--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But truly it was not the money that…" description: "\"“But truly it was not the money that mattered. It was the distant glitter of everything that was possible in the world, the things she had always wante..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/tim-o-brien-1818_drama_but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-matt_2183765.png" --- # But truly it was not the money that mattered. It was the… ![“But truly it was not the money that mattered. It was the distant glitter of everything that was possible in the world, the things she had always wanted for herself and could not name and called happiness because there was no other word.” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/tim-o-brien-1818_drama_but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-matt_2183765.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/tim-o-brien-1818_drama_but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-matt_2183765.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/tim-o-brien-1818_drama_but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-matt_2183765.png) > ““But truly it was not the money that mattered. It was the distant glitter of everything that was possible in the world, the things she had always wanted for herself and could not name and called happiness because there was no other word.”” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True value lies not in money but in the intangible possibilities and personal fulfillment that language happiness. **In simple terms:** Happiness is about possibilities, not money. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond material wealth. Themes meaning purpose wealth Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - personal goals - creative projects - relationships Key Concepts existentialism psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What does happiness mean to you? - How can you pursue possibilities without fear? A Different Perspective Happiness can be elusive and hard to define. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Glitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glitter/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) ## Related quotes > [The money never mattered. I'm not kidding you. It hasn't really brought me any kind of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buble/the-money-never-mattered-i-m-not-kidding-you-it-hasn-t-really-brought/) [Michael Buble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buble/) > [When I began my life journey, we'd survive on Rs 500 a month as a family. As time passed and I started playing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virender-sehwag/when-i-began-my-life-journey-we-d-survive-on-rs-500-a-month-as-a/) [Virender Sehwag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virender-sehwag/) > [The song of the curved line is called happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-crevel/the-song-of-the-curved-line-is-called-happiness/) [Rene Crevel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-crevel/) > [Pleasure usually comes when called, but not happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/pleasure-usually-comes-when-called-but-not-happiness/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“That story is proof of the theorem that then as today in Chicago, the mysterious equation of whiskey plus music equals what can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/that-story-is-proof-of-the-theorem-that-then-as-today-in-chicago-the/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [When you are happy you are ordinary, because to be happy is just to be natural. To be miserable is to become extraordinary. Nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/when-you-are-happy-you-are-ordinary-because-to-be-happy-is-just-to-be/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [You never see the stock called Happiness quoted on the exchange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/you-never-see-the-stock-called-happiness-quoted-on-the-exchange/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [When I was a boy, I naively thought that this thing called happiness would be something I would wake up to find every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-bernard/when-i-was-a-boy-i-naively-thought-that-this-thing-called-happiness/) [Jeffrey Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-bernard/) > [Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/happiness-quite-unshared-can-scarcely-be-called-happiness-it-has-no/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Her life, she knew, was becoming simplified into an unbreakable chain of habits, a series of orderly actions at regular hours. Vaguely, she thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/her-life-she-knew-was-becoming-simplified-into-an-unbreakable-chain/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [What is called happiness is an abstract idea, composed of various ideas of pleasure; for he who has but a moment of pleasure is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/what-is-called-happiness-is-an-abstract-idea-composed-of-various/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“It is called happiness that, once it comes, it is not followed by misery (again). Secondly, what people in the world call happiness, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/it-is-called-happiness-that-once-it-comes-it-is-not-followed-by/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Is it not clear, however, that bliss and envy are the numerator and denominator of the fraction called happiness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/is-it-not-clear-however-that-bliss-and-envy-are-the-numerator-and/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [I get so emotional when you're not around. That emotion is called happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/i-get-so-emotional-when-you-re-not-around-that-emotion-is-called/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [This part of my life, this little part, is called happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/this-part-of-my-life-this-little-part-is-called-happiness/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) ## More by Tim O'Brien > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. It's easier to cope with a kicked bucked than a corpse; if it isn't human, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/i-learned-that-words-make-a-difference-it-s-easier-to-cope-with-a/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/stories-are-for-eternity-when-memory-is-erased-when-there-is-nothing/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“The story' Sanders would say "the whole tone, man, you're wrecking it." Tone?' The sound. You need to get a consitent sound, like slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-story-sanders-would-say-the-whole-tone-man-you-re-wrecking-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“On occasions the war was like a Ping-Pong ball. You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/forty-three-years-old-and-the-war-occurred-half-a-lifetime-ago-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“He thought about the difference between good times and bad times, and how funny it was that he could not state the difference, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-thought-about-the-difference-between-good-times-and-bad-times-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/a-lie-sometimes-can-be-truer-than-the-truth-which-is-why-fiction-gets/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [My life is storytelling. I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/my-life-is-storytelling-i-believe-in-stories-in-their-incredible/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Peace never bragged. If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) [Explore all 201 Tim O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## More Drama quotes > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [I never did drama at school. I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) > [I never wanted to be the lead on a TV drama. It just robs you of your life, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-noth/i-never-wanted-to-be-the-lead-on-a-tv-drama-it-just-robs-you-of-your/) [Chris Noth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-noth/) > [When I discovered drama, I felt a connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-fearon/when-i-discovered-drama-i-felt-a-connection/) [Ray Fearon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-fearon/) > [Dont hate me cause ur man want me dont be jealouse cause hes thinking of when he says he loves u dont hate him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/dont-hate-me-cause-ur-man-want-me-dont-be-jealouse-cause-hes-thinking/) [Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [I hadn't been to drama school. I hadn't been to university and acted there. I had no qualifications behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/i-hadn-t-been-to-drama-school-i-hadn-t-been-to-university-and-acted/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [I was painfully shy, so my aunt suggested to my mum that me and my brother go to Stage 84, a performing arts school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cooke/i-was-painfully-shy-so-my-aunt-suggested-to-my-mum-that-me-and-my/) [Christian Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cooke/) > [I kind of pride myself on coming onto things that are well-oiled machines and finding a way to bring what I bring and fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-kind-of-pride-myself-on-coming-onto-things-that-are-well-oiled/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [They say that art comes from the soul. The more drama in an artist's life, the more he can draw on for his art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/they-say-that-art-comes-from-the-soul-the-more-drama-in-an-artist-s/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [I would love to do a love story or a socially relevant drama. Something on the lines of Netflix originals. I would love to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roop-durgapal/i-would-love-to-do-a-love-story-or-a-socially-relevant-drama/) [Roop Durgapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roop-durgapal/) > [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/) [Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/) [Browse all 5,150 Drama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But truly it was not the money that mattered. It was the distant glitter of everything that was possible in the world, the things she had always wanted for herself and could not name and called happiness because there was no other word.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-mattered-it-was-the-distant/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drama" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-mattered-it-was-the-distant/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/tim-o-brien-1818_drama_but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-matt_2183765.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/tim-o-brien-1818_drama_but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-matt_2183765.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/tim-o-brien-1818_drama_but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-matt_2183765.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But truly it was not the money that mattered. It was the distant glitter of everything that was possible in…” — Tim O'Brien", "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": "Tim O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But truly it was not the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-mattered-it-was-the-distant/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-truly-it-was-not-the-money-that-mattered-it-was-the-distant/#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 } } ] } ```