--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our wants were simple, but they could not…" description: "\"“Our wants were simple, but they could not have been more complicated.”\" — Susan Abulhawa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/susan-abulhawa-9997_quote_our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not_1763989.jpg" --- # Our wants were simple, but they could not have been more… ![“Our wants were simple, but they could not have been more complicated.” quote by Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/susan-abulhawa-9997_quote_our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not_1763989.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/susan-abulhawa-9997_quote_our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not_1763989.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/susan-abulhawa-9997_quote_our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not_1763989.jpg) > ““Our wants were simple, but they could not have been more complicated.”” [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Simple desires become tangled when circumstances become complex. **In simple terms:** Simple wants, complex reality. Key Takeaway Simplify goals to navigate complexity. Themes desire complexity human nature Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - political conflict - personal ambition - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What simple desire feels most complicated now? - Can simplifying help resolve conflict? A Different Perspective Complexity may stem from internal contradictions, not just external. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simple Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-complicated-408962/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants/) [Wants Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-simple-235996/) ## Related quotes > [I love that denim can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Anything goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-matsoukas/i-love-that-denim-can-be-as-simple-or-as-complicated-as-you-want-it/) [Melina Matsoukas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-matsoukas/) > [Being simple and complicated at the same is what makes Jay-Z so great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rapsody/being-simple-and-complicated-at-the-same-is-what-makes-jay-z-so-great/) [Rapsody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rapsody/) > [I have this natural want to... when things sound very easy and straightforward, something inside me always makes me want to take a left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chino-moreno/i-have-this-natural-want-to-when-things-sound-very-easy-and/) [Chino Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chino-moreno/) > [My wants are simple: a job that I like and a guy whom I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/my-wants-are-simple-a-job-that-i-like-and-a-guy-whom-i-love/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“don’t mistake salt for sugar if he wants to be with you he will it’s that simple”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/don-t-mistake-salt-for-sugar-if-he-wants-to-be-with-you-he-will-it-s/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [My wants are simple. 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It's as simple and as complicated as that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/when-you-die-you-become-a-star-it-s-as-simple-and-as-complicated-as/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [“Simple and complicated, as most true things are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/simple-and-complicated-as-most-true-things-are/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [I think a lot of tunes can suffer from being so simple, so either they get over-complicated or their simplicity means the simple way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/i-think-a-lot-of-tunes-can-suffer-from-being-so-simple-so-either-they/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) ## More by Susan Abulhawa > [Israeli occupation exposes us very young to the extremes of our emotions, until we cannot feel except in the extreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/israeli-occupation-exposes-us-very-young-to-the-extremes-of-our/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“I have always found it difficult not to be moved by Jerusalem, even when I hated it—and God knows I have hated it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/i-have-always-found-it-difficult-not-to-be-moved-by-jerusalem-even/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“I grieved three thousand times. Then I grieved for myself, a lonely woman without the honor given to the wives of the fallen. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/i-grieved-three-thousand-times-then-i-grieved-for-myself-a-lonely/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [Do you know, Mother, that Haj Salem was buried alive in his home? Does he tell you stories in heaven now? I wish I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/do-you-know-mother-that-haj-salem-was-buried-alive-in-his-home-does/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“Baba was gone forever. My mother kept waiting for him until the day she died, just as she waited to return home, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/baba-was-gone-forever-my-mother-kept-waiting-for-him-until-the-day/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“The soldiers in my life had raised the bar for bad guys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/the-soldiers-in-my-life-had-raised-the-bar-for-bad-guys/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“When I was a child, Haj Salem told me that answers can be found in the sky if you look long and hard enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/when-i-was-a-child-haj-salem-told-me-that-answers-can-be-found-in-the/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“And if our hands should meet in another dream, we shall build another tower in the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/and-if-our-hands-should-meet-in-another-dream-we-shall-build-another/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [An instant can crush a brain and change the course of life, the course of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/an-instant-can-crush-a-brain-and-change-the-course-of-life-the-course/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“Yousef had only been gone forty days, but he looked ten years older. His body had become slight, and seeing him like that put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/yousef-had-only-been-gone-forty-days-but-he-looked-ten-years-older/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“Life had collected her pieces and returned her to love’s source. There had been no coincidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/life-had-collected-her-pieces-and-returned-her-to-love-s-source-there/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“Though they lived with the indignities of dispossession and military occupation, Huda sang with an unassailable freedom that comes only to those with unwavering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/though-they-lived-with-the-indignities-of-dispossession-and-military/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“Still, the refugee camp of Jenin remained as it had been, a one-square-mile patch of earth, excised from time and imprisoned in that endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/still-the-refugee-camp-of-jenin-remained-as-it-had-been-a-one-square/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“How was it that a man could not walk onto his own property, visit the grave of his wife, eat the fruits of forty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/how-was-it-that-a-man-could-not-walk-onto-his-own-property-visit-the/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [“He took in a premeditated breath, closed his eyes, and exhaled into the nye at his lips, playing a new tune. It was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/he-took-in-a-premeditated-breath-closed-his-eyes-and-exhaled-into-the/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) [Explore all 67 Susan Abulhawa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) ## More Complicated quotes > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin/) > [“Why the hell did he have to be so complicated? One minute he was charming, the next he withdrew behind his internal walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-davis/why-the-hell-did-he-have-to-be-so-complicated-one-minute-he-was/) [Lia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-davis/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ The parts of the \[Civil Right\] Movement we recognize so well now were not born from a single decision, but were a complicated and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/the-parts-of-the-civil-right-movement-we-recognize-so-well-now-were/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Two people could build an outhouse in four hours. They're not complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/two-people-could-build-an-outhouse-in-four-hours-they-re-not/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) [Browse all 3,190 Complicated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our wants were simple, but they could not have been more complicated.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Abulhawa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not-have-been-more-complicated/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complicated" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not-have-been-more-complicated/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/susan-abulhawa-9997_quote_our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not_1763989.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/susan-abulhawa-9997_quote_our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not_1763989.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/susan-abulhawa-9997_quote_our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not_1763989.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our wants were simple, but they could not have been more complicated.” — Susan Abulhawa", "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": "Susan Abulhawa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Our wants were simple, but they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not-have-been-more-complicated/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/our-wants-were-simple-but-they-could-not-have-been-more-complicated/#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 } } ] } ```