--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thus we see that the all important thing…" description: "\"Thus we see that the all important thing is not killing or giving life, drinking or not drinking, living in the town or the country, being unlucky or l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/reginald-horace-blyth-18264_choices_thus-we-see-that-the-all-important-thing_2202782.jpg" --- # Thus we see that the all important thing is not killing or… ![“Thus we see that the all important thing is not killing or giving life, drinking or not drinking, living in the town or the country, being unlucky or lucky, winning or losing. It is how we win, how we lose, how we live or die, finally, how we choose…” quote by Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/reginald-horace-blyth-18264_choices_thus-we-see-that-the-all-important-thing_2202782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/reginald-horace-blyth-18264_choices_thus-we-see-that-the-all-important-thing_2202782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/reginald-horace-blyth-18264_choices_thus-we-see-that-the-all-important-thing_2202782.jpg) > “Thus we see that the all important thing is not killing or giving life, drinking or not drinking, living in the town or the country, being unlucky or lucky, winning or losing. It is how we win, how we lose, how we live or die, finally, how we choose…” [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life's value lies not in circumstances but in how we respond to them, shaping our character and destiny. **In simple terms:** How we act matters more than what happens. Key Takeaway Focus on choices, not outcomes. Themes choice character responsibility Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal crises - career decisions - relationships - health challenges - political activism Key Concepts existentialism agency moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What choices define your identity? - How do you stay true when outcomes are unfavorable? A Different Perspective Even with good choices, external forces can limit outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live or die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-or-die/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Unlucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlucky/) [Win or lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/win-or-lose/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Winning Or Losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning-or-losing/) ## Related quotes > [Shot glasses make me think of youth and a mode of drinking and living that was never mine, even when I was the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/shot-glasses-make-me-think-of-youth-and-a-mode-of-drinking-and-living/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [“I cannot defeat cancer. Nobody defeats cancer. There is no winning or losing. There is no surviving or not surviving. There are only coin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-cannot-defeat-cancer-nobody-defeats-cancer-there-is-no-winning-or/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I think that any city created to be that over-the-top tends to be slightly inspiring, if not frightening. Vegas is all about people being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/i-think-that-any-city-created-to-be-that-over-the-top-tends-to-be/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Don't focus on the outcome, when you focus on the outcome it creates anxiety and it builds. I just need to enjoy the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-rockhold/don-t-focus-on-the-outcome-when-you-focus-on-the-outcome-it-creates/) [Luke Rockhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-rockhold/) > [When I was deciding to fight, the thought of winning or losing didn't bother me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/velupillai-prabhakaran/when-i-was-deciding-to-fight-the-thought-of-winning-or-losing-didn-t/) [Velupillai Prabhakaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/velupillai-prabhakaran/) > [There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-messi/there-are-more-important-things-in-life-than-winning-or-losing-a-game/) [Lionel Messi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-messi/) > [It's not about winning or losing, but love and respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/it-s-not-about-winning-or-losing-but-love-and-respect/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Perpetuating success or sliding into decline is the result of many intersecting forces that reinforce one another directly and indirectly. They are both cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/perpetuating-success-or-sliding-into-decline-is-the-result-of-many/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [If I have given my all and still do not win, I haven't lost. Others might remember winning or losing; I remember the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-have-given-my-all-and-still-do-not-win-i-haven-t-lost-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most important thing in my life is Christ. He's more important than winning or losing or whether I'm playing or not. Everything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/the-most-important-thing-in-my-life-is-christ-he-s-more-important/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [It's not about winning or losing a competition, it's about beating the doubt from within yourself and knowing at the end of each day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-horton/it-s-not-about-winning-or-losing-a-competition-it-s-about-beating-the/) [Jonathan Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-horton/) > [Its not about winning or losing. Its about enjoying life. When you enjoy it, it does not matter if you win or lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/its-not-about-winning-or-losing-its-about-enjoying-life-when-you/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [For me, bullfighting was this very spiritual engagement with power, with power and death. You're pitting yourself against a force that's stronger than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/for-me-bullfighting-was-this-very-spiritual-engagement-with-power/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [The key isn't winning -- or losing, it's making the attempt. I may never be what I ought to be, want to be --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-claremont/the-key-isn-t-winning-or-losing-it-s-making-the-attempt-i-may-never/) [Chris Claremont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-claremont/) > [There’s no such thing as winning or losing. There is won and there is lost, there is victory and defeat. There are absolutes. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/there-s-no-such-thing-as-winning-or-losing-there-is-won-and-there-is/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) ## More by Reginald Horace Blyth > [Regarding R. H. Blyth: Blyth is sometimes perilous, naturally, since he's a high-handed old poem himself, but he's also sublime - and who goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/regarding-r-h-blyth-blyth-is-sometimes-perilous-naturally-since-he-s/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [Or, to express this in another way, suggested to me by Professor Suzuki, in connection with seeing into our own nature, poetry is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/or-to-express-this-in-another-way-suggested-to-me-by-professor-suzuki/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [Zen is the unsymbolization of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/zen-is-the-unsymbolization-of-the-world/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [These are some of the characteristics of the state of mind which the creation and appreciation of haiku demand: Selflessness, Loneliness, Grateful Acceptance, Wordlessness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/these-are-some-of-the-characteristics-of-the-state-of-mind-which-the/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [It is not merely the brevity by which the haiku isolates a particular group of phenomena from all the rest; nor its suggestiveness, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/it-is-not-merely-the-brevity-by-which-the-haiku-isolates-a-particular/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [A haiku is the expression of a temporary enlightenment, in which we see into the life of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/a-haiku-is-the-expression-of-a-temporary-enlightenment-in-which-we/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [There is nothing intrinsically more beautiful or poetical about the moon than about a dunghill; if anything, the contrary, for the latter is full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/there-is-nothing-intrinsically-more-beautiful-or-poetical-about-the/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [We that change, hate change. And we that pass, love what abides. Ashes, darkness, dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/we-that-change-hate-change-and-we-that-pass-love-what-abides-ashes/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [I myself think that to have a cat is more important than to have a Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/i-myself-think-that-to-have-a-cat-is-more-important-than-to-have-a/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [The love of nature is religion, and that religion is poetry; these three things are one thing. This is the unspoken creed of haiku…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/the-love-of-nature-is-religion-and-that-religion-is-poetry-these/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [The importance and unimportance of the self cannot be exaggerated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/the-importance-and-unimportance-of-the-self-cannot-be-exaggerated/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [There is a Hindu myth about the Self or God of the universe who sees life as (play). But since the Self is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/there-is-a-hindu-myth-about-the-self-or-god-of-the-universe-who-sees/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [The establishment of inner harmony is to be attained neither in the past nor in the future, but where the past and future meet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/the-establishment-of-inner-harmony-is-to-be-attained-neither-in-the/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [Regarding R. H. Blyth: Two men who may be called pillars of the Western haiku movement, Harold G. Henderson and R. H. Blyth. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/regarding-r-h-blyth-two-men-who-may-be-called-pillars-of-the-western/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [There is a Hindu myth about the Self or God of the universe who sees life as a form of play. But since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/there-is-a-hindu-myth-about-the-self-or-god-of-the-universe-who-sees-2/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) [Explore all 35 Reginald Horace Blyth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [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/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thus we see that the all important thing is not killing or giving life, drinking or not drinking, living in the town or the country, being unlucky or lucky, winning or losing. 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