--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not a bad thing to settle for the…" description: "\"It is not a bad thing to settle for the Little Way, not the big search for the big happiness but the sad little happiness of drinks and kisses, a good ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/walker-percy-1958_bad-thing_it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the_1315907.png" --- # It is not a bad thing to settle for the Little Way, not… ![“It is not a bad thing to settle for the Little Way, not the big search for the big happiness but the sad little happiness of drinks and kisses, a good little car and a warm deep thigh.” quote by Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/walker-percy-1958_bad-thing_it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the_1315907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/walker-percy-1958_bad-thing_it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the_1315907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/walker-percy-1958_bad-thing_it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the_1315907.png) > “It is not a bad thing to settle for the Little Way, not the big search for the big happiness but the sad little happiness of drinks and kisses, a good little car and a warm deep thigh.” [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding contentment in modest, everyday pleasures is more fulfilling than chasing grand, elusive happiness. **In simple terms:** Small joys outweigh big pursuits. Key Takeaway Cherish simple moments. Themes contentment moderation everyday joy Mood reflective warm contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily routines - relationships - simple pleasures - personal fulfillment Key Concepts existentialism hedonism humanism Questions to Reflect On - What small joy have you ignored? - How does modesty shape your happiness? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper aspirations or growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Kissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissing/) [Thighs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thighs/) ## Related quotes > [When he sees little kids sitting in the backseat of cars, in those little car seats that have steering wheels, with grim expressions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/when-he-sees-little-kids-sitting-in-the-backseat-of-cars-in-those/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We had a tiny little car that was always breaking down in the street. I couldn't drive, so Luciano would make me get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirella-freni/we-had-a-tiny-little-car-that-was-always-breaking-down-in-the-street/) [Mirella Freni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirella-freni/) > [When you first get money, you buy all these things so no one thinks you're mean, and you spread it around. You get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/when-you-first-get-money-you-buy-all-these-things-so-no-one-thinks/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Everyone is beautiful in their own little way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-is-beautiful-in-their-own-little-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Expect little that way you'll never be disappointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qaqamba-mtebele/expect-little-that-way-you-ll-never-be-disappointed/) Qaqamba Mtebele > [We shall see but a little way if we require to understand what we see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-shall-see-but-a-little-way-if-we-require-to-understand-what-we-see/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Following the well-lit path, offers little in the way of magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/following-the-well-lit-path-offers-little-in-the-way-of-magic/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [That one little ray of sunshine could be that one little way to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/that-one-little-ray-of-sunshine-could-be-that-one-little-way-to/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [“Little by little; the way out of the mine was as long as the way in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/little-by-little-the-way-out-of-the-mine-was-as-long-as-the-way-in/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [Even if we are dead we help each other in some little way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-davies/even-if-we-are-dead-we-help-each-other-in-some-little-way/) [Dave Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-davies/) > [Everyone is different in there own little way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/page-author/everyone-is-different-in-there-own-little-way/) Page > [Know, someone you love as much as you probably do not feel so much happiness is sad toknow that your love does not love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/know-someone-you-love-as-much-as-you-probably-do-not-feel-so-much/) Mak\_786 > [Happiness has never been a sad character to anyone,its just a matter of how you aproach it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-has-never-been-a-sad-character-to-anyone-its-just-a-matter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The people who are happy for your happiness and sad for your sadness... keep them around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/the-people-who-are-happy-for-your-happiness-and-sad-for-your-sadness/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Once we were one person, and always it will be a little that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/once-we-were-one-person-and-always-it-will-be-a-little-that-way/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Walker Percy > [“Do you know what he told me after lying under a cliff for thirty six hours with two inches of his femur sticking out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/do-you-know-what-he-told-me-after-lying-under-a-cliff-for-thirty-six/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [Americans are the nicest, most generous, and sentimental people on earth. Yet Americans have killed more unborn children than any nation in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/americans-are-the-nicest-most-generous-and-sentimental-people-on/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“The real wonder is not that the Cosmos is now seen as wonderful but that it is not. Despite its inconceivable vastness, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/the-real-wonder-is-not-that-the-cosmos-is-now-seen-as-wonderful-but/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“Ours is the only civilization in history which has enshrined mediocrity as its national ideal. Others have been corrupt, but leave it to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/ours-is-the-only-civilization-in-history-which-has-enshrined/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [ \[In art\] you are telling the reader or the listener or the viewer something he already knows but which he doesn't quite know that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/in-art-you-are-telling-the-reader-or-the-listener-or-the-viewer/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“People usually told him the same joke two or three times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/people-usually-told-him-the-same-joke-two-or-three-times/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [For the world is broken, sundered, busted down the middle, self ripped from self and man pasted back together as mythical monster, half angel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/for-the-world-is-broken-sundered-busted-down-the-middle-self-ripped/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [Nobody but a Southerner knows the wrenching rinsing sadness of the cities of the North.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/nobody-but-a-southerner-knows-the-wrenching-rinsing-sadness-of-the/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“For me, all signifiers fit me, one as well as another. I am rascal, hero, craven, brave, treacherous, loyal, at once the secret hero…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/for-me-all-signifiers-fit-me-one-as-well-as-another-i-am-rascal-hero/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“But the expectation of the self, to be informed in its nothingness--if only I can get out of this old place and into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/but-the-expectation-of-the-self-to-be-informed-in-its-nothingness-if/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [Nothing remains but desire, and desire comes howling down Elysian Fields like a mistral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/nothing-remains-but-desire-and-desire-comes-howling-down-elysian/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“A variant of the amnesic-plot device is the inadvertent return of the amnesiac to home territory, where he is welcomed by a lovely woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/a-variant-of-the-amnesic-plot-device-is-the-inadvertent-return-of-the/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [A novel is what you call something that won't sell if you call it poems or short stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/a-novel-is-what-you-call-something-that-won-t-sell-if-you-call-it/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/the-search-is-what-anyone-would-undertake-if-he-were-not-sunk-in-the/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“Am I, in my search, a hundred miles ahead of my fellow Americans or a hundred miles behind them? That is to say: Have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/am-i-in-my-search-a-hundred-miles-ahead-of-my-fellow-americans-or-a/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) [Explore all 194 Walker Percy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) ## More Bad thing quotes > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I've said it before, good people are forced to do bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-ve-said-it-before-good-people-are-forced-to-do-bad-things/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [I think the people I talk about are generally so stupid that they don't even know I'm saying bad things about them. I've run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-think-the-people-i-talk-about-are-generally-so-stupid-that-they-don/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [One thing I always tell players is that there are three bad things: Nothing good happens after midnight, nothing good happens when you're around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-saban/one-thing-i-always-tell-players-is-that-there-are-three-bad-things/) [Nick Saban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-saban/) > [I'm not going to pretend that bad things don't happen. I just hope my daughter has enough understanding that when they do, just give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-krasinski/i-m-not-going-to-pretend-that-bad-things-don-t-happen-i-just-hope-my/) [John Krasinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-krasinski/) > [I've heard some pretty bad things in my life. I'm just one of those people I've gotten to a point where I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-bush/i-ve-heard-some-pretty-bad-things-in-my-life-i-m-just-one-of-those/) [Sophia Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-bush/) > [Like everybody, you get nights where you feel completely depressed. You start thinking about all the bad things and think about the glass half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/like-everybody-you-get-nights-where-you-feel-completely-depressed-you/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [Be Thankful for all things in life. Even for the bad things. SOMETIMES the worst situations in life turn out to be the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-thankful-for-all-things-in-life-even-for-the-bad-things-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In my business, you should be very strong in mind. You have to be sure about yourself and about your work and your career,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-shayk/in-my-business-you-should-be-very-strong-in-mind-you-have-to-be-sure/) [Irina Shayk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irina-shayk/) > [“I don’t know why I latched onto the idea of being friends, but it sits right with my gut. I want Hartley in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-watt/i-don-t-know-why-i-latched-onto-the-idea-of-being-friends-but-it-sits/) [Erin Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-watt/) > [I'm just grateful to people who are willing to admit how bad things feel for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-just-grateful-to-people-who-are-willing-to-admit-how-bad-things/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I love it when television is shot in a cinematic way and I think to aspire to that is no bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-love-it-when-television-is-shot-in-a-cinematic-way-and-i-think-to/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [“Dear Delphine, When you are older I want you to find Chinua Achebe. I want you to read Things Fall Apart. Don't be hardheaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-williams-garcia/dear-delphine-when-you-are-older-i-want-you-to-find-chinua-achebe-i/) [Rita Williams-Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-williams-garcia/) > [Lobbying is not a bad thing. I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't have lobbyists or we shouldn't have lobbying to petition our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/lobbying-is-not-a-bad-thing-i-m-not-trying-to-say-that-we-shouldn-t/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [In life, we don't know why things happen. I believe God is not responsible for the bad things that happen to you. 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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not a bad thing to settle for the Little Way, not the big search for the big happiness but the sad little happiness of drinks and kisses, a good little car and a warm deep thigh.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walker Percy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the-little-way-not-the-big-search/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad thing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the-little-way-not-the-big-search/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/walker-percy-1958_bad-thing_it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the_1315907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/walker-percy-1958_bad-thing_it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the_1315907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/walker-percy-1958_bad-thing_it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the_1315907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not a bad thing to settle for the Little Way, not the big search for the big happiness but the sad…” — Walker Percy", "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": "Walker Percy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not a bad thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the-little-way-not-the-big-search/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/it-is-not-a-bad-thing-to-settle-for-the-little-way-not-the-big-search/#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 } } ] } ```