--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY.\" \"I know…" description: "\"“YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY.\" \"I know, I've been very lucky.”\" — Terry Pratchett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/terry-pratchett-19_eternity_you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve_3119607.jpg" --- # YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY." "I know, I've been very lucky. ![“YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY." "I know, I've been very lucky.” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/terry-pratchett-19_eternity_you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve_3119607.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/terry-pratchett-19_eternity_you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve_3119607.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/terry-pratchett-19_eternity_you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve_3119607.jpg) > ““YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY." "I know, I've been very lucky.”” [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even eternity can feel ordinary; luck makes extraordinary moments feel mundane. **In simple terms:** Even eternity can seem ordinary. Key Takeaway Appreciate rare chances. Themes philosophy luck existence Mood thoughtful contemplative Type literary humorous When to use this quote - daily life - career milestones - personal achievements Key Concepts determinism chance Questions to Reflect On - Do you take advantage of lucky moments? - How do you find meaning in ordinary days? A Different Perspective Luck is unpredictable and fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) ## Related quotes > [Eternity! How know we but we stand On the precipitous and crumbling verge Of Time e'en now, Eternity below?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-coles/eternity-how-know-we-but-we-stand-on-the-precipitous-and-crumbling/) [Abraham Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-coles/) > [Do you know at this very moment you are surrounded by eternity? And do you know that you can use that eternity if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/do-you-know-at-this-very-moment-you-are-surrounded-by-eternity-and-do/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“In some strange way, when we are about His business, He makes the eternity, about which we know so very little, work in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-burton-mains/in-some-strange-way-when-we-are-about-his-business-he-makes-the/) [Karen Burton Mains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-burton-mains/) > [We're going to fellowship in eternity. We know that because that's all who's going to be there - is believers. What does God want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/we-re-going-to-fellowship-in-eternity-we-know-that-because-that-s-all/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [This is earth again, the earth where I've lived and now will live once more ... I've been to eternity and back. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/this-is-earth-again-the-earth-where-i-ve-lived-and-now-will-live-once/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“This is a life you do not understand. Yes, your home is in the city, and you have furnished it with vanities, with pictures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/this-is-a-life-you-do-not-understand-yes-your-home-is-in-the-city-and/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [We're always thinking of eternity as an idea that cannot be understood, something immense. But why must it be? What if, instead of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/we-re-always-thinking-of-eternity-as-an-idea-that-cannot-be/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Getting to know oneself is a lifelong process, and knowing God is a matter that takes eternity; yet it is only as we get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-burton-mains/getting-to-know-oneself-is-a-lifelong-process-and-knowing-god-is-a/) [Karen Burton Mains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-burton-mains/) > [You just promised me eternity, you know. I can make you live to regret it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-just-promised-me-eternity-you-know-i-can-make-you-live-to-regret/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been very lucky. Directors I've worked with have been very amenable to changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-ve-been-very-lucky-directors-i-ve-worked-with-have-been-very/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [I've worked hard, but I've been lucky too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-bruce/i-ve-worked-hard-but-i-ve-been-lucky-too/) [Fiona Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-bruce/) > [I've been very lucky, considering what I look like and what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gandolfini/i-ve-been-very-lucky-considering-what-i-look-like-and-what-i-do/) [James Gandolfini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gandolfini/) > [I've been lucky. I don't for a minute take for granted the good fortune I have had. You don't like to get ideas above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curran/i-ve-been-lucky-i-don-t-for-a-minute-take-for-granted-the-good/) [Tony Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curran/) > [I could always say I wished I had a better film career... but overall, I've been one of the lucky ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-o-neill/i-could-always-say-i-wished-i-had-a-better-film-career-but-overall-i/) [Ed O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-o-neill/) > [And I've been lucky in that I haven't had another job besides acting in the last five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lea/and-i-ve-been-lucky-in-that-i-haven-t-had-another-job-besides-acting/) [Nicholas Lea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lea/) ## More by Terry Pratchett > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But I did not return until half past four this morning and I distinctly remember stubbing my toe on the stairs. I am as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-i-did-not-return-until-half-past-four-this-morning-and-i/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Someone broke from the scrum and, punching and kicking, staggered towards the Klatchian goal. "Isn't that man your butler?" said Ahmed. "Yes." "One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/someone-broke-from-the-scrum-and-punching-and-kicking-staggered/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There were more old people. The world was full of them,' said the wizard. 'Yes, I know. And now it's full of young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-more-old-people-the-world-was-full-of-them-said-the-wizard/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hobson was big and heavyset, but not exactly fat; he was probably what you’d get if you shaved a bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/hobson-was-big-and-heavyset-but-not-exactly-fat-he-was-probably-what/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You are not apprehensive, are you? I can't detect no trace of fear none whatsoever Roomy cranium all possible videos of all possible outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-are-not-apprehensive-are-you-i-can-t-detect-no-trace-of-fear-none/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/imagination-not-intelligence-made-us-human/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Explore all 3,328 Terry Pratchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY.\" \"I know, I've been very lucky.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry Pratchett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve-been-very-lucky/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve-been-very-lucky/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/terry-pratchett-19_eternity_you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve_3119607.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/terry-pratchett-19_eternity_you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve_3119607.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46a/terry-pratchett-19_eternity_you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve_3119607.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY.\" \"I know, I've been very lucky.” — Terry Pratchett", "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": "Terry Pratchett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“YOU COULD HAVE HAD ETERNITY.\" \"I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve-been-very-lucky/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-could-have-had-eternity-i-know-i-ve-been-very-lucky/#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 } } ] } ```