reading-she-didn-t-just-leave-her-own-life-behind-she/) [Sarah Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-morgan/) ## More by Brian Rathbone > [“Permanence is an illusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/permanence-is-an-illusion/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“This life is but a brief tenure, one of many perspectives a spirit must experience in the quest for eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/this-life-is-but-a-brief-tenure-one-of-many-perspectives-a-spirit/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“What goes up must come down, unless a dragon eats it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/what-goes-up-must-come-down-unless-a-dragon-eats-it/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“Your thoughts are your own, but your pain and suffering can be eased when you let the universe help, and your joy and happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/your-thoughts-are-your-own-but-your-pain-and-suffering-can-be-eased/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“Fanaticism is a plague. It threatens the fabric of our world and must be stopped regardless of the cost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/fanaticism-is-a-plague-it-threatens-the-fabric-of-our-world-and-must/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“The souls of heroes are forged by the gods and tempered with the pain of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/the-souls-of-heroes-are-forged-by-the-gods-and-tempered-with-the-pain/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“We appreciate most that which we have lived without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/we-appreciate-most-that-which-we-have-lived-without/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“Life is the greatest of all mysteries, and though I seek to solve its many riddles, my deepest fear is that I will succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/life-is-the-greatest-of-all-mysteries-and-though-i-seek-to-solve-its/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“If you wish to find yourself, you must first admit you are lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/if-you-wish-to-find-yourself-you-must-first-admit-you-are-lost/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“Evil exists only in the hearts of men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/evil-exists-only-in-the-hearts-of-men/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“In the absence of drive and purpose, talent can remain forever undiscovered”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/in-the-absence-of-drive-and-purpose-talent-can-remain-forever/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“Men are fickle creatures, capable of kindness and compassion yet fascinated by the basest atrocities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/men-are-fickle-creatures-capable-of-kindness-and-compassion-yet/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“Procrastination robs the world of countless treasures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/procrastination-robs-the-world-of-countless-treasures/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“Each of us is uniquely qualified for some task. We have but to find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/each-of-us-is-uniquely-qualified-for-some-task-we-have-but-to-find-it/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) > [“When you are unwilling to face the risk, you take away the chance for hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/when-you-are-unwilling-to-face-the-risk-you-take-away-the-chance-for/) [Brian Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) [Explore all 25 Brian Rathbone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was one thing to leave a life behind and another to abandon it to fate.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Rathbone" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind-and-another-to-abandon-it-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind-and-another-to-abandon-it-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/brian-rathbone-23679_life_it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind_1766834.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/brian-rathbone-23679_life_it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind_1766834.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/brian-rathbone-23679_life_it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind_1766834.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was one thing to leave a life behind and another to abandon it to fate.” — Brian Rathbone", "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": "Brian Rathbone", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-rathbone/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was one thing to leave...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind-and-another-to-abandon-it-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-rathbone/it-was-one-thing-to-leave-a-life-behind-and-another-to-abandon-it-to/#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 } } ] } ```