--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was silence and a new recognition…" description: "\"“There was silence and a new recognition of a perpetually searching quality within me that I had never fully acknowledged. That was it, wasn’t it? The ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/carolyn-murnick-84691_happens-for-a-reason_there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition_1982574.jpg" --- # There was silence and a new recognition of a perpetually… ![“There was silence and a new recognition of a perpetually searching quality within me that I had never fully acknowledged. That was it, wasn’t it? The thing that made it so difficult for me not to pick at the edges, the inability to let things be, to replace one anxiety with a new one as soon as…” quote by Carolyn Murnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/carolyn-murnick-84691_happens-for-a-reason_there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition_1982574.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/carolyn-murnick-84691_happens-for-a-reason_there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition_1982574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/carolyn-murnick-84691_happens-for-a-reason_there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition_1982574.jpg) > ““There was silence and a new recognition of a perpetually searching quality within me that I had never fully acknowledged. That was it, wasn’t it? The thing that made it so difficult for me not to pick at the edges, the inability to let things be, to replace one anxiety with a new one as soon as the first one abated, to resist comforting platitudes like “Everything happens for a reason,” to ask the unanswerable “What if?’ ” and ‘Why?’ over and over again, even on the sunniest of days. That was what made me not be able to let go of the unfairness of what had happened to Ashley. That was who”” [Carolyn Murnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-murnick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer describes a restless inner search, anxiety cycles, and the struggle to accept uncertainty, especially after a friend’s tragedy. **In simple terms:** Anxiety drives endless questioning and resistance to simple comforts. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness to break the anxiety loop. Themes anxiety self‑questioning grief acceptance Mood somber introspective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - grief counseling - mindful breathing Key Concepts psychology existentialism mental health Questions to Reflect On - What can you do when anxiety spikes? - How might you find peace without over‑analyzing? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize suffering without offering concrete coping tools. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happened Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-ashley-3393275/) [Happens for a reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens-for-a-reason/) [Inability Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability-let-3216887/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Unanswerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unanswerable-547814/) [Unfairness Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfairness-happened-3393276/) ## Related quotes > [“The root of all of our problems is our inability to let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/the-root-of-all-of-our-problems-is-our-inability-to-let-go/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [The reason the mind has such a hard time being happy is because of it's inability to let go & move on from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reason-the-mind-has-such-a-hard-time-being-happy-is-because-of-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm sorry for my inability to let unimportant things go, for my inability to hold on to the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-m-sorry-for-my-inability-to-let-unimportant-things-go-for-my/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Undoubtedly we have no questions to ask which are unanswerable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/undoubtedly-we-have-no-questions-to-ask-which-are-unanswerable/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Of all eloquence a nickname is the most concise; of all arguments the most unanswerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/of-all-eloquence-a-nickname-is-the-most-concise-of-all-arguments-the/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“The question is unanswerable, which is not to say futile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-question-is-unanswerable-which-is-not-to-say-futile/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [ \[Flürscheim\] was good at unanswerable arguments. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-kelk-ingold/fl-rscheim-was-good-at-unanswerable-arguments/) [Christopher Kelk Ingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-kelk-ingold/) > [To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-learn-which-questions-are-unanswerable-and-not-to-answer-them-this/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Jokes are unanswerable objections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/jokes-are-unanswerable-objections/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Life's big questions are big in the sense that they are momentuous. However, contrary to appearances, they are not big in the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/life-s-big-questions-are-big-in-the-sense-that-they-are-momentuous/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“If I can give you all of these real answers to the questions you assumed were big unanswerable ones, imagine the depth of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-vaeni/if-i-can-give-you-all-of-these-real-answers-to-the-questions-you/) [Jeremy Vaeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-vaeni/) > [“That's what I tell myself now, when it's too late to do anything about it, when it's done-when the kind of person I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-redisch-stampler/that-s-what-i-tell-myself-now-when-it-s-too-late-to-do-anything-about/) [Ann Redisch Stampler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-redisch-stampler/) > [Perhaps depression is caused by asking oneself too many unanswerable questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/perhaps-depression-is-caused-by-asking-oneself-too-many-unanswerable/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [My mom was there to answer the unanswerable, to make sense of the fault in our life - and we got through that somehow;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-whitney/my-mom-was-there-to-answer-the-unanswerable-to-make-sense-of-the/) [Daisy Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-whitney/) > [“Perhaps the one unanswerable question in life is why so many of us choose to live in a fantasy world of our own creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashavan/perhaps-the-one-unanswerable-question-in-life-is-why-so-many-of-us/) [Ashavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashavan/) ## More by Carolyn Murnick > [“I did believe everyone with even a little self-awareness was holding on to some wound or another somewhere, be it physical or emotional or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murnick/i-did-believe-everyone-with-even-a-little-self-awareness-was-holding/) [Carolyn Murnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-murnick/) > [“I googled Clara Shortridge Foltz. She had been a famous suffragette and the first female lawyer in California. After her husband had left her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murnick/i-googled-clara-shortridge-foltz-she-had-been-a-famous-suffragette/) [Carolyn Murnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-murnick/) [Explore all 3 Carolyn Murnick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-murnick/) ## More Happens for a reason quotes > [But if I've heard this saying once, I've heard it a thousand times- everything happens for a reason. And possibly it does. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lawler/but-if-i-ve-heard-this-saying-once-i-ve-heard-it-a-thousand-times/) [Jerry Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lawler/) > [I do believe in love at first sight. I believe in a lot of thing. I truly believe everything happens for a reason, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-believe-in-love-at-first-sight-i-believe-in-a-lot-of-thing-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a strong believer in thinking everything happens for a reason. Only time will tell what that reason really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-a-strong-believer-in-thinking-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You dont have to be sad if someone leaves you. You should always bear in mind that everything happens for a reason. Please dont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-dont-have-to-be-sad-if-someone-leaves-you-you-should-always-bear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about those who don’t. Believe everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mackay/life-is-too-short-to-wake-up-with-regrets-so-love-the-people-who/) [Harvey Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mackay/) > [“When it comes to big things in life, there are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-it-comes-to-big-things-in-life-there-are-no-accidents-everything/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) [Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/) > [If 'everything happens for a reason,' then every act of evil is ultimately God's doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hamilton/if-everything-happens-for-a-reason-then-every-act-of-evil-is/) [Adam Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hamilton/) > [Somethings you have no control over so its pointless trying to change them. Everything happens for a reason...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/somethings-you-have-no-control-over-so-its-pointless-trying-to-change/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always say that things are meant to be and everything happens for a reason, so I don't have any regrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-pietersen/i-always-say-that-things-are-meant-to-be-and-everything-happens-for-a/) [Kevin Pietersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-pietersen/) > [“The people we've met and the situation we are in are not by chance, it happens for a reason and it is part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lace-jimenez/the-people-we-ve-met-and-the-situation-we-are-in-are-not-by-chance-it/) [Lace Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lace-jimenez/) > [On one hand, we know that everything happens for a reason, and there are no mistakes or coincidences. On the other hand, we learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/on-one-hand-we-know-that-everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-there/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [Things happens for a reason. If someone gets out of your way... someone will come that will love you better than what you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/presange-sicat/things-happens-for-a-reason-if-someone-gets-out-of-your-way-someone/) [Presange Sicat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/presange-sicat/) > [If everything happens for a reason, then me being pissed off is a part of that reason right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-everything-happens-for-a-reason-then-me-being-pissed-off-is-a-part/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Things change but I keep asking myself why I keep on loving Him. It happens for a reason, maybe..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiightletters/things-change-but-i-keep-asking-myself-why-i-keep-on-loving-him-it/) [Eiightletters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiightletters/) [Browse all 493 Happens for a reason quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens-for-a-reason/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was silence and a new recognition of a perpetually searching quality within me that I had never fully acknowledged. That was it, wasn’t it? The thing that made it so difficult for me not to pick at the edges, the inability to let things be, to replace one anxiety with a new one as soon as the first one abated, to resist comforting platitudes like “Everything happens for a reason,” to ask the unanswerable “What if?’ ” and ‘Why?’ over and over again, even on the sunniest of days. That was what made me not be able to let go of the unfairness of what had happened to Ashley. That was who”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carolyn Murnick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murnick/there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition-of-a-perpetually-searching/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happens for a reason" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murnick/there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition-of-a-perpetually-searching/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/carolyn-murnick-84691_happens-for-a-reason_there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition_1982574.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/carolyn-murnick-84691_happens-for-a-reason_there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition_1982574.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/carolyn-murnick-84691_happens-for-a-reason_there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition_1982574.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was silence and a new recognition of a perpetually searching quality within me that I had never fully…” — Carolyn Murnick", "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": "Carolyn Murnick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-murnick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There was silence and a new...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murnick/there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition-of-a-perpetually-searching/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murnick/there-was-silence-and-a-new-recognition-of-a-perpetually-searching/#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 } } ] } ```