--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to me that everything that…" description: "\"It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency.\" — Penelope Lively" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/penelope-lively-3959_choice_it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happ_1606169.png" --- # It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a… ![“It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency.” quote by Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/penelope-lively-3959_choice_it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happ_1606169.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/penelope-lively-3959_choice_it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happ_1606169.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/penelope-lively-3959_choice_it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happ_1606169.png) > “It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency.” [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life events result from both deliberate choices and random chance, creating complex outcomes. **In simple terms:** Choice and chance mix. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty. Themes fate agency contingency Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal decisions - unexpected events - planning Key Concepts determinism probability Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance control and acceptance? - What role does luck play in your life? A Different Perspective Focusing only on choice ignores randomness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choice Contingency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-contingency-6116917/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Contingency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contingency/) [Disconcerting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disconcerting/) [Disconcerting Mix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disconcerting-mix-6116918/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Happens Disconcerting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens-disconcerting-1432142/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) ## Related quotes > [Every role I've played, that could've happened. It's nice, it happens, but it is rather disconcerting when a young child comes up to at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-york/every-role-i-ve-played-that-could-ve-happened-it-s-nice-it-happens/) [Michael York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-york/) > [“It was always disconcerting to discover that you shared opinions with someone you had no respect for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-cypess/it-was-always-disconcerting-to-discover-that-you-shared-opinions-with/) [Leah Cypess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-cypess/) > [Existence itself is disconcerting and disorienting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/existence-itself-is-disconcerting-and-disorienting/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of the immigration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/there-are-a-few-things-that-were-disconcerting-the-stories-about-the/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [raking a hand through his hair, he forced his attention to the text she'd left on the coffee table, refusing to dwell on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/raking-a-hand-through-his-hair-he-forced-his-attention-to-the-text/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [A yawn is more disconcerting than a contradiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/a-yawn-is-more-disconcerting-than-a-contradiction/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Truth is so often disconcerting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-sabatini/truth-is-so-often-disconcerting/) [Rafael Sabatini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-sabatini/) > [“Truth can well out of a man like blood from a wound, and it can be just as disconcerting to look at.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/truth-can-well-out-of-a-man-like-blood-from-a-wound-and-it-can-be/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [The mystic lives and looks; and speaks the disconcerting language of first-hand experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/the-mystic-lives-and-looks-and-speaks-the-disconcerting-language-of/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [“During his reading hours, which were between one and five o'clock in the morning, but not every morning, he had come to the disconcerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/during-his-reading-hours-which-were-between-one-and-five-o-clock-in/) [Julio Cortázar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [I find it both fascinating and disconcerting when I discover yet another person who believes that writing can't be taught. Frankly, I don't understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-find-it-both-fascinating-and-disconcerting-when-i-discover-yet/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [“The intimacy was disconcerting, right and wrong at the same time, comforting and terrifying, exhilarating and guilt-inducing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/the-intimacy-was-disconcerting-right-and-wrong-at-the-same-time/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [I do find it a bit disconcerting when your name becomes a brand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-find-it-a-bit-disconcerting-when-your-name-becomes-a-brand/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's always disconcerting when somebody comes over to you on the bus and says, 'I know who you are.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-taylor/it-s-always-disconcerting-when-somebody-comes-over-to-you-on-the-bus/) [Diana Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-taylor/) > [It would have been funny if I had been an observer and not a participant, an idea that gave me a disconcerting insight into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-smith/it-would-have-been-funny-if-i-had-been-an-observer-and-not-a/) [Sherwood Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-smith/) ## More by Penelope Lively > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [There's a preoccupation with memory and the operation of memory and a rather rapacious interest in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/there-s-a-preoccupation-with-memory-and-the-operation-of-memory-and-a/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“He felt marvellously conscious of the moment, of here and now, of this day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/he-felt-marvellously-conscious-of-the-moment-of-here-and-now-of-this/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [People die, but money never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/people-die-but-money-never-does/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“But her thoughts are often of the past. That evanescent, pervasive, slippery internal landscape known to no one else, that vast accretion of data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/but-her-thoughts-are-often-of-the-past-that-evanescent-pervasive/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Unless I am a part of everything I am nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/unless-i-am-a-part-of-everything-i-am-nothing/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/getting-to-know-someone-else-involves-curiosity-about-where-they-have/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-m-intrigued-by-the-way-in-which-physical-appearance-can-often/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-said-i-suppose-there-is/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“I have a print - you can buy them at the Victoria and Albert Museum - of a photograph of the village street of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-have-a-print-you-can-buy-them-at-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-of/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Every novel generates its own climate, when you get going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/every-novel-generates-its-own-climate-when-you-get-going/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The power of language. Preserving the ephemeral; giving form to dreams, permanence to sparks of sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-power-of-language-preserving-the-ephemeral-giving-form-to-dreams/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/we-all-need-a-past-that-s-where-our-sense-of-identity-comes-from/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/conventional-forms-of-narrative-allow-for-different-points-of-view/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) [Explore all 118 Penelope Lively quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More Choice quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [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/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I have too many options when it comes to guitars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/i-have-too-many-options-when-it-comes-to-guitars/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [“Amazing how a small choice can change your life forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-c-dockens/amazing-how-a-small-choice-can-change-your-life-forever/) [Randy C. Dockens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-c-dockens/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Since I don't outline my books very much, I feel like sometimes I don't have a choice in what the characters do; they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-todd/since-i-don-t-outline-my-books-very-much-i-feel-like-sometimes-i-don/) [Anna Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-todd/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) [Browse all 8,092 Choice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Penelope Lively" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happens-to-us-is-a-disconcerting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happens-to-us-is-a-disconcerting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/penelope-lively-3959_choice_it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happ_1606169.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/penelope-lively-3959_choice_it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happ_1606169.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/penelope-lively-3959_choice_it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happ_1606169.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency.” — Penelope Lively", "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": "Penelope Lively", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It seems to me that everything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happens-to-us-is-a-disconcerting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/it-seems-to-me-that-everything-that-happens-to-us-is-a-disconcerting/#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 } } ] } ```