--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life, U May told her, is a gift full of…" description: "\"“Life, U May told her, is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one without the oth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/jan-philipp-sendker-17294_happiness_life-u-may-told-her-is-a-gift-full-of-ri_160744.jpg" --- # Life, U May told her, is a gift full of riddles in which… ![“Life, U May told her, is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one without the other was simply bound to fail.” quote by Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/jan-philipp-sendker-17294_happiness_life-u-may-told-her-is-a-gift-full-of-ri_160744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/jan-philipp-sendker-17294_happiness_life-u-may-told-her-is-a-gift-full-of-ri_160744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/jan-philipp-sendker-17294_happiness_life-u-may-told-her-is-a-gift-full-of-ri_160744.jpg) > ““Life, U May told her, is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one without the other was simply bound to fail.”” [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s meaning is that happiness and suffering are inseparable; seeking one without the other leads to failure. **In simple terms:** Joy and pain are linked; you need both. Key Takeaway Embrace both joy and hardship as parts of life. Themes philosophy psychology human experience balance Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - relationships - mental health Key Concepts interdependence acceptance resilience Questions to Reflect On - What does this mean for your coping strategies? - How can you find meaning in suffering? A Different Perspective Focusing only on happiness can cause denial of reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“Life, U May told her, is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/life-u-may-told-her-is-a-gift-full-of-riddles-in-which-suffering-and-2/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“Life is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one without the other was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/life-is-a-gift-full-of-riddles-in-which-suffering-and-happiness-are/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [My mum told me that I have a gift, but it doesn't make me better than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-talbot/my-mum-told-me-that-i-have-a-gift-but-it-doesn-t-make-me-better-than/) Connie Talbot > [“I am just two and two. I am hot. I am cold. I'm the parent of numbers that cannot be told. I'm a gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-smith/i-am-just-two-and-two-i-am-hot-i-am-cold-i-m-the-parent-of-numbers/) [L.J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) > [We are social animals. Others' suffering is ultimately your suffering; their happiness is ultimately your happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-are-social-animals-others-suffering-is-ultimately-your-suffering/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [All human beings have an innate desire to overcome suffering, to find happiness. Training the mind to think differently, through meditation, is one important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-human-beings-have-an-innate-desire-to-overcome-suffering-to-find/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [What you’re believing in the moment creates your suffering or your happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/what-you-re-believing-in-the-moment-creates-your-suffering-or-your/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Most men, whether men or women, wish above all else to be comfortable, and thought is a pre-eminently uncomfortable process; it brings to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/most-men-whether-men-or-women-wish-above-all-else-to-be-comfortable/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“There is no true love save in suffering, and in this world we have to choose either love, which is suffering, or happiness. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/there-is-no-true-love-save-in-suffering-and-in-this-world-we-have-to/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [Your suffering is my suffering and your happiness is my happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/your-suffering-is-my-suffering-and-your-happiness-is-my-happiness/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“But now that I knew that suffering had been my happiness, I asked myself if I wasn't fleeing toward a God because I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/but-now-that-i-knew-that-suffering-had-been-my-happiness-i-asked/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [Happiness and suffering support each other. To be is to inter-be. It's like the left and the right. If the left is not there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/happiness-and-suffering-support-each-other-to-be-is-to-inter-be-it-s/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“Without suffering there cannot be happiness. Without mud there cannot be any lotus flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/without-suffering-there-cannot-be-happiness-without-mud-there-cannot/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu/the-basic-thing-is-that-everyone-wants-happiness-no-one-wants/) [Ritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu/) > [“We are, when we love, in an abnormal state, capable of giving at once to the most apparently simple accident, an accident which may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-are-when-we-love-in-an-abnormal-state-capable-of-giving-at-once-to/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More by Jan-Philipp Sendker > [“Death is not the end of life, but a stage thereof.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/death-is-not-the-end-of-life-but-a-stage-thereof/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“What do violent individuals fear most? Violence? I should say not! By what do the cruel and selfish feel most threatened? All of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/what-do-violent-individuals-fear-most-violence-i-should-say-not-by/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“I’m talking about the organ within us for which we have no name. Let us call it the compass of the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/i-m-talking-about-the-organ-within-us-for-which-we-have-no-name-let/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“I'm not sure I would put it that way. When we get over something, we move on, we put it behind us. Do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/i-m-not-sure-i-would-put-it-that-way-when-we-get-over-something-we/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [ “\[He taught her\] that life is interwoven with suffering. That in every life, without exception, illnesses are unavoidable. That we will age, and that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/he-taught-her-that-life-is-interwoven-with-suffering-that-in-every/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“Only a few days earlier he had explained to her that he did not merely read books but traveled with them, that they took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/only-a-few-days-earlier-he-had-explained-to-her-that-he-did-not/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“That in every life, without exception, illnesses are unavoidable. That we will age, and that we cannot elude death. These are the laws and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/that-in-every-life-without-exception-illnesses-are-unavoidable-that/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“To forgive, one must love and be loved. Only those who forgive can be free. Whoever forgives is a prisoner no more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/to-forgive-one-must-love-and-be-loved-only-those-who-forgive-can-be/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“We wish to be loved as we ourselves would love. Any other way makes as uncomfortable. We respond with doubt and suspicion. We misinterpret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/we-wish-to-be-loved-as-we-ourselves-would-love-any-other-way-makes-as/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“Not all truths are explicable, Julia," he said. "And not all explicable things are true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/not-all-truths-are-explicable-julia-he-said-and-not-all-explicable/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“Who are you? What’s your name?” “Mi Mi.” “Do you hear that thumping noise?” “No.” “It must be here somewhere.” Tin Win knelt down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/who-are-you-what-s-your-name-mi-mi-do-you-hear-that-thumping-noise-no/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“He expected nothing more from life. Not because he was disappointed or embittered. He expected nothing because there was nothing of importance that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/he-expected-nothing-more-from-life-not-because-he-was-disappointed-or/) [jan-philipp sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“How many times must we be loved in order to be happy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/how-many-times-must-we-be-loved-in-order-to-be-happy/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“THE FIRST TIME she left the house with her sleeping son in her arms, still unsteady on her legs, gripping the railing tightly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/the-first-time-she-left-the-house-with-her-sleeping-son-in-her-arms/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) > [“And so there must be in life something like a catastrophic turning point, when the world as we know ceases to exist. A moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/and-so-there-must-be-in-life-something-like-a-catastrophic-turning/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) [Explore all 34 Jan-Philipp Sendker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. 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He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Life, U May told her, is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. 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