--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: accident ruled every corner of the…" description: "\"accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.\" — David Guterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/david-guterson-8456_accident_accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-unive_37812.png" --- # accident ruled every corner of the universe except the… ![“accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.” quote by David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/david-guterson-8456_accident_accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-unive_37812.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/david-guterson-8456_accident_accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-unive_37812.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/david-guterson-8456_accident_accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-unive_37812.png) > “accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.” [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that randomness and chance affect all aspects of existence, yet the deepest emotions and decisions within a person remain beyond the reach of pure accident. **In simple terms:** Chance governs everything except the heart's choices. Key Takeaway Heartfelt decisions are beyond random fate. Themes fate emotion human agency determinism uncertainty Mood contemplative melancholic hopeful Type philosophical poetic reflective When to use this quote - making a personal commitment - experiencing love - facing moral dilemmas - reflecting on destiny Key Concepts human heart accident universe choice Practical Applications - writing introspective literature - guiding therapeutic counseling Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile randomness with personal responsibility? - Can the heart truly be free from external forces? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Corner Of The Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corner-of-the-universe/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [“Ishmael gave himself to the writing of it, and as he did so he understood this, too: that accident ruled every corner of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/ishmael-gave-himself-to-the-writing-of-it-and-as-he-did-so-he/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Some things happen by accident - embrace them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-testino/some-things-happen-by-accident-embrace-them/) [Mario Testino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-testino/) > [It takes two to make an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-takes-two-to-make-an-accident/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I've always said that, growing up in postwar Japan, I never felt any connection to my work through those experiences. The work I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rei-kawakubo/i-ve-always-said-that-growing-up-in-postwar-japan-i-never-felt-any/) [Rei Kawakubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rei-kawakubo/) > [Normally, the same strange impulse which brings a crowd to an accident is present in the reaction to a concert in which something goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-st-john/normally-the-same-strange-impulse-which-brings-a-crowd-to-an-accident/) [Lara St. John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-st-john/) > [Excellence is never an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerold-panas/excellence-is-never-an-accident/) [Jerold Panas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerold-panas/) > [We’re only here for a short while. And I think it’s such a lucky accident, having been born, that we’re almost obliged to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/we-re-only-here-for-a-short-while-and-i-think-it-s-such-a-lucky/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [My mother's sister was killed in a trolley car accident, so I was raised as one of eight with my sister and six male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-king/my-mother-s-sister-was-killed-in-a-trolley-car-accident-so-i-was/) [Alan King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-king/) > [An unexamined faith is not worth having, for it can be true only by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-luther-adams/an-unexamined-faith-is-not-worth-having-for-it-can-be-true-only-by/) [James Luther Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-luther-adams/) > [Man was an accident on this world or it would have been made better for him!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/man-was-an-accident-on-this-world-or-it-would-have-been-made-better/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) ## More by David Guterson > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [He decided then that he would love her forever no matter what came to pass. It was not so much a matter of deciding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/he-decided-then-that-he-would-love-her-forever-no-matter-what-came-to/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There's a certain nostalgia and romance in a place you left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/there-s-a-certain-nostalgia-and-romance-in-a-place-you-left/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Hemingway said the only way to write about a place is to leave it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/hemingway-said-the-only-way-to-write-about-a-place-is-to-leave-it/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [It doesn't matter who you are, how many awards you've won, how popular you are, or how much critical acclaim you've had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/it-doesn-t-matter-who-you-are-how-many-awards-you-ve-won-how-popular/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“Ben remembered that in Italy, he and Rachel had slipped down between rows of apple trees on the plain of the Po, deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/ben-remembered-that-in-italy-he-and-rachel-had-slipped-down-between/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“The color of the sky was like a length of white chalk turned on its side and rubbed into asphalt. Sanded--that was how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/the-color-of-the-sky-was-like-a-length-of-white-chalk-turned-on-its/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [To deny that there was this dark side of life would be like pretending that the cold of winter was somehow only a temporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of-life-would-be-like/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [We should recognize that schools will never solve the bedrock problems of education because the problems are problems of families, of cultural pressures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/we-should-recognize-that-schools-will-never-solve-the-bedrock/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“It ate at whatever was warm nearby, and then the coldness settled in permanently. You learned to live with it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/it-ate-at-whatever-was-warm-nearby-and-then-the-coldness-settled-in/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“The trick was to live here without hating yourself because all around you was hatred. The trick was to refuse to allow your pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/the-trick-was-to-live-here-without-hating-yourself-because-all-around/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [I grew up in Seattle, but I always knew I wanted to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/i-grew-up-in-seattle-but-i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-leave/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [A literary achievement of the highest order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/a-literary-achievement-of-the-highest-order/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Well, I think it’s extraordinarily fun to write, and I look forward to it every day, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s easy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/well-i-think-it-s-extraordinarily-fun-to-write-and-i-look-forward-to/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“He hoped it would snow recklessly and bring to the island the impossible winter purity, so rare and precious, he remembered fondly from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/he-hoped-it-would-snow-recklessly-and-bring-to-the-island-the/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) [Explore all 80 David Guterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) ## More Accident quotes > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [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/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-got-out-of-the-hospital-i-was-in-a-speed-reading-accident-i/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-shukla/however-i-met-with-a-horrible-accident-while-riding-my-bike-in-sangla/) [Abhinav Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-shukla/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man was an accident on this world or it would have been made better for him!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/man-was-an-accident-on-this-world-or-it-would-have-been-made-better/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 922 Accident quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Guterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accident" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/david-guterson-8456_accident_accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-unive_37812.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/david-guterson-8456_accident_accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-unive_37812.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/david-guterson-8456_accident_accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-unive_37812.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.” — David Guterson", "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": "David Guterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "accident ruled every corner of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/#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 } } ] } ```