--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So much had been invested in craft, in…" description: "\"“So much had been invested in craft, in externalization, in looking for something solid out there that would fill the void, create a sense of flight, o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/alan-arkin-5379_fill-the-void_so-much-had-been-invested-in-craft-in-ex_2833337.png" --- # So much had been invested in craft, in externalization, in… ![“So much had been invested in craft, in externalization, in looking for something solid out there that would fill the void, create a sense of flight, of getting out of the oppression of self. We don’t want to do it; we want to be it.” quote by Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/alan-arkin-5379_fill-the-void_so-much-had-been-invested-in-craft-in-ex_2833337.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/alan-arkin-5379_fill-the-void_so-much-had-been-invested-in-craft-in-ex_2833337.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/alan-arkin-5379_fill-the-void_so-much-had-been-invested-in-craft-in-ex_2833337.png) > ““So much had been invested in craft, in externalization, in looking for something solid out there that would fill the void, create a sense of flight, of getting out of the oppression of self. We don’t want to do it; we want to be it.”” [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People seek external validation but true freedom comes from embodying the desired state. **In simple terms:** Freedom is being, not doing. Key Takeaway Be the change you seek. Themes creativity freedom self‑realization Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic creation - personal growth - overcoming self‑oppression Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to “be” your aspirations? - How can you embody freedom daily? A Different Perspective It can be hard to embody ideals without external support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Craft Externalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craft-externalization-3673252/) [Externalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/externalization-2011723/) [Externalization Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/externalization-looking-3673254/) [Fill the void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fill-the-void/) [Invested Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invested-craft-3673253/) [Oppression Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-self-3560568/) ## Related quotes > [My job is to confront apathy and confront all the forces that tend to batter each of us down with all kind of oppression,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/my-job-is-to-confront-apathy-and-confront-all-the-forces-that-tend-to/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [When there is oppression, the only self-respecting thing is to rise and say this shall cease today, because my right is justice. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarojini-naidu/when-there-is-oppression-the-only-self-respecting-thing-is-to-rise/) [Sarojini Naidu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarojini-naidu/) > [If you are angry or in pain, separate yourself from anger and pain and watch them. Externalization is the first step to liberation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/if-you-are-angry-or-in-pain-separate-yourself-from-anger-and-pain-and/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [I take the walk to be the externalization of an interior seeking so that the analogy is first of all between the external and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/i-take-the-walk-to-be-the-externalization-of-an-interior-seeking-so/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [The universe is the externalization of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-universe-is-the-externalization-of-the-soul/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“When people are left without any goals, they need time to reorder their priorities and fill the void their obsession has left in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-garc-a-s-enz/when-people-are-left-without-any-goals-they-need-time-to-reorder/) [Eva García Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-garc-a-s-enz/) > [“You wonder about that sometimes, you wonder what happens when you die in your sleep. Do you carry on dreaming, does the moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-leather/you-wonder-about-that-sometimes-you-wonder-what-happens-when-you-die/) [Stephen Leather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-leather/) > [“Once we face our fear, once we treat our anxiety itself as a thing, we can then choose otherwise. Instead of filling the unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-jones/once-we-face-our-fear-once-we-treat-our-anxiety-itself-as-a-thing-we/) [David W. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-jones/) > [“I tried to fill the void with vocabulary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-grjasnowa/i-tried-to-fill-the-void-with-vocabulary/) [Olga Grjasnowa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-grjasnowa/) > [“Desire is an attempt to fill the void”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/desire-is-an-attempt-to-fill-the-void/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [If you do not speak to your teens about the meaning of human sexuality and love, the world will fill the void of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-evert/if-you-do-not-speak-to-your-teens-about-the-meaning-of-human/) [Jason Evert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-evert/) > [“Tears started to cloud my vision, and a single stream fell down my face. Wiping my cheek, I straightened my back and looked into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-abel/tears-started-to-cloud-my-vision-and-a-single-stream-fell-down-my/) [E.M. Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-abel/) > [Without the truth of the people, politics degenerates into mere spectacle and democracy declines, leaving demagoguery and cynicism to fill the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/without-the-truth-of-the-people-politics-degenerates-into-mere/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [We're all weirdly single, middle-aged women with too much money who look to fill the void with too much shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/we-re-all-weirdly-single-middle-aged-women-with-too-much-money-who/) [John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/) > [“I had nothing to feel guilty about. I had no one to answer to. I could look back upon my short life with Scott…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vee-hoffman/i-had-nothing-to-feel-guilty-about-i-had-no-one-to-answer-to-i-could/) [Vee Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vee-hoffman/) ## More by Alan Arkin > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [If I'm going to make a fake movie, it's going to be a fake hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/if-i-m-going-to-make-a-fake-movie-it-s-going-to-be-a-fake-hit/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I don't mind watching plays once in a while, but as long as I don't have to be in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-mind-watching-plays-once-in-a-while-but-as-long-as-i-don-t/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I had a hard time treating my field as if it's horse racing, putting actors in competition against each other. I see how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-had-a-hard-time-treating-my-field-as-if-it-s-horse-racing-putting/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Creativity means learning where the rules exist, and then breaking them! Saying, "It's better this way." But you have to know the rules in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/creativity-means-learning-where-the-rules-exist-and-then-breaking/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Things have got to add up to 100 points. The script is part of it, the character is part of it, the people I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/things-have-got-to-add-up-to-100-points-the-script-is-part-of-it-the/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I don't sense that I am someone's hero, though I'm happy when people like my work. I've learned how to be gracious about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-sense-that-i-am-someone-s-hero-though-i-m-happy-when-people/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [It's - everybody's looking at the bottom line all the time, and failure doesn't look good on the bottom line, and yet you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/it-s-everybody-s-looking-at-the-bottom-line-all-the-time-and-failure/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [That's the privilege of old age: You don't have to remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don-t-have-to-remember/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Every physicist knows that things connect with each other. To isolate things is not the way the universe works - winning best actor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/every-physicist-knows-that-things-connect-with-each-other-to-isolate/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I don't know why we have to put things in boxes of superlatives. That isolates them. Life is fluid, and the minute you start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-know-why-we-have-to-put-things-in-boxes-of-superlatives-that/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [People think that the people in Hollywood have some master plan. They just make the movies that people go to see. I think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/people-think-that-the-people-in-hollywood-have-some-master-plan-they/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I'm very old. I haven't got time to be charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-m-very-old-i-haven-t-got-time-to-be-charming/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I'm an actor. My life as an actor depends on who sends me what. I'm just taking the best stuff that I can find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-m-an-actor-my-life-as-an-actor-depends-on-who-sends-me-what-i-m/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Education does not mean jamming information into somebody's head. Rather, it's that ancient idea that all knowledge is within us; to teach is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/education-does-not-mean-jamming-information-into-somebody-s-head/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) [Explore all 101 Alan Arkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) ## More Fill the void quotes > [“I had nothing to feel guilty about. I had no one to answer to. I could look back upon my short life with Scott…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vee-hoffman/i-had-nothing-to-feel-guilty-about-i-had-no-one-to-answer-to-i-could/) [Vee Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vee-hoffman/) > [We're all weirdly single, middle-aged women with too much money who look to fill the void with too much shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/we-re-all-weirdly-single-middle-aged-women-with-too-much-money-who/) [John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/) > [Without the truth of the people, politics degenerates into mere spectacle and democracy declines, leaving demagoguery and cynicism to fill the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/without-the-truth-of-the-people-politics-degenerates-into-mere/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [“Tears started to cloud my vision, and a single stream fell down my face. Wiping my cheek, I straightened my back and looked into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-abel/tears-started-to-cloud-my-vision-and-a-single-stream-fell-down-my/) [E.M. Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-abel/) > [If you do not speak to your teens about the meaning of human sexuality and love, the world will fill the void of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-evert/if-you-do-not-speak-to-your-teens-about-the-meaning-of-human/) [Jason Evert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-evert/) > [“Desire is an attempt to fill the void”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/desire-is-an-attempt-to-fill-the-void/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [“I tried to fill the void with vocabulary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-grjasnowa/i-tried-to-fill-the-void-with-vocabulary/) [Olga Grjasnowa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-grjasnowa/) > [“Once we face our fear, once we treat our anxiety itself as a thing, we can then choose otherwise. Instead of filling the unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-jones/once-we-face-our-fear-once-we-treat-our-anxiety-itself-as-a-thing-we/) [David W. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-jones/) > [“You wonder about that sometimes, you wonder what happens when you die in your sleep. Do you carry on dreaming, does the moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-leather/you-wonder-about-that-sometimes-you-wonder-what-happens-when-you-die/) [Stephen Leather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-leather/) > [“When people are left without any goals, they need time to reorder their priorities and fill the void their obsession has left in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-garc-a-s-enz/when-people-are-left-without-any-goals-they-need-time-to-reorder/) [Eva García Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-garc-a-s-enz/) > [“As it happens I am comfortable with the Michael Laskis of this world, with those who live outside rather than in, those in whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/as-it-happens-i-am-comfortable-with-the-michael-laskis-of-this-world/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“The case is very plain before me. In leaving England, I should leave a loved but empty land — Mr. Rochester is not there;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/the-case-is-very-plain-before-me-in-leaving-england-i-should-leave-a/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Hate doesn’t fill the void where love used to be,” she said. “It doesn’t fit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-antoinette/hate-doesn-t-fill-the-void-where-love-used-to-be-she-said-it-doesn-t/) [Ashley Antoinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-antoinette/) > [“Even when we can pinpoint “something good” that came out of a tragedy, it never balances out what we have lost. How could anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-custis-james/even-when-we-can-pinpoint-something-good-that-came-out-of-a-tragedy/) [Carolyn Custis James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-custis-james/) > [“When we don’t pay close attention to the decisions made by our leaders, when we fail to educate ourselves about the major issues of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obama/when-we-don-t-pay-close-attention-to-the-decisions-made-by-our/) [Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/obama/) [Browse all 101 Fill the void quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fill-the-void/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So much had been invested in craft, in externalization, in looking for something solid out there that would fill the void, create a sense of flight, of getting out of the oppression of self. 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