--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why have I been chasing happiness my…" description: "\"“Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?”\" — Elizabeth Gilbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-who_3123354.jpg" --- # Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss… ![“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/e64/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-who_3123354.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-who_3123354.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-who_3123354.jpg) > ““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. The quote reflects realizing that true contentment is often present, not something to be pursued externally. **In simple terms:** Happiness is already here. Key Takeaway Seek presence, not pursuit. Themes self‑discovery contentment mindfulness Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily life - meditation - therapy - relationships Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does “bliss” mean to you now? - How can you notice present joy? A Different Perspective It may overlook external factors that affect well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Bliss Entire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss-entire-4434161/) [Chasing Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chasing-happiness-508110/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-bliss-807063/) [Whole life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-life/) ## Related quotes > [I wondered, "Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-wondered-why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss/) [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“...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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-hyatt-james/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kino-makoto/) > [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/) > [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/) ## 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? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. 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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. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. 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. They are spontaneous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/they-happen-only-when-you-are-distant-aloof-they-happen-they-cannot/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [“Ignorance was bliss. 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": "“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/why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss-was-here/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bliss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss-was-here/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-who_3123354.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-who_3123354.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/elizabeth-gilbert-131_bliss_why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-who_3123354.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“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": "“Why have I been chasing happiness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss-was-here/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/why-have-i-been-chasing-happiness-my-whole-life-when-bliss-was-here/#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 } } ] } ```