--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She knows what it is to be sad and…" description: "\"“She knows what it is to be sad and miserable, but those emotions are almost enjoyable. They throw moments of happiness and laughter into sharper relie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/simon-mawer-23457_emotion_she-knows-what-it-is-to-be-sad-and-miser_2072152.png" --- # She knows what it is to be sad and miserable, but those… ![“She knows what it is to be sad and miserable, but those emotions are almost enjoyable. They throw moments of happiness and laughter into sharper relief.” quote by Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/simon-mawer-23457_emotion_she-knows-what-it-is-to-be-sad-and-miser_2072152.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/simon-mawer-23457_emotion_she-knows-what-it-is-to-be-sad-and-miser_2072152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/simon-mawer-23457_emotion_she-knows-what-it-is-to-be-sad-and-miser_2072152.png) > ““She knows what it is to be sad and miserable, but those emotions are almost enjoyable. They throw moments of happiness and laughter into sharper relief.”” [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sadness intensifies joy, creating sharper emotional contrast **In simple terms:** Pain makes happiness feel richer and more vivid Key Takeaway Embrace both sorrow and joy for deeper appreciation Themes emotion contrast joy Mood melancholic hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - mindfulness practices Key Concepts affect theory emotional depth psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance melancholy and joy? - Can pain ever be truly enjoyable? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering as necessary for happiness ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness and laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-and-laughter/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Moments of happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments-of-happiness/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Happiness and laughter are the cure to negative feelings one person might hold when they're upset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doctavius/happiness-and-laughter-are-the-cure-to-negative-feelings-one-person/) Doctavius > [Both Zen and mysticsm have this beautiful quality of happiness and laughter, which I think is so necessary in our modern age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/both-zen-and-mysticsm-have-this-beautiful-quality-of-happiness-and/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Life is a waste without humor -- living is all about happiness and laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fauja-singh/life-is-a-waste-without-humor-living-is-all-about-happiness-and/) [Fauja Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fauja-singh/) > [“A real relationship's based on trust and understanding, the sharing of little things. Moments of happiness and laughter. Realising you've both just had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-may/a-real-relationship-s-based-on-trust-and-understanding-the-sharing-of/) [Peter May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-may/) > [The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. 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I don't think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/happiness-as-a-human-condition-is-something-i-never-believed-in-i/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“like a squirrel hoarding chestnuts, we should store up our moments of happiness and triumph so that in a crisis we can draw upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/like-a-squirrel-hoarding-chestnuts-we-should-store-up-our-moments-of/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [When we help ourselves, we find moments of happiness. When we help others, we find lasting fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/when-we-help-ourselves-we-find-moments-of-happiness-when-we-help/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [I think the difference between finding happiness, or moments of happiness, is how you choose to interpret things. That's a rather shocking responsibility. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natascha-mcelhone/i-think-the-difference-between-finding-happiness-or-moments-of/) [Natascha McElhone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natascha-mcelhone/) > [“We should never voluntarily give up our moments of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-lyons/we-should-never-voluntarily-give-up-our-moments-of-happiness/) [Lucy Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-lyons/) > [Moments of happiness are too short , time of sadness is age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadenss/moments-of-happiness-are-too-short-time-of-sadness-is-age/) [Sadenss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadenss/) > [It is difficult to experience moments of happiness if we are not aware of what it is we genuinely love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/it-is-difficult-to-experience-moments-of-happiness-if-we-are-not/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [“No one tells you how precious and powerful moments of happiness and connection are when you are living through a nightmare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gould/no-one-tells-you-how-precious-and-powerful-moments-of-happiness-and/) Philip Gould ## More by Simon Mawer > [I was a boarding school product from the age of eight, and I hated it. Though I do have a theory that boarding school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/i-was-a-boarding-school-product-from-the-age-of-eight-and-i-hated-it/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [Guernsey itself was overcrowded, but its cliffs were utterly empty. I spent a wonderful year with a friend, climbing them. It was sheer magic:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/guernsey-itself-was-overcrowded-but-its-cliffs-were-utterly-empty-i/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [You can tell nothing from a man's appearance, nothing except the depths of your own prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/you-can-tell-nothing-from-a-man-s-appearance-nothing-except-the/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [Sometimes I think that novelists suffer from P.C.S.: Perpetual Childhood Syndrome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/sometimes-i-think-that-novelists-suffer-from-p-c-s-perpetual/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [When you look around now we have the war on terror. Yes, okay, the World Trade Center was sort of like a single act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/when-you-look-around-now-we-have-the-war-on-terror-yes-okay-the-world/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [Grief and guilt. A powerful combination. Guilt like a liquid, a thin liquor, seeping everywhere, informing everything, saturating the whole-corrosive, like seawater, scented with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/grief-and-guilt-a-powerful-combination-guilt-like-a-liquid-a-thin/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [When writing fiction, you only have to know enough to be convincing on the page. I mean really convincing, of course - but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/when-writing-fiction-you-only-have-to-know-enough-to-be-convincing-on/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [Only occasionally do I read new fiction. Most of my reading is heavily dictated by what I'm writing at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/only-occasionally-do-i-read-new-fiction-most-of-my-reading-is-heavily/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [“I'm fond of her." Oh yeah? Fond are you? I've heard of fond. I expect old erection here" - she pointed to the tube…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/i-m-fond-of-her-oh-yeah-fond-are-you-i-ve-heard-of-fond-i-expect-old/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [Most of those people who saw themselves as literary types at university became bank managers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/most-of-those-people-who-saw-themselves-as-literary-types-at/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [“Numbers have no hidden meanings, you say. But it is the hidden meanings in words that make them so wonderful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/numbers-have-no-hidden-meanings-you-say-but-it-is-the-hidden-meanings/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [“It wasn’t the way that Viktor and Katalin looked at each other, it was the way they didn’t look. It wasn’t the notes, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/it-wasn-t-the-way-that-viktor-and-katalin-looked-at-each-other-it-was/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [Sin is absence of God. Nothing more, nothing less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/sin-is-absence-of-god-nothing-more-nothing-less/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [Pundits always have something to write about; the novelist just has a blank screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/pundits-always-have-something-to-write-about-the-novelist-just-has-a/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [“It is difficult to reconstruct an emotion. At times it is difficult even to admit to one. I have practiced long and hard at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/it-is-difficult-to-reconstruct-an-emotion-at-times-it-is-difficult/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Explore all 25 Simon Mawer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) ## More Emotion quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) Marlin > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [“Emotion as well as reason belongs to the very stuff of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-smalley/emotion-as-well-as-reason-belongs-to-the-very-stuff-of-history/) Beryl Smalley > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [There cannot be any communication except through form. If there is no form, you cannot create emotion in the spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-resnais/there-cannot-be-any-communication-except-through-form-if-there-is-no/) [Alain Resnais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-resnais/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [“What if each time you experienced an emotion, you acknowledged it, accepted it, and became curious about its message for you (instead of trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/what-if-each-time-you-experienced-an-emotion-you-acknowledged-it/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. 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