--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had thought joy to be rather synonymous…" description: "\"I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness, but it seems now to be far less vulnerable than happiness. Joy seems to be a part of an uncon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_accepting_i-had-thought-joy-to-be-rather-synonymou_708639.jpg" --- # I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness… ![“I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness, but it seems now to be far less vulnerable than happiness. Joy seems to be a part of an unconditional wish to live, not holding back because life may not meet our preferences and expectations. Joy seems to be a function of the willingness…” quote by Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_accepting_i-had-thought-joy-to-be-rather-synonymou_708639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_accepting_i-had-thought-joy-to-be-rather-synonymou_708639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_accepting_i-had-thought-joy-to-be-rather-synonymou_708639.jpg) > “I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness, but it seems now to be far less vulnerable than happiness. Joy seems to be a part of an unconditional wish to live, not holding back because life may not meet our preferences and expectations. Joy seems to be a function of the willingness to accept the whole, and to show up to meet with whatever is there. It has a kind of invincibility that attachment to any particular outcome would deny us.” [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Joy is deeper than happiness, rooted in acceptance and a desire to live fully despite outcomes. **In simple terms:** Joy is acceptance and desire to live fully. Key Takeaway Embrace life fully, regardless of outcomes. Themes joy acceptance resilience Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief - career change - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts unconditional living psychological resilience Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to accept the whole? - How can we cultivate joy amid uncertainty? A Different Perspective Joy can be fragile when faced with extreme trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Attachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attachment/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-joy/) [Holding back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holding-back/) [Invincibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invincibility/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-function-4434469/) [Joy Synonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-synonymous-5594454/) [Joy Unconditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-unconditional-5594453/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mindfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindfulness/) [Outcomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outcomes/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Preference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Thought Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-joy-3950877/) [Unconditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconditional/) [Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerable/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [Joy is always a function of gratitude - and gratitude is always a function of perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/joy-is-always-a-function-of-gratitude-and-gratitude-is-always-a/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-the-animals-god-has-given-them-the-rudiments-of-thought-and-joy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Her work was all she had or wanted. But there were times, like tonight, when she felt that sudden, peculiar emptiness, which was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn/her-work-was-all-she-had-or-wanted-but-there-were-times-like-tonight/) [Ayn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn/) > [Work may be your dominant thought, and joy an afterthought. But joy is your true purpose, and work the afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/work-may-be-your-dominant-thought-and-joy-an-afterthought-but-joy-is/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“The sun shall always rise upon a new day and there shall always be a rose garden within me. Yes, there is a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/the-sun-shall-always-rise-upon-a-new-day-and-there-shall-always-be-a/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [I missed that bubble of invincibility that a lot of young people have, particularly in college. When people look back and they go, Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-tomlinson/i-missed-that-bubble-of-invincibility-that-a-lot-of-young-people-have/) [Taylor Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-tomlinson/) > [“It's nonsensical the way you tickle my ventricles and use many magical mirrors to show me I'm identical to everything that's invincible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/it-s-nonsensical-the-way-you-tickle-my-ventricles-and-use-many/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-the-depths-of-winter-i-finally-learned-that-within-me-there-lay-an/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Young people, we have this thing about us, this invincibility, because we're young and we're growing up and we want to have fun, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/young-people-we-have-this-thing-about-us-this-invincibility-because/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [“My goal tonight is to maintain a steady stream of invincibility. If I hit stage four—“I’m Invisible”—I’ll likely pass out, and that would ruin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendall-grey/my-goal-tonight-is-to-maintain-a-steady-stream-of-invincibility-if-i/) [Kendall Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendall-grey/) > [Something my dad would say was that it's not important to win, but it's important to know how not to be defeated. The art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickson-gracie/something-my-dad-would-say-was-that-it-s-not-important-to-win-but-it/) [Rickson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickson-gracie/) > [ A lot of athletes have this sort of invincibility: \[The jellyfish\] should worry about me. I don't worry about them. I'll just swim right… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-nyad/a-lot-of-athletes-have-this-sort-of-invincibility-the-jellyfish/) [Diana Nyad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-nyad/) > [“Her life seemed to her a great engineering work scarcely begun. Lately more excavation than construction had occurred. She had lost a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/her-life-seemed-to-her-a-great-engineering-work-scarcely-begun-lately/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [“You know that feeling of invincibility you sometimes get, especially when young and testing yourself - well that could be because actually know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/you-know-that-feeling-of-invincibility-you-sometimes-get-especially/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [“Eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds think they’re invincible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-aliwat/eighteen-and-nineteen-year-olds-think-they-re-invincible/) [A.D. Aliwat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-aliwat/) ## More by Rachel Naomi Remen > [Chances are that any helpful two-year-old will break some eggs. We are often not very good at things when we are new. But there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/chances-are-that-any-helpful-two-year-old-will-break-some-eggs-we-are/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Big messages come in small packages. All it may take to restore someone's trust in life may be returning a lost earring or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/big-messages-come-in-small-packages-all-it-may-take-to-restore/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/the-most-basic-and-powerful-way-to-connect-to-another-person-is-to/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/the-most-basic-and-powerful-way-to-connect-to-another-person-is-to-2/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Many people do not know that they can strengthen or diminish the life around them. The way we live day to day simply may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/many-people-do-not-know-that-they-can-strengthen-or-diminish-the-life/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. 'Right,' 'wrong,' 'success,' 'failure,' . . . Labeling sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/a-label-is-a-mask-life-wears-we-put-labels-on-life-all-the-time-right/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/healing-may-not-be-so-much-about-getting-better-as-about-letting-go/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [It is said that the Christian mystic Theresa of Avila found difficulty at first in reconciling the vastness of the life of the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/it-is-said-that-the-christian-mystic-theresa-of-avila-found/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Just Listen an excerpt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/just-listen-an-excerpt/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Goose bumps happen when your soul is close to you, breathing lightly on the back of your neck, and wakes you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/goose-bumps-happen-when-your-soul-is-close-to-you-breathing-lightly/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [We have become terribly vulnerable, not because we suffer but because we have separated ourselves from each other. A patient once told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/we-have-become-terribly-vulnerable-not-because-we-suffer-but-because/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [All natural processes are long processes and they last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/all-natural-processes-are-long-processes-and-they-last/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Deep inside, our integrity sings to us whether we are listening or not. It is a note that only we can hear. Eventually, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/deep-inside-our-integrity-sings-to-us-whether-we-are-listening-or-not/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [From a good teacher you may learn the secret of listening. You will never learn the secret of life. You will have to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/from-a-good-teacher-you-may-learn-the-secret-of-listening-you-will/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgement, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/to-seek-approval-is-to-have-no-resting-place-no-sanctuary-like-all/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) [Explore all 139 Rachel Naomi Remen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [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/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [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/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness, but it seems now to be far less vulnerable than happiness. Joy seems to be a part of an unconditional wish to live, not holding back because life may not meet our preferences and expectations. Joy seems to be a function of the willingness to accept the whole, and to show up to meet with whatever is there. 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