--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great part of this life consists in…" description: "\"A great part of this life consists in contemplating what we cannot cure.\" — Robert Louis Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/robert-louis-stevenson-289_contemplating_a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-co_498941.jpg" --- # A great part of this life consists in contemplating what… ![“A great part of this life consists in contemplating what we cannot cure.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/robert-louis-stevenson-289_contemplating_a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-co_498941.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/robert-louis-stevenson-289_contemplating_a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-co_498941.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/robert-louis-stevenson-289_contemplating_a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-co_498941.jpg) > “A great part of this life consists in contemplating what we cannot cure.” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating the uncurable parts of life gives depth and humility. **In simple terms:** Thinking about what we cannot fix deepens us. Key Takeaway Accept limits, seek meaning. Themes humility reflection mortality Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief - illness - philosophical inquiry - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What uncurable aspects shape your values? - How does acceptance affect resilience? A Different Perspective Ignoring limits can lead to reckless risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consists Contemplating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consists-contemplating-1900191/) [Contemplating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplating/) [Contemplating Cure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplating-cure-1900190/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Entrepreneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneur/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Consists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-consists/) [Parts of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parts-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [A great part of life consists of contemplating what we cannot cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/a-great-part-of-life-consists-of-contemplating-what-we-cannot-cure/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The art of life consists in taking each event which befalls us with a contented mind, confident of good. ... With this method ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/the-art-of-life-consists-in-taking-each-event-which-befalls-us-with-a/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/a-happy-life-consists-not-in-the-absence-but-in-the-mastery-of/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Life consists not merely in existing, but in enjoying health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/life-consists-not-merely-in-existing-but-in-enjoying-health/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [“Life in here consists of either never or always. 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Life consists of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-rnstjerne-bj-rnson/but-life-does-not-consist-of-words-life-consists-of-reality/) [Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-rnstjerne-bj-rnson/) > [The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/the-joy-of-life-consists-in-the-exercise-of-one-s-energies-continual/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [Life consists in penetrating the unknown, and fashioning our actions in accord with the new knowledge thus acquired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/life-consists-in-penetrating-the-unknown-and-fashioning-our-actions/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Contemplating quotes > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I have actually seen people contemplate their navels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heilpern/i-have-actually-seen-people-contemplate-their-navels/) [John Heilpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heilpern/) > [It is very pleasant to scratch an itching ring-worm, but the sensation one gets afterwards is very painful and intolerable. In the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/it-is-very-pleasant-to-scratch-an-itching-ring-worm-but-the-sensation/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [He that contemplates hath a day without night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-that-contemplates-hath-a-day-without-night/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [As we contemplate with reverence and awe how our Savior embraces us, comforts us, and heals us, let us commit to become His hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/as-we-contemplate-with-reverence-and-awe-how-our-savior-embraces-us/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [Contemplating the bowl, it is possible to see the interdependent elements which give rise to the bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/contemplating-the-bowl-it-is-possible-to-see-the-interdependent/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [The two hardest things to contemplate in life ... are failure and age; those are one and the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-hardest-things-to-contemplate-in-life-are-failure-and-age/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It always grieves me to contemplate the initiation of children into the ways of life when they are scarcely more than infants. It checks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-always-grieves-me-to-contemplate-the-initiation-of-children-into/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty.We need to execute people like John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/when-contemplating-college-liberals-you-really-regret-once-again-that/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [“That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/that-which-sings-and-contemplates-in-you-is-still-dwelling-within-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [contemplating the misfortunes of others does not lighten one's own trouble but instead adds to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-g-eberhart/contemplating-the-misfortunes-of-others-does-not-lighten-one-s-own/) [Mignon G. Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-g-eberhart/) > [Linda McCartney sausages were my favorite. Theyre much better than eating real sausages and you dont have to contemplate half way through exactly whats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/linda-mccartney-sausages-were-my-favorite-theyre-much-better-than/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) [Browse all 762 Contemplating quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplating/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A great part of this life consists in contemplating what we cannot cure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-contemplating-what-we-cannot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contemplating" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-contemplating-what-we-cannot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/robert-louis-stevenson-289_contemplating_a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-co_498941.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/robert-louis-stevenson-289_contemplating_a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-co_498941.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/robert-louis-stevenson-289_contemplating_a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-co_498941.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great part of this life consists in contemplating what we cannot cure.” — Robert Louis Stevenson", "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": "Robert Louis Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A great part of this life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-contemplating-what-we-cannot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/a-great-part-of-this-life-consists-in-contemplating-what-we-cannot/#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 } } ] } ```