Unexpected Joy Quotes

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open.

A good, sympathetic review is always a wonderful surprise.

Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. [...] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

When I won in 2003, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would win Wimbledon and have my kids seeing me lift the trophy, so this is pretty surreal. And yeah, I was almost shocked in the moment that it all came together so nicely.

I'm trying to look at my blessings and how amazingly well against all odds things have turned out for me.

Happiness is strange; it comes when you are not seeking it. When you are not making an effort to be happy, then unexpectedly, mysteriously, happiness is there, born of purity, of a loveliness of being.

Pain itself can be pleasurable accidentally in so far as it is accompanied by wonder, as in stage-plays; or in so far as it recalls a beloved object to one's memory, and makes one feel one's love for the thing, whose absence gives us pain. Consequently, since love is pleasant, both pain and whatever else results from love, in so far as they remind us of our love, are pleasant.

Just when you think you should start accepting that you're becoming an adult, all your childhood fantasies come true.

In the midst of hopes and cares, of apprehensions and of disquietude, regard every day that dawns upon you as if it was to be your last; then super-added hours, to the enjoyment of which you had not looked forward, will prove an acceptable boon.

Isn’t it wonderful the way the world holds both the deeply serious, and the unexpectedly mirthful?

Don't ever put anything past kids. They will surprise you in the best ways.

My life is a dream come true of a dream I never knew I even had

When I wrote the lyrics, melodies, and the first themes of 'Serendipity,' I tried to come up with some rare things you find in life, something very special, like the calico, three-striped cat; things that have extraordinary meanings in people's lives.

To see my wife getting inspired from my notes and thoughts, going in the direction I wanted, and have her surprise me with wonderful choices was a real treat.

As I started getting older, I realized, 'I'm so happy!' I didn't expect this! I wasn't happy when I was young.

I never in a million bazillion trillion years imagined that my life would have this many layers of love and richness.

Be surprised by joy, be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty in the midst of a barren desert, and be surprised by the immense healing power that keeps bursting forth like springs of fresh water from the depth of our pain.

People talk about the miracle of birth. No. There's the miracle of conception. I did IVF, but nothing happened. So I began to think of adoption, and then I got pregnant. It was definitely a miracle.

It's so amazing, standing on the corner -this happened in Washington, D.C. - and somebody comes by in a Cadillac and you hear 'Manic Monday' on the radio, and you don't even know this person, and they're listening to it and singing along with it. Wow! Blows your mind.

Early on, I didn't intend to have children. I thought it was too difficult a world for them. But then it happened, and I am thrilled to have them now.

In an odd way (the death of John Daly) is cheering news!

Magic is the total delight (appreciation) of chance

You may not know it, but at the far end of despair, there is a white clearing where one is almost happy.

It was crazy how a hearse and a pair of sneakers could cheer a guy up.