--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trouble is not that we are never…" description: "\"The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that happiness is so episodical\" — Ruth Benedict" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/ruth-benedict-10946_happiness_the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-hap_668717.jpg" --- # The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that… ![“The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that happiness is so episodical” quote by Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/ruth-benedict-10946_happiness_the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-hap_668717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/ruth-benedict-10946_happiness_the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-hap_668717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/ruth-benedict-10946_happiness_the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-hap_668717.jpg) > “The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that happiness is so episodical” [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observes that happiness is fleeting and episodic, suggesting we should not base life on its presence. **In simple terms:** Happiness is short‑lived. Key Takeaway Accept happiness’s temporary nature. Themes happiness ephemerality contentment psychology Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Mental health therapy - mindfulness practice - relationship counseling - career planning Key Concepts Temporal dynamics Well‑being Cultural relativism Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning beyond happiness? - What practices help you appreciate fleeting joy? A Different Perspective Chasing constant happiness can cause frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Episodical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-episodical-5313398/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Happy Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-happiness/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) [Trouble Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble-happy-3652666/) ## Related quotes > [Give a man health and a course to steer, and he'll never stop to trouble about whether he's happy or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/give-a-man-health-and-a-course-to-steer-and-he-ll-never-stop-to/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The only reason you are happy is because you choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice, and so is suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/the-only-reason-you-are-happy-is-because-you-choose-to-be-happy/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [If you are happy, you can give happiness. If you don't love yourself and if you are unhappy with yourself, you can't give anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gisele-bundchen/if-you-are-happy-you-can-give-happiness-if-you-don-t-love-yourself/) [Gisele Bundchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gisele-bundchen/) > [“When you pursue the right end goals while making sure you’re happy in the now, happiness unlocks the door for luck to come calling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishen-lakhiani/when-you-pursue-the-right-end-goals-while-making-sure-you-re-happy-in/) [Vishen Lakhiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishen-lakhiani/) > [I am happy as happiness goes, for a woman who has so many memories and who lives the lonely life of an actress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillie-langtry/i-am-happy-as-happiness-goes-for-a-woman-who-has-so-many-memories-and/) [Lillie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillie-langtry/) > [You know it's love when all you want is that person to be happy, even if you're not part of their happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-it-s-love-when-all-you-want-is-that-person-to-be-happy-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being happy is not the only happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/being-happy-is-not-the-only-happiness/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [I certainly wasn't happy. Happiness has to do with reason, and only reason earns it. What I was given was the thing you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-certainly-wasn-t-happy-happiness-has-to-do-with-reason-and-only/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [You will know you really love someone when you want him to be happy even if his or her happiness means you are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/you-will-know-you-really-love-someone-when-you-want-him-to-be-happy/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Happiness is a conditioning of the mind and body so that happiness is totally within the way you perceive things and handle situations in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/happiness-is-a-conditioning-of-the-mind-and-body-so-that-happiness-is/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [The slave may be happy, but happiness is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-slave-may-be-happy-but-happiness-is-not-enough/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [“Karou’s smile was pure; she was happy to give happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/karou-s-smile-was-pure-she-was-happy-to-give-happiness/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [Don't put your happiness in the hands of someone else. If you really want to be happy, you have to find this happiness within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-put-your-happiness-in-the-hands-of-someone-else-if-you-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ALL WAYS LIVE HAPPY BECAUSE HAPPINESS IS LIFE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rao-muhammad-ali/all-ways-live-happy-because-happiness-is-life/) [RAO MUHAMMAD ALI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rao-muhammad-ali/) > [“I want you to be happy and for me to be part of that happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/i-want-you-to-be-happy-and-for-me-to-be-part-of-that-happiness/) [Truth Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-devour/) ## More by Ruth Benedict > [We grow in time to trust the future for our answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/we-grow-in-time-to-trust-the-future-for-our-answers/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [An observer will see the bizarre developments of behavior only in alien cultures, not his own. Nevertheless this is obviously a local and temporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/an-observer-will-see-the-bizarre-developments-of-behavior-only-in/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [In world history, those who have helped to build the same culture are not necessarily of one race, and those of the same race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/in-world-history-those-who-have-helped-to-build-the-same-culture-are/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [It is strange how long we rebel against a platitude until suddenly in a different lingo it looms up again as the only verity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/it-is-strange-how-long-we-rebel-against-a-platitude-until-suddenly-in/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [“Experience, contrary to common belief, is mostly imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/experience-contrary-to-common-belief-is-mostly-imagination/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [I gambled on having the strength to live two lives, one for myself and one for the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/i-gambled-on-having-the-strength-to-live-two-lives-one-for-myself-and/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Western civilization, because of fortuitous historical circumstances, has spread itself more widely than any other local group that has so far been known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/western-civilization-because-of-fortuitous-historical-circumstances/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [It is my necessary breath of life to understand and expression is the only justification of life that I can feel without prodding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/it-is-my-necessary-breath-of-life-to-understand-and-expression-is-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-purpose-of-anthropology-is-to-make-the-world-safe-for-human/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Success and failure in our own national economy will hang upon the degree to which we are able to work with races and nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/success-and-failure-in-our-own-national-economy-will-hang-upon-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [I haven't strength of mind not to need a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/i-haven-t-strength-of-mind-not-to-need-a-career/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [As a matter of history great developments in art have often been remarkably separate from religious motivation and use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/as-a-matter-of-history-great-developments-in-art-have-often-been/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-japanese-are-to-the-highest-degree-both-aggressive-and/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Society in its full sense ... is never an entity separable from the individuals who compose it. No individual can arrive even at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/society-in-its-full-sense-is-never-an-entity-separable-from-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [In a world that holds books and babies and canyon trails, why should one condemn oneself to live day-in, day-out with people one does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/in-a-world-that-holds-books-and-babies-and-canyon-trails-why-should/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) [Explore all 62 Ruth Benedict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that happiness is so episodical", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ruth Benedict" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-happy-it-is-that-happiness-is-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-happy-it-is-that-happiness-is-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/ruth-benedict-10946_happiness_the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-hap_668717.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/ruth-benedict-10946_happiness_the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-hap_668717.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/ruth-benedict-10946_happiness_the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-hap_668717.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that happiness is so episodical” — Ruth Benedict", "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": "Ruth Benedict", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The trouble is not that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-happy-it-is-that-happiness-is-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-happy-it-is-that-happiness-is-so/#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 } } ] } ```