--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The danger facing all of us--let me say…" description: "\"“The danger facing all of us--let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously--is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/phillips-brooks-2696_danger_the-danger-facing-all-of-us-let-me-say-i_157311.jpg" --- # The danger facing all of us--let me say it again, for one… ![“The danger facing all of us--let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously--is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all--not these things…” quote by Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/phillips-brooks-2696_danger_the-danger-facing-all-of-us-let-me-say-i_157311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/phillips-brooks-2696_danger_the-danger-facing-all-of-us-let-me-say-i_157311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/phillips-brooks-2696_danger_the-danger-facing-all-of-us-let-me-say-i_157311.jpg) > ““The danger facing all of us--let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously--is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all--not these things. The danger is that we may fail to perceive life's greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God--and be content to have it so--that is the danger. That some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with the husks and trappings of life--and have really missed life itself. For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. That is what one prays one's friends may be spared--satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle and thrill which come from a friendship with the Father.”” [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The greatest risk is overlooking life's deeper purpose and divine connection, settling for superficial concerns instead of seeking profound meaning and service. **In simple terms:** Missing life's deeper purpose and divine connection. Key Takeaway Seek deeper purpose and divine connection. Themes spirituality purpose meaning service faith Mood contemplative hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - spiritual practice - community service - faith mentorship Key Concepts Divine presence existential fulfillment higher good Questions to Reflect On - What deeper purpose are you neglecting? - How can you cultivate awareness of divine presence? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on material goals can blind us to deeper fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Joy of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-of-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life has no meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-has-no-meaning/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Life meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-meaning/) [Life Without God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-without-god/) [Without god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-god/) ## Related quotes > [The danger is that we may fail to perceive life's greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-danger-is-that-we-may-fail-to-perceive-life-s-greatest-meaning/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Abiding happiness is not simply a possibility, but a duty all may live above the troubles of life worry is a poison and happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newell-dwight-hillis/abiding-happiness-is-not-simply-a-possibility-but-a-duty-all-may-live/) [Newell Dwight Hillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newell-dwight-hillis/) > [Man's abiding happiness is not in getting anything but in giving himself up to what is greater than himself, to ideas which are larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/man-s-abiding-happiness-is-not-in-getting-anything-but-in-giving/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [There is no truer and more abiding happiness than the knowledge that one is free to go on doing, day by day, the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-g-collingwood/there-is-no-truer-and-more-abiding-happiness-than-the-knowledge-that/) [Robin G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-g-collingwood/) > [Abiding happiness is not simply a possibility, but a duty; that all may live above the troubles of life; that worry is a poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newell-dwight-hillis/abiding-happiness-is-not-simply-a-possibility-but-a-duty-that-all-may/) [Newell Dwight Hillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newell-dwight-hillis/) > [One often hears of a horse that shivers with terror, or of a dog that howls at something a mans eyes cannot see, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/one-often-hears-of-a-horse-that-shivers-with-terror-or-of-a-dog-that/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The universe is ecstasy. We have many other ways of perceiving infinity. And when you perceive life through these other modes, that's when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-universe-is-ecstasy-we-have-many-other-ways-of-perceiving/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“You can learn to perceive your life as an ever-flowing movement. You can learn to see the continuous flow of all conditioned”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/you-can-learn-to-perceive-your-life-as-an-ever-flowing-movement-you/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [Image is what people perceive my life to be. It's nothing like the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hasselhoff/image-is-what-people-perceive-my-life-to-be-it-s-nothing-like-the/) [David Hasselhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hasselhoff/) > [Deep down we all suspect that something is very wrong with the way we perceive life but we try very, very hard not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/deep-down-we-all-suspect-that-something-is-very-wrong-with-the-way-we/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [You pick up the phone and you talk to somebody. There's a voice on the other end and you say what you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-pick-up-the-phone-and-you-talk-to-somebody-there-s-a-voice-on-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If one is enlightened, one does not perceive life with North, South, East and West. There is no California, there is no New York.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-one-is-enlightened-one-does-not-perceive-life-with-north-south/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [As I get older I perceive Life has its tail in its mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/as-i-get-older-i-perceive-life-has-its-tail-in-its-mouth/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [“Happiness is a choice. To be or not to be. It all depends on how you perceive life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kc/happiness-is-a-choice-to-be-or-not-to-be-it-all-depends-on-how-you/) KC > [“Watch your thoughts-listen to them because they shape your life and evolve into words. They tell a story about you and how you perceive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-miller/watch-your-thoughts-listen-to-them-because-they-shape-your-life-and/) Barbara Miller ## More by Phillips Brooks > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/christmas-day-is-a-day-of-joy-and-charity-may-god-make-you-very-rich/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Preaching is truth through personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/preaching-is-truth-through-personality/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/nothing-lies-beyond-the-reach-of-prayer-except-that-which-lies/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Everywhere the flower of obedience is intelligence. Obey a man with cordial loyalty and you will understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/everywhere-the-flower-of-obedience-is-intelligence-obey-a-man-with/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/o-do-not-pray-for-easy-lives-pray-to-be-stronger-men-do-not-pray-for/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [So shall we join the disciples of our Lord, keeping faith in Him in spite of the crucifixion, and making ready, by our loyalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/so-shall-we-join-the-disciples-of-our-lord-keeping-faith-in-him-in/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-trouble-is-that-i-m-in-a-hurry-but-god-isn-t/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-truest-help-we-can-render-an-afflicted-man-is-not-to-take-his/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [There is a necessary limit to our achievement, but none to our attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/there-is-a-necessary-limit-to-our-achievement-but-none-to-our-attempt/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Character - Some day, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/character-some-day-you-will-be-wrestling-with-the-great-temptation-or/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The essential tendency of life is toward happiness . . . . Optimism is the only true condition for a reasonable man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-essential-tendency-of-life-is-toward-happiness-optimism-is-the/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [To find his place and fill it is success for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/to-find-his-place-and-fill-it-is-success-for-a-man/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [It is God's world still. It has been given to man not absolutely, but in trust, that man may work out in it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/it-is-god-s-world-still-it-has-been-given-to-man-not-absolutely-but/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Prayer is not conquering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-easy-lives-pray-to-be-stronger-men-do-not-pray-for/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) [Explore all 153 Phillips Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) ## More Danger quotes > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“Anything you fear is a shackle to ur soul. It is a phobia that tethers and blinds ur ability to see and comprehend your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/anything-you-fear-is-a-shackle-to-ur-soul-it-is-a-phobia-that-tethers/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [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/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) Christopher Wood > [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [“I’ll always come back to you,” he said. “Always.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-grant/i-ll-always-come-back-to-you-he-said-always/) [Donna Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-grant/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [A sea setting us upon the ice has brought us close to danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hudson/a-sea-setting-us-upon-the-ice-has-brought-us-close-to-danger/) [Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hudson/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [There's a danger in starting a fire, you'll never know how many bridges you'll burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-danger-in-starting-a-fire-you-ll-never-know-how-many/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) [Browse all 5,463 Danger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The danger facing all of us--let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously--is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all--not these things. The danger is that we may fail to perceive life's greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God--and be content to have it so--that is the danger. That some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with the husks and trappings of life--and have really missed life itself. For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. 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