--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is a thing to be lived, not spent…" description: "\"Life is a thing to be lived, not spent; to be faced, not ordered. Life is not a game of chess, the victory to the most knowing; it is a game of cards, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/jerome-k-jerome-1155_cards_life-is-a-thing-to-be-lived-not-spent-to_2994794.png" --- # Life is a thing to be lived, not spent; to be faced, not… ![“Life is a thing to be lived, not spent; to be faced, not ordered. Life is not a game of chess, the victory to the most knowing; it is a game of cards, one's hand by skill to be made the best of.” quote by Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/jerome-k-jerome-1155_cards_life-is-a-thing-to-be-lived-not-spent-to_2994794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/jerome-k-jerome-1155_cards_life-is-a-thing-to-be-lived-not-spent-to_2994794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/jerome-k-jerome-1155_cards_life-is-a-thing-to-be-lived-not-spent-to_2994794.png) > “Life is a thing to be lived, not spent; to be faced, not ordered. Life is not a game of chess, the victory to the most knowing; it is a game of cards, one's hand by skill to be made the best of.” [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life should be lived actively, faced directly, not treated like a game with predictable moves. **In simple terms:** Live life actively, not like a chess game. Key Takeaway Engage fully with life’s uncertainties. Themes philosophy life approach agency uncertainty strategy Mood reflective playful thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - adventure planning - risk taking Key Concepts existentialism psychology game theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance planning with spontaneity? - What does “hand of cards” mean for you? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex life decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cards/) [Chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-game/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-thing/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Ordered Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordered-life-1526327/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [“The more settled and ordered one's life - and in particular one's communal life - the easier it becomes for one's imagination to fail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-more-settled-and-ordered-one-s-life-and-in-particular-one-s/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I just didn't want any order in anything. 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As though it were a thing he was able to carry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-yers-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/) [Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/) > [What you want most out of life is the thing you have to give the most of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/what-you-want-most-out-of-life-is-the-thing-you-have-to-give-the-most/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [Is not life in itself a thing of goodness, irrespective of whether the course it takes for us can be called a 'happy' one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/is-not-life-in-itself-a-thing-of-goodness-irrespective-of-whether-the/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [In your whole life the only thing that will Stick by you is your… Shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-your-whole-life-the-only-thing-that-will-stick-by-you-is-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What to do with your one life? The same thing you would do if you had two lives, and this were the second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/what-to-do-with-your-one-life-the-same-thing-you-would-do-if-you-had/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“In this life, only one thing is needful ; God's grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/in-this-life-only-one-thing-is-needful-god-s-grace/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Jerome K. Jerome > [“George goes to sleep at a bank from ten to four each day, except Saturdays, when they wake him up and put him outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/george-goes-to-sleep-at-a-bank-from-ten-to-four-each-day-except/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“He would use a bit of string this time, and at the critical moment, when the old fool was leaning over the chair at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/he-would-use-a-bit-of-string-this-time-and-at-the-critical-moment/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Some people are under the impression that all that is required to make a good fisherman is the ability to tell lies easily and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/some-people-are-under-the-impression-that-all-that-is-required-to/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [It is easy enough to say that poverty is no crime. No; if it were men wouldn't be ashamed of it. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-poverty-is-no-crime-no-if-it-were-men/) [Jerome K. 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Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“I can understand the ignorant masses loving to soak themselves in drink—oh, yes, it's very shocking that they should, of course—very shocking to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/i-can-understand-the-ignorant-masses-loving-to-soak-themselves-in/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [ They \[dogs\] never talk about themselves but listen to you while you talk about yourself, and keep up an appearance of being interested in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/they-dogs-never-talk-about-themselves-but-listen-to-you-while-you/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“And we sit there, by its margin, while the moon, who loves it too, stoops down to kiss it with a sister’s kiss, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/and-we-sit-there-by-its-margin-while-the-moon-who-loves-it-too-stoops/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“The only feeling that a closer intimacy has created in him for his wife is that of indulgent contempt. As there is no equality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/the-only-feeling-that-a-closer-intimacy-has-created-in-him-for-his/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Evil thought is a dangerous pet. It is safer to play with it from behind the iron bars of circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/evil-thought-is-a-dangerous-pet-it-is-safer-to-play-with-it-from/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [If you are foolish enough to be contented, don't show it, but grumble with the rest; and if you can do with a little,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/if-you-are-foolish-enough-to-be-contented-don-t-show-it-but-grumble/) [Jerome K. 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Jerome quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) ## More Cards quotes > [We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/we-cannot-change-the-cards-we-are-dealt-just-how-we-play-the-hand/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [Less than 8 percent of private sector workers belonged to a union in 2004, and, overall, only 12.5 percent of American workers carry a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-chavez/less-than-8-percent-of-private-sector-workers-belonged-to-a-union-in/) [Linda Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-chavez/) > [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. 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