--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wondered, \"Why have I been chasing…" description: "\"I wondered, \"Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?\" — Elizabeth Gilbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happi_2948823.jpg" --- # I wondered, "Why have I been chasing happiness my whole… ![“I wondered, "Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happi_2948823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happi_2948823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happi_2948823.jpg) > “I wondered, "Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?” [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness is often present all along; we chase it elsewhere without realizing it's already within. **In simple terms:** Happiness is already present. Key Takeaway Seek contentment now. Themes happiness self-discovery mindfulness Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily life - personal growth Key Concepts inner peace acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What does inner bliss look like for you? - How can you stay present? A Different Perspective We may miss present moments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss-was-here/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I never knew that life could be more colorful until I met someone who made me feel the true essence of enchantment,,for the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yllorm28/i-never-knew-that-life-could-be-more-colorful-until-i-met-someone-who/) [Yllorm28](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yllorm28/) > [Until you take ownership for your life, you will always be chasing happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-stephenson/until-you-take-ownership-for-your-life-you-will-always-be-chasing/) [Sean Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-stephenson/) > [“I cannot give up chasing after happiness simply because there might be pain down the road.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-beckstrand/i-cannot-give-up-chasing-after-happiness-simply-because-there-might/) [Jennifer Beckstrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-beckstrand/) > [“...But we also believe that part of our mission in life is to find our bliss and follow it. Life is a precious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-sylvan/but-we-also-believe-that-part-of-our-mission-in-life-is-to-find-our/) [Dianne Sylvan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-sylvan/) > [“Life is a bliss only if you carefully understand it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/life-is-a-bliss-only-if-you-carefully-understand-it/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [“The beauty of life is the bliss of being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-beauty-of-life-is-the-bliss-of-being/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Where there is pleasure of pudgal (non-self complex that which charges & discharges) there is the worldly life. And where there is the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-pleasure-of-pudgal-non-self-complex-that-which-charges/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Life is not a struggle, not a tension. Life has not to be suffering. Life is bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/life-is-not-a-struggle-not-a-tension-life-has-not-to-be-suffering/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [The problem with chasing after happiness was that it wasn't a destination you could reach. It was something that happened along the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/the-problem-with-chasing-after-happiness-was-that-it-wasn-t-a/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Happiness is the time when you're chasing happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kino-makoto/happiness-is-the-time-when-you-re-chasing-happiness/) Kino Makoto > [Happiness is always a by-product. You don't make yourself happy by chasing happiness. You make yourself happy by being a good person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-always-a-by-product-you-don-t-make-yourself-happy-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I think one of the keys to happiness is accepting that I am never going to be perfectly happy. Life is uncomfortable. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glennon-melton/i-think-one-of-the-keys-to-happiness-is-accepting-that-i-am-never/) [Glennon Melton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glennon-melton/) > [“We have come to see money as the key to pleasure, and pleasure as the key to happiness. This definition of happiness has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-colson/we-have-come-to-see-money-as-the-key-to-pleasure-and-pleasure-as-the/) [Charles W. Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-colson/) > [The moment you stop chasing happiness, you become happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-hyatt-james/the-moment-you-stop-chasing-happiness-you-become-happy/) Sandy Hyatt-James ## More by Elizabeth Gilbert > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? 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Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. 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The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) [Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More Bliss quotes > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Music is a lot more like solving an intricate puzzle with moments of pure, random creative bliss... whereas painting is much more purely random…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/music-is-a-lot-more-like-solving-an-intricate-puzzle-with-moments-of/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [“Being around her now was nine parts bliss and one part torment. And he wanted it to last as long as possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringle/being-around-her-now-was-nine-parts-bliss-and-one-part-torment-and-he/) [Molly Ringle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringle/) > [“He was still a mystery to me. And God, did I want to play Nancy Drew.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/he-was-still-a-mystery-to-me-and-god-did-i-want-to-play-nancy-drew/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [Eating, drinking, sleeping a little laughter ! much weeping! Is that all ? Do not die here like a worm. Wake up! Attain immortal bliss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/eating-drinking-sleeping-a-little-laughter-much-weeping-is-that-all/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you drop your unnecessary things, you finally can swoop and fly in vast space. It is so blue, so bright, and so nice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/when-you-drop-your-unnecessary-things-you-finally-can-swoop-and-fly/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [“The smell of her hair lingered just out of reach of his memory and left him with a nervous hum resonating throughout his body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-tomblin/the-smell-of-her-hair-lingered-just-out-of-reach-of-his-memory-and/) [Erik Tomblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-tomblin/) > [“They happen only when you are distant,aloof. They happen, they cannot be brought. They happen you cannot force them to happen. 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Or at least less painfull”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/ignorance-was-bliss-or-at-least-less-painfull/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) [Browse all 1,311 Bliss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wondered, \"Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bliss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happi_2948823.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happi_2948823.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f0/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happi_2948823.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wondered, \"Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?” — Elizabeth Gilbert", "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": "Elizabeth Gilbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wondered, \"Why have I been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss/#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 } } ] } ```