--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need to meet, embrace and work with…" description: "\"We need to meet, embrace and work with what we're given. For what we want and what we're given often serve two different gods. And how we respond to th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/mark-nepo-1670_determine_we-need-to-meet-embrace-and-work-with-wh_1710967.png" --- # We need to meet, embrace and work with what we're given… ![“We need to meet, embrace and work with what we're given. For what we want and what we're given often serve two different gods. And how we respond to their meeting determines our path.” quote by Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/mark-nepo-1670_determine_we-need-to-meet-embrace-and-work-with-wh_1710967.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/mark-nepo-1670_determine_we-need-to-meet-embrace-and-work-with-wh_1710967.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/mark-nepo-1670_determine_we-need-to-meet-embrace-and-work-with-wh_1710967.png) > “We need to meet, embrace and work with what we're given. For what we want and what we're given often serve two different gods. And how we respond to their meeting determines our path.” [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must accept our circumstances and align desires with reality, shaping our destiny through our reactions. **In simple terms:** Accept reality, align desires, shape destiny. Key Takeaway Respond wisely to circumstances. Themes acceptance choice destiny Mood thoughtful determined Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - personal relationships - goal setting - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy psychology agency Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile conflicting goals? - What choices define your path? A Different Perspective Balancing desires and reality can be emotionally taxing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-gods/) [Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Given Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-want-744498/) [Gods Respond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods-respond-1245732/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Serve Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serve-different-1245733/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-given-706920/) ## Related quotes > [If you give what can be taken, you are not really giving. Take what you are given, not what you want to be given.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/if-you-give-what-can-be-taken-you-are-not-really-giving-take-what-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“I read way too much given all I want to do every day, and I only recommend books I really like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lincoff/i-read-way-too-much-given-all-i-want-to-do-every-day-and-i-only/) [Gary Lincoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lincoff/) > [Without any demand god has given me everything, still I want tht he should not give me a long life so that my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/without-any-demand-god-has-given-me-everything-still-i-want-tht-he/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [I have been given much, and so I want to give as much as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-munck/i-have-been-given-much-and-so-i-want-to-give-as-much-as-i-can/) [Noah Munck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-munck/) > [Everybody who knows me is like, 'Dude, you've got to chill out.' I can't not work, given where I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/columbus-short/everybody-who-knows-me-is-like-dude-you-ve-got-to-chill-out-i-can-t/) [Columbus Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/columbus-short/) > [Be happy with what you have, grateful for what you are given, and never want more than you need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-happy-with-what-you-have-grateful-for-what-you-are-given-and-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Before I wasn't sure what I wanted to say, but now, I have had so many different experiences that they have given me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-duff/before-i-wasn-t-sure-what-i-wanted-to-say-but-now-i-have-had-so-many/) [Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-duff/) > [Sometimes you're not given what you want because something you need has been planned for you instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakare/sometimes-you-re-not-given-what-you-want-because-something-you-need/) [Bakare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakare/) > [Day by day we are given not what we want but what we need. Sometimes it is a feast and sometimes...swept crumbs, but by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/day-by-day-we-are-given-not-what-we-want-but-what-we-need-sometimes/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [Sometimes you're not given what you want because something better is planned for you instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-re-not-given-what-you-want-because-something-better-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [SNL' has given me so much. I want to keep pouring into that show the way it's given to me and gifted me so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ego-nwodim/snl-has-given-me-so-much-i-want-to-keep-pouring-into-that-show-the/) [Ego Nwodim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ego-nwodim/) > [We only want that which is given naturally to all peoples of the world, to be masters of our own fate, not of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/we-only-want-that-which-is-given-naturally-to-all-peoples-of-the/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) > [Perhaps this was the secret to being at peace: want nothing but what is given to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/perhaps-this-was-the-secret-to-being-at-peace-want-nothing-but-what/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [If you want to be given everything, give everything up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-want-to-be-given-everything-give-everything-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When you come to me, you’ll come to me because you want to. Not because of what I have done or given you. You’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milly-taiden/when-you-come-to-me-you-ll-come-to-me-because-you-want-to-not-because/) [Milly Taiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milly-taiden/) ## More by Mark Nepo > [“Often we find it easier to think our way around things rather than to feel our way through them:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/often-we-find-it-easier-to-think-our-way-around-things-rather-than-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Each soul on earth is complete unto itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/each-soul-on-earth-is-complete-unto-itself/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“a living symbol that can call into my moment of sadness a deeper sense of plenitude and generosity that is always there, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/a-living-symbol-that-can-call-into-my-moment-of-sadness-a-deeper/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“COMING OUT While there is much to do we are not here to do.   Under the want to problem-solve is the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/coming-out-while-there-is-much-to-do-we-are-not-here-to-do-under-the/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The greatest thing we can do to be closer to our own lives and to the freshness of living is to open up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-greatest-thing-we-can-do-to-be-closer-to-our-own-lives-and-to-the/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [For though we stubbornly cling, believing in our moment of hunger that there is no other possibility of love, we only have to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/for-though-we-stubbornly-cling-believing-in-our-moment-of-hunger-that/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Perhaps the hardest thing I've learned, and still struggle with, is that I don't have to be finished in order to be whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/perhaps-the-hardest-thing-i-ve-learned-and-still-struggle-with-is/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [A successful creative expression is one in which the person who has expressed it was transformed for having encountered it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/a-successful-creative-expression-is-one-in-which-the-person-who-has/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [No amount of thinking can stop thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/no-amount-of-thinking-can-stop-thinking/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“Yet beneath all the talk of tragedy and grace, I have come to believe that we are destined to be opened by the living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/yet-beneath-all-the-talk-of-tragedy-and-grace-i-have-come-to-believe/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The glassblower knows: while in the heat of beginning, any shape is possible. Once hardened, the only way to change is to break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-glassblower-knows-while-in-the-heat-of-beginning-any-shape-is/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [We work so hard to get somewhere, to realize a dream, to arrive at some destination, that we often forget that though some satisfaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/we-work-so-hard-to-get-somewhere-to-realize-a-dream-to-arrive-at-some/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Our job is not to expose the mystery but to participate in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/our-job-is-not-to-expose-the-mystery-but-to-participate-in-it/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Pursue the obstacle It will set you free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/pursue-the-obstacle-it-will-set-you-free/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) [Explore all 217 Mark Nepo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) ## More Determine quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [Thought determines action. Do not let your whole life be a reaction to the things that happen around you each day. Let your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/thought-determines-action-do-not-let-your-whole-life-be-a-reaction-to/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [Determine to do some thinking for yourself. Don't live entirely upon the thoughts of others. Don't be an automaton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cash-penney/determine-to-do-some-thinking-for-yourself-don-t-live-entirely-upon/) [James Cash Penney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cash-penney/) > [Choices determine character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/choices-determine-character/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [We must recognize that every nation determines its policies in terms of its own interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-must-recognize-that-every-nation-determines-its-policies-in-terms/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [All writers are forced to live within deadlines, and deadlines determine how good they can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/all-writers-are-forced-to-live-within-deadlines-and-deadlines/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Alfred Nobel stipulated that no distinction of race or colour will determine who received of his generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdus-salam/alfred-nobel-stipulated-that-no-distinction-of-race-or-colour-will/) [Abdus Salam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdus-salam/) > [The enmity of such a party towards Socialism does not mean that the members are only prejudiced against it because they do not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-radek/the-enmity-of-such-a-party-towards-socialism-does-not-mean-that-the/) [Karl Radek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-radek/) > [It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-is-not-the-consciousness-of-men-that-determines-their-being-but-on/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Running gives freedom. When you run you can determine your own tempo. You can choose your own course and think whatever you want. Nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-kuscsik/running-gives-freedom-when-you-run-you-can-determine-your-own-tempo/) [Nina Kuscsik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-kuscsik/) > [I've ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I'm going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-allen/i-ve-ultimately-decided-that-i-will-not-play-this-nba-season-i-m/) [Ray Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-allen/) > [The things you do determine the way people perceive you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-things-you-do-determine-the-way-people-perceive-you/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) [Browse all 2,194 Determine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We need to meet, embrace and work with what we're given. For what we want and what we're given often serve two different gods. 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