--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We imagine that we want to escape our…" description: "\"We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/anonymous-1_chains_we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-se_1018272.jpg" --- # We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and… ![“We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/anonymous-1_chains_we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-se_1018272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/anonymous-1_chains_we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-se_1018272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/anonymous-1_chains_we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-se_1018272.jpg) > “We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We desire freedom from ordinary life yet remain attached to our own limitations. **In simple terms:** We want escape but cling to our own chains. Key Takeaway Recognize and release self‑imposed restraints. Themes freedom self‑awareness attachment Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - relationship dynamics - career choices Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What chains are you holding onto? - How can you gently loosen them? A Different Perspective Self‑imposed limits can be hard to see without external feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing is more painful as feeling as if someone is trying to forcefully put you back together again, without having any glue on hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-wrights/nothing-is-more-painful-as-feeling-as-if-someone-is-trying-to/) [D.S. Wrights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-wrights/) > [“Like a tenacious ivy, your presence clings onto the drab wall of my existence. Cling harder onto me love, like a blood sucking bed-bug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malak-el-halabi/like-a-tenacious-ivy-your-presence-clings-onto-the-drab-wall-of-my/) [Malak El Halabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malak-el-halabi/) > [You will never be commonplace if you are vigilant in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-be-commonplace-if-you-are-vigilant-in-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be not content with the common place in character anymore than with the commonplace in ambition or intellectual attainment. Do not expect that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-not-content-with-the-common-place-in-character-anymore-than-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In our time the blasphemies are threadbare. Pessimism is now patently, as it always was essentially, more commonplace than piety. Profanity is now more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-our-time-the-blasphemies-are-threadbare-pessimism-is-now-patently/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let us dig our furrow in the fields of the commonplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-dig-our-furrow-in-the-fields-of-the-commonplace/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do not be fooled by its commonplace appearance. Like so many things, it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-fooled-by-its-commonplace-appearance-like-so-many-things-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The concern is over what will happen as strong encryption becomes commonplace with all digital communications and stored data. Right now the use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-concern-is-over-what-will-happen-as-strong-encryption-becomes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For obvious reasons, I never told you about my notebook, with a cover as green as mansions long ago, which I use as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-obvious-reasons-i-never-told-you-about-my-notebook-with-a-cover/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Language is the soul of intellect, and reading is the essential process by which that intellect is cultivated beyond the commonplace experiences of everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/language-is-the-soul-of-intellect-and-reading-is-the-essential/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/) [Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [It was just the sort of yatch you'd expect a rock promoter to have. Mirrored ceilings, marble, Jacuzzis and leopard-skin everything, it made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-was-just-the-sort-of-yatch-you-d-expect-a-rock-promoter-to-have/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Chains quotes > [Unchecked, the new tolerance will sooner or later put many people in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/unchecked-the-new-tolerance-will-sooner-or-later-put-many-people-in/) [D. A. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I don't have a huge amount of gear, but on the software side, I have a number of plug-in chains that act as abstracted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/i-don-t-have-a-huge-amount-of-gear-but-on-the-software-side-i-have-a/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [We don't have a farm-to-table food safety system. I keep saying this. It came as a big surprise to the FDA that tomatoes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/we-don-t-have-a-farm-to-table-food-safety-system-i-keep-saying-this/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/how-can-i-set-free-anyone-who-doesn-t-have-the-guts-to-stand-up-alone/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [I'm bigger than you! I'm higher on the food chain - get in my belly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/i-m-bigger-than-you-i-m-higher-on-the-food-chain-get-in-my-belly/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [The chains will fall off freely, no more worries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dl-watson/the-chains-will-fall-off-freely-no-more-worries/) DL WATSON > [I am ever mindful of the legacy of my grandfather, the founder of this Kingdom, who had said to me that he perceived his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-hussein-i/i-am-ever-mindful-of-the-legacy-of-my-grandfather-the-founder-of-this/) [King Hussein I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-hussein-i/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [To one who is accustomed to thinking a lot, every new thought that he hears or reads about immediately appears as a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-one-who-is-accustomed-to-thinking-a-lot-every-new-thought-that-he/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Man's ethics must not end with man, but should extend to the universe. He must regain the consciousness of the great Chain of Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/man-s-ethics-must-not-end-with-man-but-should-extend-to-the-universe/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [To sigh, yet feel no pain; To weep, yet scarce know why; To sport an hour with Beauty's chain, Then throw it idly by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/to-sigh-yet-feel-no-pain-to-weep-yet-scarce-know-why-to-sport-an-hour/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) [Browse all 1,639 Chains quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-selfish-and-commonplace/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chains" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-selfish-and-commonplace/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/anonymous-1_chains_we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-se_1018272.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/anonymous-1_chains_we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-se_1018272.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/anonymous-1_chains_we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-se_1018272.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We imagine that we want to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-selfish-and-commonplace/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-imagine-that-we-want-to-escape-our-selfish-and-commonplace/#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 } } ] } ```