--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That night I kept thinking about…" description: "\"“That night I kept thinking about Pandora's box. I wondered why someone would put a good thing as Hope in a box with sickness and kidnapping and murder..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/sharon-creech-8614_bad-thing_that-night-i-kept-thinking-about-pandora_2438290.jpg" --- # That night I kept thinking about Pandora's box. I wondered… ![“That night I kept thinking about Pandora's box. I wondered why someone would put a good thing as Hope in a box with sickness and kidnapping and murder. It was fortunate that it was there, though. If not, people would have the birds of sadness nesting in their hair all the time, because of nuclear…” quote by Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/sharon-creech-8614_bad-thing_that-night-i-kept-thinking-about-pandora_2438290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/sharon-creech-8614_bad-thing_that-night-i-kept-thinking-about-pandora_2438290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/sharon-creech-8614_bad-thing_that-night-i-kept-thinking-about-pandora_2438290.jpg) > ““That night I kept thinking about Pandora's box. I wondered why someone would put a good thing as Hope in a box with sickness and kidnapping and murder. It was fortunate that it was there, though. If not, people would have the birds of sadness nesting in their hair all the time, because of nuclear war and the greenhouse effect and bombs and stabbings and lunatics. There must have been another box with all the good things in it, like sunshine and love and trees and all that. Who had the good fortune to open that one, and was there one bad thing down there in the bottom of the good box? Maybe it was Worry. Even when everything seems fine and good, I worry that something will go wrong and change everything.”” [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope is placed among suffering, suggesting that worry coexists with optimism; both are essential to human experience. **In simple terms:** Hope and worry live together; both shape life. Key Takeaway Accept worry, cherish hope. Themes hope worry human condition optimism fear balance Mood thoughtful balanced contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily decision‑making - mental health coping - creative writing - environmental activism - personal reflection Key Concepts existential duality psychology of hope stress management Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance hope and worry? - Can worry be a useful signal? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on worry can stifle hope, while neglecting risk ignores reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) [Box Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/box-good-464193/) [Box Wondered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/box-wondered-464191/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-box-464192/) [Nuclear war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-war/) [Pandora Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pandora-box-464189/) [Pandora's Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pandoras-box/) [Sunshine And Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunshine-and-love-223067/) [Thinking Pandora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-pandora-464190/) ## Related quotes > [Don't go outside the box when you're still not very good inside the box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-leung/don-t-go-outside-the-box-when-you-re-still-not-very-good-inside-the/) [Alvin Leung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-leung/) > [May your day be filled with sunshine and love. You have the power today to accomplish anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-your-day-be-filled-with-sunshine-and-love-you-have-the-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I mean, if no one knows for sure what God's like, then why don't you just believe the people who think he's all rainbows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-lillis/i-mean-if-no-one-knows-for-sure-what-god-s-like-then-why-don-t-you/) [j.c. lillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-lillis/) > [On that night after Phoebe had given her Pandora report, I thought about the Hope in Pandora's box. Maybe when everything seemed sad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/on-that-night-after-phoebe-had-given-her-pandora-report-i-thought/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Aren’t all fairy tales based in fact? You yourself are supposed to be nothing more than a myth. Pandora’s box is a story parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/aren-t-all-fairy-tales-based-in-fact-you-yourself-are-supposed-to-be/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“Hope...which is whispered from Pandora's box only after all the other plagues and sorrows had escaped, is the best and last of all things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-caldwell/hope-which-is-whispered-from-pandora-s-box-only-after-all-the-other/) [Ian Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-caldwell/) > [“Pandora's box had been opened and monsters had come out. But there had been something hidden at the bottom of Pandora's box. Something wonderful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-marie-rice/pandora-s-box-had-been-opened-and-monsters-had-come-out-but-there-had/) [Lisa Marie Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-marie-rice/) > [“Okay, this is going to be confusing, kid.-Amelia Pond to her younger self in the pandora box”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moffat/okay-this-is-going-to-be-confusing-kid-amelia-pond-to-her-younger/) [Stephen Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moffat/) > [“They gave Pandora a box. Prometheus begged her not to open it. She opened it. Every evil to which human flesh is heir came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-gave-pandora-a-box-prometheus-begged-her-not-to-open-it-she/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“He'd opened Pandora's box, and there was no way to put its trouble back inside again. Even if she sat on the lid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-french/he-d-opened-pandora-s-box-and-there-was-no-way-to-put-its-trouble/) [Kitty French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-french/) > [“Sometimes it was better to keep Pandora's box closed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/sometimes-it-was-better-to-keep-pandora-s-box-closed/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [“Who you are, you say, isn’t important, but who I am you don't want to know. I warn you all. Don’t. You’re opening Pandora’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cortez-law-iii/who-you-are-you-say-isn-t-important-but-who-i-am-you-don-t-want-to/) [Cortez Law III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cortez-law-iii/) > [“Today, although the terms have changed, the concepts remain the same. Now the evils released from Pandora’s box have more specific names like pests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-a-offit/today-although-the-terms-have-changed-the-concepts-remain-the-same/) [Paul A. Offit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-a-offit/) > [“Hope was what was left in Pandora’s box. Maybe people’s lives aren’t meant to have hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-methos/hope-was-what-was-left-in-pandora-s-box-maybe-people-s-lives-aren-t/) [Victor Methos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-methos/) > [“(...) photography opened up quite a little Pandora's box, kiddies. (...) Once we no longer had to depend on drawing and painting to record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/photography-opened-up-quite-a-little-pandora-s-box-kiddies-once-we-no/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) ## More by Sharon Creech > [Man needs bread and hyacinths: one to feed the body, and one to feed the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/man-needs-bread-and-hyacinths-one-to-feed-the-body-and-one-to-feed/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“By the time I got to the bottom, I understood what Guthrie ment when he shouted LIBERO! It was a celebration of being alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/by-the-time-i-got-to-the-bottom-i-understood-what-guthrie-ment-when/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Something I am wondering: if you cannot hear do you have no sounds in your head? Do you see a silent movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/something-i-am-wondering-if-you-cannot-hear-do-you-have-no-sounds-in/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“But I thought about all the things that had to have spun into place in order for us to be alive and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/but-i-thought-about-all-the-things-that-had-to-have-spun-into-place/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [And what did I think when I was small and why did I forget? And what else will I forget when I grow older?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/and-what-did-i-think-when-i-was-small-and-why-did-i-forget-and-what/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I once fell 20 feet from a tree, was knocked unconscious, and when I picked myself up and straggled home, my parents thought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-once-fell-20-feet-from-a-tree-was-knocked-unconscious-and-when-i/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I wondered about Mrs. Winterbottom and what she meant about living a tiny life. If she didn't like all that baking and cleaning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-wondered-about-mrs-winterbottom-and-what-she-meant-about-living-a/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Sometimes when you are trying not to think about something it keeps popping back in your head you can't help it you think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/sometimes-when-you-are-trying-not-to-think-about-something-it-keeps/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“What's important is the ambition that results from our weakness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-s-important-is-the-ambition-that-results-from-our-weakness/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I started thinking about life insurance and how nice it would be if you could get insurance that your life would be happy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-started-thinking-about-life-insurance-and-how-nice-it-would-be-if/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“I could tell you an extensively strange story, I warned. Oh, good! Gram said. Delicious!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-could-tell-you-an-extensively-strange-story-i-warned-oh-good-gram/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I wish that every baby everywhere could land in a family that wanted that baby as much as we want ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-wish-that-every-baby-everywhere-could-land-in-a-family-that-wanted/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [A person isn't a bird. You can't cage a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/a-person-isn-t-a-bird-you-can-t-cage-a-person/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [What I have since realized is that if people expect you to be brave, sometimes you pretend that you are, even when you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-people-expect-you-to-be-brave/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I am drawn to the ways in which we are shaped by people and by place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-am-drawn-to-the-ways-in-which-we-are-shaped-by-people-and-by-place/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) [Explore all 79 Sharon Creech quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## More Bad thing quotes > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. 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Sometimes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/in-life-we-don-t-know-why-things-happen-i-believe-god-is-not/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) [Browse all 2,889 Bad thing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That night I kept thinking about Pandora's box. I wondered why someone would put a good thing as Hope in a box with sickness and kidnapping and murder. It was fortunate that it was there, though. If not, people would have the birds of sadness nesting in their hair all the time, because of nuclear war and the greenhouse effect and bombs and stabbings and lunatics. There must have been another box with all the good things in it, like sunshine and love and trees and all that. Who had the good fortune to open that one, and was there one bad thing down there in the bottom of the good box? Maybe it was Worry. 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