--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are alive within mystery, by…" description: "\"We are alive within mystery, by miracle... We have more than we can know. We know more than we can say.\" — Wendell Berry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/wendell-berry-236_alive_we-are-alive-within-mystery-by-miracle-w_1954323.jpg" --- # We are alive within mystery, by miracle... We have more… ![“We are alive within mystery, by miracle... We have more than we can know. We know more than we can say.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/wendell-berry-236_alive_we-are-alive-within-mystery-by-miracle-w_1954323.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/wendell-berry-236_alive_we-are-alive-within-mystery-by-miracle-w_1954323.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/wendell-berry-236_alive_we-are-alive-within-mystery-by-miracle-w_1954323.jpg) > “We are alive within mystery, by miracle... We have more than we can know. We know more than we can say.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mystery and miracle coexist; we know more than we can articulate, yet remain limited. **In simple terms:** We know more than we can say. Key Takeaway Embrace mystery, seek humility. Themes mystery knowledge humility Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific research - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts epistemology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What mysteries inspire you? - How do you handle unknowns? A Different Perspective Mystery can breed anxiety if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) ## Related quotes > [I see that the life of this place is always emerging beyond expectation or prediction or typicality, that it is unique, given to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-see-that-the-life-of-this-place-is-always-emerging-beyond/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“There is not much mystery about death. It's being alive that's the mystery. Death is the normality, life is the exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-fallowell/there-is-not-much-mystery-about-death-it-s-being-alive-that-s-the/) Duncan Fallowell > [One of the most exiting things about being pregnant is that I just am accepting the complete unknown; it's a complete mystery and miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-portman/one-of-the-most-exiting-things-about-being-pregnant-is-that-i-just-am/) [Natalie Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-portman/) > [“Those three means are Mystery, Miracle, and Prophecy. The first two are incompatible with true religion, and the third ought always to be suspected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/those-three-means-are-mystery-miracle-and-prophecy-the-first-two-are/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Why who makes much of a miracle? As to me I know nothing else but miracles, whether they be animals feeding in the fields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/why-who-makes-much-of-a-miracle-as-to-me-i-know-nothing-else-but/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The miracle is when you shift. The miracle is when you know there is no hill - you're removing the hill. The miracle is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-miracle-is-when-you-shift-the-miracle-is-when-you-know-there-is/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man called Jesus of Nazareth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at-all-about-the-man-called/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Each beat of your heart is a small miracle, you know, so don't get carried away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathias-malzieu/each-beat-of-your-heart-is-a-small-miracle-you-know-so-don-t-get/) [Mathias Malzieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathias-malzieu/) > [I thought, He must forebear to reveal His power and glory by presenting Himself as Himself, and must be present only in the ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-thought-he-must-forebear-to-reveal-his-power-and-glory-by/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“...we're a mystery which will never happen again, a miracle which has never happened before...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings-2/we-re-a-mystery-which-will-never-happen-again-a-miracle-which-has/) [E.E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings-2/) > [Outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary, but the common mode of existence. It is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/outdoors-we-are-confronted-everywhere-with-wonders-we-see-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [We must learn to acknowledge that the creation is full of mystery; we will never entirely understand it. We must abandon arrogance and stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-must-learn-to-acknowledge-that-the-creation-is-full-of-mystery-we/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [“As I do not seem able much to heal, then maybe I can simply be a responsible witness to the miracle of the ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/as-i-do-not-seem-able-much-to-heal-then-maybe-i-can-simply-be-a/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [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/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are alive within mystery, by miracle... We have more than we can know. 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