--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beware what you wish for, unless you have…" description: "\"“Beware what you wish for, unless you have the grace to hope that your luck can be shared.”\" — Christopher Hitchens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/christopher-hitchens-117_grace_beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have_2302295.jpg" --- # Beware what you wish for, unless you have the grace to… ![“Beware what you wish for, unless you have the grace to hope that your luck can be shared.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/christopher-hitchens-117_grace_beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have_2302295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/christopher-hitchens-117_grace_beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have_2302295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/christopher-hitchens-117_grace_beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have_2302295.jpg) > ““Beware what you wish for, unless you have the grace to hope that your luck can be shared.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that desires can become burdens unless one can share good fortune and remain hopeful. **In simple terms:** Wishes can become heavy without shared hope. Key Takeaway Cultivate generosity and humility. Themes caution hope generosity Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - financial planning - community projects Key Concepts shared responsibility ethical desire Questions to Reflect On - How can you share your successes? - What does it mean to hope for others? A Different Perspective Hope alone may not offset selfish ambition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [“You do not get what you wish for, unless it be known to the source of your desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-f-hodge/you-do-not-get-what-you-wish-for-unless-it-be-known-to-the-source-of/) [T.F. Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [Beware what you might wish for 'cause you might get it and regret it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuxa/beware-what-you-might-wish-for-cause-you-might-get-it-and-regret-it/) Nuxa > [In one way, I'm never going to get out of this material world unless it's by His grace but then again, His grace is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/in-one-way-i-m-never-going-to-get-out-of-this-material-world-unless/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [As badly as I want a medal, I know there is a lot of luck involved in that. I want to put myself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-goucher/as-badly-as-i-want-a-medal-i-know-there-is-a-lot-of-luck-involved-in/) [Kara Goucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-goucher/) > [“My Death If I’m lucky, I’ll be wired every whichway in a hospital bed. Tubes running into my nose. But try not to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/my-death-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-be-wired-every-whichway-in-a-hospital-bed/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Knowledge is folly unless grace guide it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/knowledge-is-folly-unless-grace-guide-it/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/but-what-a-feeling-can-come-over-a-man-just-from-seeing-the-things-he/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Man hopes, genius creates”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/man-hopes-genius-creates/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [One always hopes that you're going to have influence and staying power, but you never know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-frantz/one-always-hopes-that-you-re-going-to-have-influence-and-staying/) [Chris Frantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-frantz/) > [My fan base is really expanding into an inter-generational thing - it's what every artist probably hopes for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/my-fan-base-is-really-expanding-into-an-inter-generational-thing-it-s/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Hopes are dreams of those who are awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hopes-are-dreams-of-those-who-are-awake/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fashion comes out of the world in which you live, your needs, hopes and fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-gucci/fashion-comes-out-of-the-world-in-which-you-live-your-needs-hopes-and/) [Maurizio Gucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-gucci/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Grace quotes > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [“Serve in the grace of strength within thy soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/serve-in-the-grace-of-strength-within-thy-soul/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Grace does not destroy nature, it perfects it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/grace-does-not-destroy-nature-it-perfects-it/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/grace-is-the-wonderful-spirit-that-imbues-every-fiber-of-our-being/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form, grace, strength, compactness, and the hardness and brilliance of a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/asanas-bring-perfection-in-body-beauty-in-form-grace-strength/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us free of charge to enable you to do with ease what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/grace-is-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-coming-to-us-free-of-charge-to/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [ “Through the grace of a thief, one can become a thief and through the grace of a Gnani \[the enlightened one\], one can become… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/through-the-grace-of-a-thief-one-can-become-a-thief-and-through-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“God reproduces and lives out His image in millions of ordinary people like us. It is a supreme mystery. We are called to bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/god-reproduces-and-lives-out-his-image-in-millions-of-ordinary-people/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Grace is upside-down, to-do-list wrecking, scandalous and way-too free. It's one-way love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/grace-is-upside-down-to-do-list-wrecking-scandalous-and-way-too-free/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Browse all 6,886 Grace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Beware what you wish for, unless you have the grace to hope that your luck can be shared.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have-the-grace-to-hope-that-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grace" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have-the-grace-to-hope-that-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/christopher-hitchens-117_grace_beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have_2302295.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/christopher-hitchens-117_grace_beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have_2302295.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/christopher-hitchens-117_grace_beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have_2302295.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Beware what you wish for, unless you have the grace to hope that your luck can be shared.” — Christopher Hitchens", "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": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Beware what you wish for, unless...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have-the-grace-to-hope-that-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/beware-what-you-wish-for-unless-you-have-the-grace-to-hope-that-your/#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 } } ] } ```