--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think anything might have been…" description: "\"I don't think anything might have been. What is, is.\" — Edward Gorey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/edward-gorey-9339_might_i-don-t-think-anything-might-have-been-w_2947960.jpg" --- # I don't think anything might have been. What is, is. ![“I don't think anything might have been. What is, is.” quote by Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/edward-gorey-9339_might_i-don-t-think-anything-might-have-been-w_2947960.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/edward-gorey-9339_might_i-don-t-think-anything-might-have-been-w_2947960.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/edward-gorey-9339_might_i-don-t-think-anything-might-have-been-w_2947960.jpg) > “I don't think anything might have been. What is, is.” [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on uncertainty, stating that what exists simply is. **In simple terms:** Accepting uncertainty; what is, is. Key Takeaway Embrace the present without over‑analysis. Themes uncertainty existence acceptance Mood contemplative quiet Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - decision making Key Concepts philosophy mindfulness existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does “what is, is” mean to you? - How can you act amid uncertainty? A Different Perspective May ignore actionable insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Don Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-think/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Might have been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might-have-been/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [What is, is, and what might have been could never have existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-could-never-have-existed/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) [Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [Don't even think for a moment that you are not going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/don-t-even-think-for-a-moment-that-you-are-not-going-to-die/) [Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/harry-looked-around-there-was-ginny-running-toward-him-she-had-a-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) > [So I'm an ace?' Will grinned. 'I'm flattered Halt, flattered. I had no idea you regarded me so highly.' Halt gave him a long-suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/so-i-m-an-ace-will-grinned-i-m-flattered-halt-flattered-i-had-no-idea/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [In science, each new result, sometimes quite surprising, heralds a step forward and allows one to discard some hypotheses, even though one or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/in-science-each-new-result-sometimes-quite-surprising-heralds-a-step/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. 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Two people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-french/the-pink-panther-wasn-t-shown-to-the-press-for-reasons-that-soon/) [Philip French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-french/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [There is a wealth of unexpressed love in the world. It is one of the chief causes of sorrow evoked by death: what might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hopkins/there-is-a-wealth-of-unexpressed-love-in-the-world-it-is-one-of-the/) [Arthur Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hopkins/) ## More by Edward Gorey > [I have given up considering happiness as relevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-have-given-up-considering-happiness-as-relevant/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Interviewer: What is your greatest regret? Gorey: That I don't have one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/interviewer-what-is-your-greatest-regret-gorey-that-i-don-t-have-one/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I should like a parsley sandwich. To the best of my knowledge they are not in season.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-should-like-a-parsley-sandwich-to-the-best-of-my-knowledge-they-are/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [There was a young lady named Mae Who smoked without stopping all day; As pack followed pack, Her lungs first turned black, And eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/there-was-a-young-lady-named-mae-who-smoked-without-stopping-all-day/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“Apropos of nothing at all except that it has been on my mind and I think I had better say it because it accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/apropos-of-nothing-at-all-except-that-it-has-been-on-my-mind-and-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Vice is nice, but a little virtue won't hurt you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/vice-is-nice-but-a-little-virtue-won-t-hurt-you/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“How elegant! how choice! how gay! To think one doesn’t have to pay. There is sound of falling tears; It comes from nowhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/how-elegant-how-choice-how-gay-to-think-one-doesn-t-have-to-pay-there/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I just kind of conjured them up out of my subconscious and put them in order of ascending peculiarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-just-kind-of-conjured-them-up-out-of-my-subconscious-and-put-them/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I've never had any intentions about anything. That's why I am where I am today, which is neither here nor there, in a literal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-ve-never-had-any-intentions-about-anything-that-s-why-i-am-where-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [The Suicide, as she is falling, Illuminated by the moon, Regrets her act, and finds appalling The thought she will be dead so soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/the-suicide-as-she-is-falling-illuminated-by-the-moon-regrets-her-act/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“He presented it with a length of string and passed on to the statue of Corrupted Endeavor to await the arrival of Autumn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/he-presented-it-with-a-length-of-string-and-passed-on-to-the-statue/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I don't know what it is I'm doing. But it's not that. Despite all evidence to the contrary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-don-t-know-what-it-is-i-m-doing-but-it-s-not-that-despite-all/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I realize that homosexuality is a serious problem for anyone who is - but then, of course, heterosexuality is a serious problem for anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-realize-that-homosexuality-is-a-serious-problem-for-anyone-who-is/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as-2/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) [Explore all 73 Edward Gorey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## More Might quotes > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. 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To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) [Frank B. Wilderson III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. 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