--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What luxury, to be so happy that we can…" description: "\"What luxury, to be so happy that we can grieve over imaginary lives.\" — Lisel Mueller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/lisel-mueller-24263_grieve_what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-g_828426.png" --- # What luxury, to be so happy that we can grieve over… ![“What luxury, to be so happy that we can grieve over imaginary lives.” quote by Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/lisel-mueller-24263_grieve_what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-g_828426.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/lisel-mueller-24263_grieve_what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-g_828426.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/lisel-mueller-24263_grieve_what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-g_828426.png) > “What luxury, to be so happy that we can grieve over imaginary lives.” [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness can be so intense that it makes us mourn the lives we imagine but never live. **In simple terms:** Intense joy can cause grief for imagined lives. Key Takeaway Recognize and balance joy with realistic expectations. Themes joy grief imagination reality Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - mental health counseling Key Concepts existentialism emotional intensity Questions to Reflect On - Do you often wish for a different life? - How does joy turn into sorrow? A Different Perspective Idealizing imagined lives may distract from appreciating real experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieve/) [Grieve Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieve-imaginary-537087/) [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [Happy Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-grieve-537088/) [Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) [Imaginary life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary-life/) [Imaginary Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary-lives-537090/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Luxury Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury-happy-537089/) ## Related quotes > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“your right I get it it all make sense now, your the perfect person so right so wrong lets all live in your imaginary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chevelle/your-right-i-get-it-it-all-make-sense-now-your-the-perfect-person-so/) [chevelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chevelle/) > [I have to be able to shake my imaginary life from my real life when I walk through the door with my children who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-sorvino/i-have-to-be-able-to-shake-my-imaginary-life-from-my-real-life-when-i/) [Mira Sorvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-sorvino/) > [“We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves and in our own being; we desire to live an imaginary life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-do-not-content-ourselves-with-the-life-we-have-in-ourselves-and-in-2/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“It was then that I began to write. 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Let's all live in your imaginary life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chevelle/you-re-right-i-get-it-it-all-makes-sense-you-re-the-perfect-person-so/) [Chevelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chevelle/) > [We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves and in our being; we desire to live an imaginary life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-do-not-content-ourselves-with-the-life-we-have-in-ourselves-and-in/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves; we desire to live an imaginary life in the minds of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-do-not-content-ourselves-with-the-life-we-have-in-ourselves-we/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [We are not satisfied with real life; we want to live some imaginary life in the eyes of other people and to seem different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-are-not-satisfied-with-real-life-we-want-to-live-some-imaginary/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very lonely child. Because I was very socially awkward, I would always have trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape-i-was-a-very-lonely-child/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“He thought of his own by-now legendary novel, American Disillusionment, that cyclone which, for years, had woven its erratic path across the flatlands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/he-thought-of-his-own-by-now-legendary-novel-american-disillusionment/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I think the written word is my first love. I was just a very imagination - centered child and a big part of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-kazan/i-think-the-written-word-is-my-first-love-i-was-just-a-very/) [Zoe Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-kazan/) > [“For the record, I'm not an indecisive person, and I'm not a coward. I just have a very detailed imaginary life, and it sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bard/for-the-record-i-m-not-an-indecisive-person-and-i-m-not-a-coward-i/) [Elizabeth Bard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bard/) ## More by Lisel Mueller > [“What can I say to convince you the Houses of Parliament dissolve night after night to become the fluid dream of the Thames? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/what-can-i-say-to-convince-you-the-houses-of-parliament-dissolve/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [I am imprinted with the whole sense of European history, especially German history, going back to World War I, which really destroyed all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/i-am-imprinted-with-the-whole-sense-of-european-history-especially/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [Poetry, for me, is the answer to, 'How does one stay sane when private lives are being ransacked by public events?' 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The wooden houses wait like old wives along this road; they are everywhere, abandoned, leaning, turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/someone-was-always-leaving-and-never-coming-back-the-wooden-houses/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [“What happened is, we grew lonely living among the things, so we gave the clock a face, the chair a back, the table four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/what-happened-is-we-grew-lonely-living-among-the-things-so-we-gave-2/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [How swiftly the strained honey of afternoon light flows into darkness and the closed bud shrugs off its special mystery in order to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/how-swiftly-the-strained-honey-of-afternoon-light-flows-into-darkness/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [“Whatever was bound to happen in my story did not happen. But I know there are rules that cannot be broken. Perhaps a name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/whatever-was-bound-to-happen-in-my-story-did-not-happen-but-i-know/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [Well, language seems to be something that obsesses me. I'm always writing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/well-language-seems-to-be-something-that-obsesses-me-i-m-always/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) [Explore all 24 Lisel Mueller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) ## More Grieve quotes > [... I think we grieve forever, but that goes for love too, fortunately for us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/i-think-we-grieve-forever-but-that-goes-for-love-too-fortunately-for/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“If one lied, or put you down, don't mourn don't grieve, for why do you care, you don't want to be friends with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-rosenberg/if-one-lied-or-put-you-down-don-t-mourn-don-t-grieve-for-why-do-you/) [Zoe Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-rosenberg/) > [“I'm not saying we shouldn't grieve. Just, why don't we put it in God's hands? she said. Why haven't we learned this, after all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-m-not-saying-we-shouldn-t-grieve-just-why-don-t-we-put-it-in-god-s/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Dont grieve any more, see I am coming up with you everyday now, and if there is anything the matter, you can come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-spyri/dont-grieve-any-more-see-i-am-coming-up-with-you-everyday-now-and-if/) [Johanna Spyri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-spyri/) > [“I have the ghost of you pressing against my ribs like deep water. It is only now, in this cardigan of a house that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-walker/i-have-the-ghost-of-you-pressing-against-my-ribs-like-deep-water-it/) [Yvette Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-walker/) > [Man, when he does not grieve, hardly exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/man-when-he-does-not-grieve-hardly-exists/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [“The most difficult experience one might ever have, is to grieve the loss of a Loved-one who is still alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-d-longoria-jr/the-most-difficult-experience-one-might-ever-have-is-to-grieve-the/) [Raymond D. Longoria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-d-longoria-jr/) > [God is inviting you today to appropriately grieve your pains and losses and to acknowledge the world is seriously broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/god-is-inviting-you-today-to-appropriately-grieve-your-pains-and/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Browse all 265 Grieve quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieve/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What luxury, to be so happy that we can grieve over imaginary lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lisel Mueller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-grieve-over-imaginary-lives/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grieve" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-grieve-over-imaginary-lives/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/lisel-mueller-24263_grieve_what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-g_828426.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/lisel-mueller-24263_grieve_what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-g_828426.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/lisel-mueller-24263_grieve_what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-g_828426.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What luxury, to be so happy that we can grieve over imaginary lives.” — Lisel Mueller", "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": "Lisel Mueller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What luxury, to be so happy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-grieve-over-imaginary-lives/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/what-luxury-to-be-so-happy-that-we-can-grieve-over-imaginary-lives/#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 } } ] } ```