--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not start as dust. We do not end as…" description: "\"“We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust.”\" — David Levithan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_2898848.jpg" --- # We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make… ![“We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_2898848.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_2898848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_2898848.jpg) > ““We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust.”” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans evolve beyond mere dust, creating lasting impact. **In simple terms:** We become more than dust. Key Takeaway Strive for lasting contributions. Themes legacy growth humanity Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career achievements - family heritage - artistic works Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you wish to leave? - How do you measure “more than dust”? A Different Perspective Life’s brevity can cause existential anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Dust Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust-make-3340703/) [End Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-dust-320385/) [Make Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-dust-1693579/) [Start Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-dust-3340702/) ## Related quotes > [We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust. That's all we ask of you. Make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as-dust-we-make-more-than-dust/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Make more than dust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/make-more-than-dust/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“There is the sudden. There is the eventual. And in between, there is the living. We do not start as dust. We do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/there-is-the-sudden-there-is-the-eventual-and-in-between-there-is-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Would it not grieve a woman to be over-mastered by a piece of valiant dust? to make an account of her life to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/would-it-not-grieve-a-woman-to-be-over-mastered-by-a-piece-of-valiant/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [You make beautiful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things out of us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/you-make-beautiful-things-out-of-the-dust-you-make-beautiful-things/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [“How can someone have the power to shatter you to dust—and also to make you feel so whole? The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/how-can-someone-have-the-power-to-shatter-you-to-dust-and-also-to/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I will embrace today's difficult tasks, take off my coat, and make dust in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-embrace-today-s-difficult-tasks-take-off-my-coat-and-make-dust/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [You either make dust or eat dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/you-either-make-dust-or-eat-dust/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [“His dying mind conjured up one last, reassuring thought. In the end, don't we all come from dust anyway? We come from dust... and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-scarrow/his-dying-mind-conjured-up-one-last-reassuring-thought-in-the-end-don/) [Alex Scarrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-scarrow/) > [“In the beginning there was Dust, and in the end there will be Dust, and in the middle there is Dust, Dust, Dust!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/in-the-beginning-there-was-dust-and-in-the-end-there-will-be-dust-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > ["I dissolve in trust, I will sing with joy, I will end up dust". The line really spoke to me. That's what it is:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-dissolve-in-trust-i-will-sing-with-joy-i-will-end-up-dust-the-line/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/) [Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/) > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“Veiled by the dust of its own passing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-rogers/veiled-by-the-dust-of-its-own-passing/) [Cameron Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-rogers/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More Dust quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“Veiled by the dust of its own passing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-rogers/veiled-by-the-dust-of-its-own-passing/) [Cameron Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-rogers/) > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/) [Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/) > [Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/wild-honey-smells-of-freedom-the-dust-of-sunlight-the-mouth-of-a/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Mr. Bumpy from Bump in the Night was this funky little guy who lived under the bed and thought eating dust bunnies was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/mr-bumpy-from-bump-in-the-night-was-this-funky-little-guy-who-lived/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [When a man is not wanted in the village, he is always accused of raising dust even when he falls in a pool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/when-a-man-is-not-wanted-in-the-village-he-is-always-accused-of/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/gatsby-turned-out-all-right-at-the-end-it-is-what-preyed-on-gatsby/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Passing beauties are only the fugitive reflections of the eternal. All beauty alters and all life melts away; in short, everything passes with marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/passing-beauties-are-only-the-fugitive-reflections-of-the-eternal-all/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) [Browse all 1,783 Dust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. 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