--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Happiness is closer to the experience of…" description: "\"Happiness is closer to the experience of acceptance and contentment than it is to pleasure. True happiness exists as the spacious and compassionate hea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/noah-levine-12272_acceptance_happiness-is-closer-to-the-experience-of_1486662.png" --- # Happiness is closer to the experience of acceptance and… ![“Happiness is closer to the experience of acceptance and contentment than it is to pleasure. True happiness exists as the spacious and compassionate heart's willingness to feel whatever is present.” quote by Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/noah-levine-12272_acceptance_happiness-is-closer-to-the-experience-of_1486662.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/noah-levine-12272_acceptance_happiness-is-closer-to-the-experience-of_1486662.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/noah-levine-12272_acceptance_happiness-is-closer-to-the-experience-of_1486662.png) > “Happiness is closer to the experience of acceptance and contentment than it is to pleasure. True happiness exists as the spacious and compassionate heart's willingness to feel whatever is present.” [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True happiness stems from acceptance and a compassionate heart, not fleeting pleasure. **In simple terms:** Happiness is acceptance, not pleasure. Key Takeaway Cultivate acceptance and compassion. Themes happiness acceptance compassion Mood calm thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - meditation - therapy - stressful - relationship building - self‑care Key Concepts mindfulness psychology well‑being Questions to Reflect On - What does acceptance feel like for you? - How can you practice compassion daily? A Different Perspective Pleasure can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) [Acceptance Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance-contentment-4680196/) [Compassionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassionate/) [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Contentment Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment-pleasure-405290/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-exists-283807/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [True happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-happiness/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) ## Related quotes > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [It is in the everyday and the commonplace that we learn patience, acceptance, and contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/it-is-in-the-everyday-and-the-commonplace-that-we-learn-patience/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [Contentment is the door to god. If one is contented, one has already arrived. And the meaning of contentment is absolute acceptance as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/contentment-is-the-door-to-god-if-one-is-contented-one-has-already/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That which gives us true freedom and true happiness is the compassionate love of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/that-which-gives-us-true-freedom-and-true-happiness-is-the/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Happiness exists only because it's being supported by the misery of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fuyumi-soryo/happiness-exists-only-because-it-s-being-supported-by-the-misery-of/) [Fuyumi Soryo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fuyumi-soryo/) > [The word happiness exists in every language; it is plausible the thing itself exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-word-happiness-exists-in-every-language-it-is-plausible-the-thing/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“It is only one world in infinite universes where this impossible happiness exists, but that is what makes it so valuable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-only-one-world-in-infinite-universes-where-this-impossible/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can not buy happiness with all the money in the world .. the Kingdom of Happiness exists in your mind and your feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/you-can-not-buy-happiness-with-all-the-money-in-the-world-the-kingdom/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [“...there is also such a thing as ersatz happiness, perhaps happiness exists only as an ersatz, perhaps all happiness is an ersatz for happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/there-is-also-such-a-thing-as-ersatz-happiness-perhaps-happiness/) [Günter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“Loss of supposed happiness brings illusions into the light. Attachment to something is illusion and brings suffering. Attachments are fleeting because they are of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/loss-of-supposed-happiness-brings-illusions-into-the-light-attachment/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Oh not because happiness exists, that too-hasty profit snatched from approaching loss. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* But because truly being here is so much; because everything here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/oh-not-because-happiness-exists-that-too-hasty-profit-snatched-from/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Happiness exists I feel it. I cried for my soul, I cried for the world's soul. The world has a beautiful soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/happiness-exists-i-feel-it-i-cried-for-my-soul-i-cried-for-the-world/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Leave behind the passive dreaming of a rose-tinted future. The energy of happiness exists in living today with roots sunk firmly in reality's soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/leave-behind-the-passive-dreaming-of-a-rose-tinted-future-the-energy/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [“We make choices everyday, some of them good, some of them bad. And if we are strong enough - we live with the consequences.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/we-make-choices-everyday-some-of-them-good-some-of-them-bad-and-if-we-2/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [To be truthful i am not entirely sure what people mean when they talk of happiness. There are moments of joy and laughter, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/to-be-truthful-i-am-not-entirely-sure-what-people-mean-when-they-talk/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) ## More by Noah Levine > [“A good basic guideline for our speech is to reflect on whether what we are saying is both true and useful. There may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/a-good-basic-guideline-for-our-speech-is-to-reflect-on-whether-what/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Actually a solution & a path to personal freedom. My own life's experience w/ both Dharma practice & punk rock inspired me to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/actually-a-solution-a-path-to-personal-freedom-my-own-life-s/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“The greatest satisfaction comes not from chasing pleasure and avoiding pain, but from the radical acceptance of life as it is, without fighting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-greatest-satisfaction-comes-not-from-chasing-pleasure-and/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Loving-kindness is the experience of having a friendly and loving relationship toward ourselves as well as all others. The experience of sending loving-kindness toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/loving-kindness-is-the-experience-of-having-a-friendly-and-loving/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Waking up is not a selfish pursuit of happiness, it is a revolutionary stance, from the inside out, for the benefit of all beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/waking-up-is-not-a-selfish-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-a-revolutionary/) [noah levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [Sitting still is a pain in the ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/sitting-still-is-a-pain-in-the-ass/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“An action from a confused and suffering being in the past doesn't represent what that being is forever; it is only an expression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/an-action-from-a-confused-and-suffering-being-in-the-past-doesn-t/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Serving the truth comes down simply to living life from the place of positive intentions. It means doing the right thing even when everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/serving-the-truth-comes-down-simply-to-living-life-from-the-place-of/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“Does our lack of forgiveness really punish them, or does it just make our hearts hard and our lives unpleasent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/does-our-lack-of-forgiveness-really-punish-them-or-does-it-just-make/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“The Buddha likened humans to the lotus flowers. Out of the deluded mud of human existence, filled with greed, hatred, and delusion, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-buddha-likened-humans-to-the-lotus-flowers-out-of-the-deluded-mud/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [Generosity is revolutionary, counter-instinctual. Our survival instinct is to care only for ourselves and our loved ones. But we can transform our relationship to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/generosity-is-revolutionary-counter-instinctual-our-survival-instinct/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [We come to understand the law of casuality - that is, we see that all beings are experiencing what they're experiencing based on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/we-come-to-understand-the-law-of-casuality-that-is-we-see-that-all/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [We mistakenly bind ourselves to be content only when life is feeling pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/we-mistakenly-bind-ourselves-to-be-content-only-when-life-is-feeling/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“The most important thing to remember is that we must live in the present, and if in the present moment we are still holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/the-most-important-thing-to-remember-is-that-we-must-live-in-the/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [“We agreed that at least to some extent the whole punk movement is based on the Buddha's 1st noble truth of suffering & the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/we-agreed-that-at-least-to-some-extent-the-whole-punk-movement-is/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) [Explore all 55 Noah Levine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) ## More Acceptance quotes > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Acceptance of death when it arrives is one thing, but to allow it to upstage the joys of living is ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-blythe/acceptance-of-death-when-it-arrives-is-one-thing-but-to-allow-it-to/) [Ronald Blythe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-blythe/) > [“Loving someone who does not love you back hurts, alot, i know. It is liking seeing these pair of shoes at the retail store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomthandazo-tsembeni/loving-someone-who-does-not-love-you-back-hurts-alot-i-know-it-is/) [Nomthandazo Tsembeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomthandazo-tsembeni/) > [Take responsibily for your past, the bad memories of poor decisions you took were your choices once, and you liked them for the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marvin/take-responsibily-for-your-past-the-bad-memories-of-poor-decisions/) [Aruho Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marvin/) > [Let us learn to accept and appreciate things now, and we'll find more happiness in every moment we live. Happiness comes when we stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/let-us-learn-to-accept-and-appreciate-things-now-and-we-ll-find-more/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Accepting the challenges in life makes it interesting and overcoming them makes it eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accepting-the-challenges-in-life-makes-it-interesting-and-overcoming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Acceptance is the only thing you should teach. Be it Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Dalit, you must inculcate acceptance, not tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/acceptance-is-the-only-thing-you-should-teach-be-it-christian-muslim/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,960 Acceptance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Happiness is closer to the experience of acceptance and contentment than it is to pleasure. 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