--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When in the end, the day came on which I…" description: "\"When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/isak-dinesen-3174_ends_when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i_2066640.jpg" --- # When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I… ![“When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagine, either beforehand, or at the time when they are taking place, or afterwards when we look back on them.” quote by Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/isak-dinesen-3174_ends_when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i_2066640.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/isak-dinesen-3174_ends_when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i_2066640.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/isak-dinesen-3174_ends_when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i_2066640.jpg) > “When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagine, either beforehand, or at the time when they are taking place, or afterwards when we look back on them.” [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexpected events can unfold beyond our imagination, revealing limits of foresight. **In simple terms:** Life can surprise us beyond what we predict. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty. Themes uncertainty growth humility Mood philosophical reflective Type thoughtful curious When to use this quote - travel - career changes - personal crises - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to unforeseen changes? - What can you learn from past surprises? A Different Perspective Uncertainty can cause anxiety and paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Going away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-away/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“One thing I've learned is that strange things do happen. They happen all the time. Today, for instance, my best friend Jill's cat spoke.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/one-thing-i-ve-learned-is-that-strange-things-do-happen-they-happen/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Strange as it may seem, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and formal education positively fortifies it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vizinczey/strange-as-it-may-seem-no-amount-of-learning-can-cure-stupidity-and/) [Stephen Vizinczey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vizinczey/) > [Strange about learning; the farther I go the more I see that I never knew even existed. A short while ago I foolishly thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/strange-about-learning-the-farther-i-go-the-more-i-see-that-i-never/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and higher education positively fortifies it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vizinczey/strange-as-it-seems-no-amount-of-learning-can-cure-stupidity-and/) [Stephen Vizinczey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vizinczey/) > [Strange about learning; the farther I go the more I see that I never knew even existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/strange-about-learning-the-farther-i-go-the-more-i-see-that-i-never-2/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/we-have-learned-that-we-cannot-live-alone-at-peace-that-our-own-well-2/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of nations far away. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/we-have-learned-that-we-cannot-live-alone-at-peace-that-our-own-well/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Give away everything you have learned. If for no other reason, do it selfishly; in order to get more, you must give more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cottrell/give-away-everything-you-have-learned-if-for-no-other-reason-do-it/) [David Cottrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cottrell/) > [While you were trying to go away from me, I learned to live without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/while-you-were-trying-to-go-away-from-me-i-learned-to-live-without-you/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [France was probably the best thing for me. All the things I took away from it and learned from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-horan/france-was-probably-the-best-thing-for-me-all-the-things-i-took-away/) [Lindsey Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-horan/) > [“I used to think that only death could take someone away from me, but I have learned so many lesser things could steal someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-used-to-think-that-only-death-could-take-someone-away-from-me-but-i/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [As we encounter new experiences with a mindful and wise attention, we discover that one of three things will happen to our new experience:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/as-we-encounter-new-experiences-with-a-mindful-and-wise-attention-we/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [I've always had better luck learning things on my own. And I really love the challenge of doing it yourself and kind of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-peli/i-ve-always-had-better-luck-learning-things-on-my-own-and-i-really/) [Oren Peli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-peli/) > [I was much better at learning things before I knew about boobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-was-much-better-at-learning-things-before-i-knew-about-boobs/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Learning many things does not teach understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/learning-many-things-does-not-teach-understanding/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) ## More by Isak Dinesen > [The divine art is the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/the-divine-art-is-the-story/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [Your own self, your personality and existence are reflected within the mind of each of the people whom you meet, ... into a likeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/your-own-self-your-personality-and-existence-are-reflected-within-the/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [A great artist is never poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/a-great-artist-is-never-poor/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [To be a person is to have a story to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/to-be-a-person-is-to-have-a-story-to-tell/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [One does not travel by plane. One is merely sent, like a parcel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/one-does-not-travel-by-plane-one-is-merely-sent-like-a-parcel/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [When we are young the idea of death or failure is intolerable to us; even the possibility of ridicule we cannot bear. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-we-are-young-the-idea-of-death-or-failure-is-intolerable-to-us/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [Here and there, in some older houses, old faded daguerreotypes still hang on the walls... They seem to us to be very simple... compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/here-and-there-in-some-older-houses-old-faded-daguerreotypes-still/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“It is more than their land that you take away from the people, whose Native land you take. It is their past as well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/it-is-more-than-their-land-that-you-take-away-from-the-people-whose/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [There was a place in the Hills, on the first ridge in the Game Reserve, that I myself at the time when I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/there-was-a-place-in-the-hills-on-the-first-ridge-in-the-game-reserve/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/if-i-know-a-song-of-africa-of-the-giraffe-and-the-african-new-moon/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [People who dream when they sleep at night know of a special kind of happiness which the world of the day holds not, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/people-who-dream-when-they-sleep-at-night-know-of-a-special-kind-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [All sorrows can be borne if you can put them into a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/all-sorrows-can-be-borne-if-you-can-put-them-into-a-story/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [the true art of the gods is the comic. The comic is a condescension of the divine to the world of man; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/the-true-art-of-the-gods-is-the-comic-the-comic-is-a-condescension-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“Dr Sass…maintained that in paradise, until the time of the fall, the whole world was flat, the back-curtain of the Lord, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/dr-sass-maintained-that-in-paradise-until-the-time-of-the-fall-the/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-you-have-a-great-and-difficult-task-something-perhaps-almost/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) [Explore all 135 Isak Dinesen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) ## More Ends 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/) > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) Browse all 20,790 Ends quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagine, either beforehand, or at the time when they are taking place, or afterwards when we look back on them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isak Dinesen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i-was-going-away-i-learned-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ends" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i-was-going-away-i-learned-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/isak-dinesen-3174_ends_when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i_2066640.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/isak-dinesen-3174_ends_when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i_2066640.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/isak-dinesen-3174_ends_when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i_2066640.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can…” — Isak Dinesen", "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": "Isak Dinesen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When in the end, the day...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i-was-going-away-i-learned-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-in-the-end-the-day-came-on-which-i-was-going-away-i-learned-the/#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 } } ] } ```