--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe that’s all life was, this…" description: "\"“Maybe that’s all life was, this impossibly complicated helix of choice and accident, things you could control and couldn’t. And when the day was done,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/lisa-unger-3678_life_maybe-that-s-all-life-was-this-impossibl_2136455.png" --- # Maybe that’s all life was, this impossibly complicated… ![“Maybe that’s all life was, this impossibly complicated helix of choice and accident, things you could control and couldn’t. And when the day was done, the only measure of success was how happy you were, how much you loved and were loved.” quote by Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/lisa-unger-3678_life_maybe-that-s-all-life-was-this-impossibl_2136455.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/lisa-unger-3678_life_maybe-that-s-all-life-was-this-impossibl_2136455.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/lisa-unger-3678_life_maybe-that-s-all-life-was-this-impossibl_2136455.png) > ““Maybe that’s all life was, this impossibly complicated helix of choice and accident, things you could control and couldn’t. And when the day was done, the only measure of success was how happy you were, how much you loved and were loved.”” [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a tangled mix of decisions and randomness; true success is measured by personal happiness and love received and given. **In simple terms:** Life’s complexity is about choices, chance, and love. Key Takeaway Prioritize happiness and love over external metrics. Themes choice chance love happiness success Mood reflective hopeful melancholic Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - career decisions - health choices - parenting - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism psychology relationships Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance control and acceptance? - What defines love for you? A Different Perspective Happiness can be fleeting and love may not be reciprocated, making the metric unstable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Measure of success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-of-success/) ## Related quotes > [I preferred delivering my performance in person. I liked to be in control. You couldn't be in films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-preferred-delivering-my-performance-in-person-i-liked-to-be-in/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [You just kind of deal with it. Manage it. Do what you can do, but when it hit my hamstring, it was something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevon-looney/you-just-kind-of-deal-with-it-manage-it-do-what-you-can-do-but-when/) [Kevon Looney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevon-looney/) > [I want the subject to be in control. Because they will give me something I couldn't possibly know about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-arnold/i-want-the-subject-to-be-in-control-because-they-will-give-me/) [Eve Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-arnold/) > [Asking someone to be with us turns out to be an impossibly demanding and therefore pretty mean thing to suggest to anyone we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/asking-someone-to-be-with-us-turns-out-to-be-an-impossibly-demanding/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [He was impossibly gorgeous. I had trouble taking it in at times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/he-was-impossibly-gorgeous-i-had-trouble-taking-it-in-at-times/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [Make all the possible possibilities, impossibly possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/make-all-the-possible-possibilities-impossibly-possible/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [I do have impossibly high standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-do-have-impossibly-high-standards/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [“…he seems devastatingly, impossibly handsome, but so aloof and unreachable that it is almost as if she has her nose pressed against a glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-le-carre/he-seems-devastatingly-impossibly-handsome-but-so-aloof-and/) [Georgia Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-le-carre/) > [Its so funny when we know the outcome but still doing it for the impossibly possble desired result...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faiez-moharkan/its-so-funny-when-we-know-the-outcome-but-still-doing-it-for-the/) Faiez Moharkan > [“The fire you have within you is impossible to kill. The first breath you take when you’re free of all this, it will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-yarros/the-fire-you-have-within-you-is-impossible-to-kill-the-first-breath/) [Rebecca Yarros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-yarros/) > [Fonzie was impossibly cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-f-tompkins/fonzie-was-impossibly-cool/) [Paul F. Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-f-tompkins/) > [“Impossibly (A Dante’s Nine MC Novel) by Colleen Masters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/impossibly-a-dante-s-nine-mc-novel-by-colleen-masters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Believe everything you hear said of the world; nothing is too impossibly bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/believe-everything-you-hear-said-of-the-world-nothing-is-too/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [the impossibility of being human all too human this breathing in and out out and in these punks these cowards these champions these mad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-impossibility-of-being-human-all-too-human-this-breathing-in-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I am so happy. I am so impossibly happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-am-so-happy-i-am-so-impossibly-happy/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) ## More by Lisa Unger > [“When they’re small, they’re part of you, on you in bed, showering with you, climbing onto your lap, holding on to your leg. Slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-they-re-small-they-re-part-of-you-on-you-in-bed-showering-with/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“We hate our parents for having their own lives, don’t we, for making decisions for themselves that don’t seem to take us into account.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-hate-our-parents-for-having-their-own-lives-don-t-we-for-making/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“Depression is not dramatic, but it is total. It’s sneaky - you almost don’t notice it at first. Like a cat burglar, it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/depression-is-not-dramatic-but-it-is-total-it-s-sneaky-you-almost-don/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“...in the end it's not just the big and small events that make you who you are, make your life what it is, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/in-the-end-it-s-not-just-the-big-and-small-events-that-make-you-who/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [The Universe doesn't like secrets. It conspires to reveal the truth, to lead you to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/the-universe-doesn-t-like-secrets-it-conspires-to-reveal-the-truth-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“We have more patience for girls who act like boys than boys who act like girls. A tomboy is considered cute. One day she’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-have-more-patience-for-girls-who-act-like-boys-than-boys-who-act/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“You didn't wind up on a pole without a lot of help from your family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/you-didn-t-wind-up-on-a-pole-without-a-lot-of-help-from-your-family/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Writers are first and foremost observers. We lose ourselves in the watching and then the telling of the world we find. Often we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/writers-are-first-and-foremost-observers-we-lose-ourselves-in-the/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [I loved him so much. It didn't change all the reasons we couldn't be together, but it kept me returning to his body, kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/i-loved-him-so-much-it-didn-t-change-all-the-reasons-we-couldn-t-be/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It was a strange lightness, a drifting feeling. Zero gravity. I understood that everything that once seemed solid and immovable might just float away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-was-a-strange-lightness-a-drifting-feeling-zero-gravity-i/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Of course, like all organic processes, there is an ebb and a flow to writing. One does not exist without the other. The writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/of-course-like-all-organic-processes-there-is-an-ebb-and-a-flow-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [When you start to really know someone, all his physical characteristics start to disappear. You begin to dwell in his energy, recognize the scent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-you-start-to-really-know-someone-all-his-physical/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It's strange how memory gets twisted and pulled like taffy in its retelling, how a single event can mean something different to everyone present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-s-strange-how-memory-gets-twisted-and-pulled-like-taffy-in-its/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. I think it's the absence of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-presence-of-something-i-think-it/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Even if someone is overcome with rage, it takes amazing arrogance to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/even-if-someone-is-overcome-with-rage-it-takes-amazing-arrogance-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) [Explore all 124 Lisa Unger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [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/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [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/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Maybe that’s all life was, this impossibly complicated helix of choice and accident, things you could control and couldn’t. 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