--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There aren't many people in our history…" description: "\"There aren't many people in our history who have so completely surrendered themselves to a mission that they would give up their lives for it.\" — Kathr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/kathryn-harrison-31690_giving_there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history_2178576.jpg" --- # There aren't many people in our history who have so… ![“There aren't many people in our history who have so completely surrendered themselves to a mission that they would give up their lives for it.” quote by Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/kathryn-harrison-31690_giving_there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history_2178576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/kathryn-harrison-31690_giving_there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history_2178576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/kathryn-harrison-31690_giving_there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history_2178576.jpg) > “There aren't many people in our history who have so completely surrendered themselves to a mission that they would give up their lives for it.” [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A rare devotion to a cause can lead people to sacrifice everything, even life, for that mission. **In simple terms:** Total devotion can demand ultimate sacrifice. Key Takeaway Recognize the depth of true commitment. Themes dedication selflessness mission Mood reflective serious Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - activism - military service - religious martyrdom - social movements Key Concepts existential purpose heroic sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - What cause would you risk everything for? - Is total surrender always noble? A Different Perspective Such sacrifice may overlook personal well‑being and broader consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Completely Surrendered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/completely-surrendered-881396/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Completely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-completely-4695228/) [Mission Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mission-lives-4695227/) [Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missions/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Surrendered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrendered/) [Surrendered Mission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrendered-mission-4695226/) ## Related quotes > [Peace comes in situations completely surrendered to the sovereign authority of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/peace-comes-in-situations-completely-surrendered-to-the-sovereign/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [Conventional history completely ignores half the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mertz/conventional-history-completely-ignores-half-the-human-race/) [Barbara Mertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mertz/) > [There is no reality but God , says the completely surrendered sheik, who is an ocean for all beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-no-reality-but-god-says-the-completely-surrendered-sheik-who/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Once I surrendered to it, all I tasted was the sweetness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/once-i-surrendered-to-it-all-i-tasted-was-the-sweetness/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Once you have surrendered completely to God, you experience for the first time absolute freedom from the worries, problems and ills of this world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashok-kushwaha/once-you-have-surrendered-completely-to-god-you-experience-for-the/) [Ashok Kushwaha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashok-kushwaha/) > [“Nations that went down fighting rose again, but those who surrendered tamely were finished.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/nations-that-went-down-fighting-rose-again-but-those-who-surrendered/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Life didn’t go how I had planned, but I couldn’t have planned a better life. Somewhere in between the beginning and eternity, I fought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-miller/life-didn-t-go-how-i-had-planned-but-i-couldn-t-have-planned-a-better/) [Laura Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-miller/) > [I've surrendered that to God. I'm not in a battle with what everybody else thinks anymore,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/i-ve-surrendered-that-to-god-i-m-not-in-a-battle-with-what-everybody/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [Probably also due to the political situation getting just worse and more extreme, but also this distance and this sadness of this feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayed-kashua/probably-also-due-to-the-political-situation-getting-just-worse-and/) [Sayed Kashua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayed-kashua/) > [“Do not say I didn't loved you Do not say that I didn't give you, My love, body and soul. I gave my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/do-not-say-i-didn-t-loved-you-do-not-say-that-i-didn-t-give-you-my/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [“God often calls surrendered people to do battle on his behalf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/god-often-calls-surrendered-people-to-do-battle-on-his-behalf/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [The greatest Men and Women are those who surrendered themselves to their higher Being; embraced their highest call; let go of their own needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ces-peta/the-greatest-men-and-women-are-those-who-surrendered-themselves-to/) [Ces Peta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ces-peta/) > [“He has seen the bottomless nonsense of our world and has decided, like most of us, to simply try to tolerate it. He appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/he-has-seen-the-bottomless-nonsense-of-our-world-and-has-decided-like/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-man-had-his-way-the-plan-of-redemption-would-be-an-endless-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm sweetly broken, wholly surrendered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-riddle/i-m-sweetly-broken-wholly-surrendered/) [Jeremy Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-riddle/) ## More by Kathryn Harrison > [As a young woman, I was so eager to please that I served others' happiness and even their values before my own. It didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/as-a-young-woman-i-was-so-eager-to-please-that-i-served-others/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [I've always been interested in the intersection between our rational and our unconscious lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-the-intersection-between-our-rational/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [“If complete enlightenment demands relinquishing the self, then complete enlightenment implies the acceptance of mortality. Not that there isn't more to being enlightened than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/if-complete-enlightenment-demands-relinquishing-the-self-then/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [Sometimes there's a sort of tear in the veil, and there are people who live in more than one dimension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/sometimes-there-s-a-sort-of-tear-in-the-veil-and-there-are-people-who/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [We're taught to expect unconditional love from our parents, but I think it is more the gift our children give us. It's they who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/we-re-taught-to-expect-unconditional-love-from-our-parents-but-i/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [“There must be many of us whose lives have been divided into a before and after, with an accident, a death, a crime, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/there-must-be-many-of-us-whose-lives-have-been-divided-into-a-before/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [The dizzy rapture of starving. The power of needing nothing. By force of will I make myself the impossible sprite who lives on air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/the-dizzy-rapture-of-starving-the-power-of-needing-nothing-by-force/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [“It's terrible to live believing that everything you do is of the utmost importance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/it-s-terrible-to-live-believing-that-everything-you-do-is-of-the/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [I can't work out much about myself or what I see in the world around me unless I do it through writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/i-can-t-work-out-much-about-myself-or-what-i-see-in-the-world-around/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [My days are as long as despair can make them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/my-days-are-as-long-as-despair-can-make-them/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [Writing is how I stay sane. It's completely necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/writing-is-how-i-stay-sane-it-s-completely-necessary/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [Scars are stories, history written on the body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/scars-are-stories-history-written-on-the-body/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [For me, writing is inseparable from thinking. I could say the entire undertaking is a vast cerebral construct against my demons. It's the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/for-me-writing-is-inseparable-from-thinking-i-could-say-the-entire/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [Don’t portray yourself as who you want to be. Portray yourself as who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/don-t-portray-yourself-as-who-you-want-to-be-portray-yourself-as-who/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) > [I like nudging readers into a slightly different perspective, but in a sly way - I want to be the writer who slips a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/i-like-nudging-readers-into-a-slightly-different-perspective-but-in-a/) [Kathryn Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) [Explore all 16 Kathryn Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [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 received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There aren't many people in our history who have so completely surrendered themselves to a mission that they would give up their lives for it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathryn Harrison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history-who-have-so-completely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Giving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history-who-have-so-completely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/kathryn-harrison-31690_giving_there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history_2178576.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/kathryn-harrison-31690_giving_there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history_2178576.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/kathryn-harrison-31690_giving_there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history_2178576.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There aren't many people in our history who have so completely surrendered themselves to a mission that they…” — Kathryn Harrison", "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": "Kathryn Harrison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-harrison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There aren't many people in our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history-who-have-so-completely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-harrison/there-aren-t-many-people-in-our-history-who-have-so-completely/#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 } } ] } ```