--- 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. That's all we ask of you. Make more than dust.\" — David Levithan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_364622.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. That's all we ask of you. Make more than dust.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_364622.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_364622.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/david-levithan-67_dust_we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as_364622.jpg) > “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 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. Human beings are called to create beyond mere existence, to leave a lasting impact. **In simple terms:** We should strive for significance beyond being. Key Takeaway Aim to create lasting value. Themes purpose legacy human potential Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career - artistic projects - community service - environmental activism Key Concepts existentialism meaning-making Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you wish to leave? - How can you contribute beyond daily routines? A Different Perspective Impact may be limited by external constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Dust Ask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust-ask-2994205/) [Dust Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust-make-3340703/) [End Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-dust-320385/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [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.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-do-not-start-as-dust-we-do-not-end-as-dust-we-make-more-than-dust-2/) [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/) > [“Make more than dust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/make-more-than-dust/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [War adversity of tears and turmoil where do we think we came from Mr.dust do ask me that question!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-brown/war-adversity-of-tears-and-turmoil-where-do-we-think-we-came-from-mr/) [D Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-brown/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [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. 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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. 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