--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we are not sure, we are alive." description: "\"When we are not sure, we are alive.\" — Graham Greene" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/graham-greene-441_alive_when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive-781580_781580.jpg" --- # When we are not sure, we are alive. ![“When we are not sure, we are alive.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/graham-greene-441_alive_when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive-781580_781580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/graham-greene-441_alive_when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive-781580_781580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/graham-greene-441_alive_when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive-781580_781580.jpg) > “When we are not sure, we are alive.” [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uncertainty signals that we are truly living, as doubt fuels awareness and engagement. **In simple terms:** Being unsure means you’re alive. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty as a sign of vitality. Themes existential awareness life philosophy Mood contemplative hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - decision making - creative pursuits - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty motivate you? - What steps help you act despite doubt? A Different Perspective Too much doubt can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sure/) [Sure Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sure-alive-3035378/) ## Related quotes > [“Gwen wasn’t sure if she was still alive, but if she wasn’t, what a way to go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-j-walters/gwen-wasn-t-sure-if-she-was-still-alive-but-if-she-wasn-t-what-a-way/) [N.J. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-j-walters/) > [“How are you sure we're alive?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-are-you-sure-we-re-alive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I guess that's a true friend. Someone who has as much shit as I do going on but still sits down to make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-heath/i-guess-that-s-a-true-friend-someone-who-has-as-much-shit-as-i-do/) [Amanda Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-heath/) > [I was raised in a Christian household and went to a Christian high school, so I believe in creationism, for sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-griffin/i-was-raised-in-a-christian-household-and-went-to-a-christian-high/) [Blake Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-griffin/) > [“We may not be alone, but I sure felt like we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-minkman/we-may-not-be-alone-but-i-sure-felt-like-we-are/) [Jen Minkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-minkman/) > [I wanted him to love me, and I'm quite sure that he didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-sargent/i-wanted-him-to-love-me-and-i-m-quite-sure-that-he-didn-t/) [Dick Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-sargent/) > [A clere conscience is a sure carde.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/a-clere-conscience-is-a-sure-carde/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [“I'm sure if you go forward, that something you'll find it, you'll find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaejin-insoo/i-m-sure-if-you-go-forward-that-something-you-ll-find-it-you-ll-find/) [Chaejin Insoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaejin-insoo/) > [My grandmother made sure that I went to church every Sunday. And she'd come over and pick us boys up, and we would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/my-grandmother-made-sure-that-i-went-to-church-every-sunday-and-she-d/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [The reason we have not gone to newspapers is because its a slow growth industry and I think they are dying. I'm not sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/the-reason-we-have-not-gone-to-newspapers-is-because-its-a-slow/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) > [I'm sure people see me as quiet and someone who keeps things to himself a little bit. I might be quiet, but there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-donald/i-m-sure-people-see-me-as-quiet-and-someone-who-keeps-things-to/) [Luke Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-donald/) > [Without the ability to talk about government power, there's no way for citizens to make sure this power isn't being misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-swartz/without-the-ability-to-talk-about-government-power-there-s-no-way-for/) [Aaron Swartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-swartz/) > [As we go through this transition where a lot more people will be reading on devices, nobody is paying enough attention to make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/as-we-go-through-this-transition-where-a-lot-more-people-will-be/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [“Are you sure?" he asked in a low voice. "Because if I had the chance... I would spend every moment of every day with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-monir/are-you-sure-he-asked-in-a-low-voice-because-if-i-had-the-chance-i/) [Alexandra Monir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-monir/) ## More by Graham Greene > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Knowledge was the great thing--not abstract knowledge in which Dr. Forester had been so rich, the theories which lead one enticingly on with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/knowledge-was-the-great-thing-not-abstract-knowledge-in-which-dr/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [With Your great schemes, You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/with-your-great-schemes-you-ruin-our-happiness-like-a-harvester-ruins/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He had thought that home was something one possessed, but the things one had possessed were cursed with change; it was what one didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-thought-that-home-was-something-one-possessed-but-the-things/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He said, ‘Oh god, help her. Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) [Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we are not sure, we are alive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Graham Greene" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/graham-greene-441_alive_when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive-781580_781580.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/graham-greene-441_alive_when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive-781580_781580.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/graham-greene-441_alive_when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive-781580_781580.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we are not sure, we are alive.” — Graham Greene", "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": "Graham Greene", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we are not sure, we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/when-we-are-not-sure-we-are-alive/#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 } } ] } ```