--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The future exists only in our imagination…" description: "\"The future exists only in our imagination it is a collective story waiting for our voices to express that can only happen when you and I are willing to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/dawna-markova-19652_collectives_the-future-exists-only-in-our-imaginatio_2323861.jpg" --- # The future exists only in our imagination it is a… ![“The future exists only in our imagination it is a collective story waiting for our voices to express that can only happen when you and I are willing to enter the emptiness listening in the silence until we can begin to create a future we can befriend.” quote by Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/dawna-markova-19652_collectives_the-future-exists-only-in-our-imaginatio_2323861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/dawna-markova-19652_collectives_the-future-exists-only-in-our-imaginatio_2323861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/dawna-markova-19652_collectives_the-future-exists-only-in-our-imaginatio_2323861.jpg) > “The future exists only in our imagination it is a collective story waiting for our voices to express that can only happen when you and I are willing to enter the emptiness listening in the silence until we can begin to create a future we can befriend.” [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagining the future is a collective act; together we shape it by listening and creating. **In simple terms:** Future is co‑created. Key Takeaway Listen, imagine, create together. Themes creativity community future Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - team building - artistic collaboration - social movements Key Concepts Collective storytelling mindful listening visioning Questions to Reflect On - What story will you contribute? - How does silence foster creation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collective Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-story-2612650/) [Collectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) [Create Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-future/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Exists Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exists-imagination-3228175/) [Future Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-exists-736136/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Waiting Voices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-voices-5565673/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) ## Related quotes > [“The thing I like most about time is that it’s not real. It’s all in the head. Sure, it’s a useful trick if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/the-thing-i-like-most-about-time-is-that-it-s-not-real-it-s-all-in/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [The more you observe life in relation to yourself the more you will see the fact that you are hardly ever correct when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-long/the-more-you-observe-life-in-relation-to-yourself-the-more-you-will/) [Barry Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-long/) > [There are so many unsung heroines and heroes at this broken moment in our collective story, so many courageous persons who, unbeknownst to themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-abram/there-are-so-many-unsung-heroines-and-heroes-at-this-broken-moment-in/) [David Abram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-abram/) > [There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than to create a world that solely exists in your imagination and be able to pull someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/there-is-no-greater-feeling-of-accomplishment-than-to-create-a-world/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [They say that none of us exists, except in the imagination of his fellows, other than as an intangible, invisible mentality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/they-say-that-none-of-us-exists-except-in-the-imagination-of-his/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [For me, my travels have been the chance to go to a place that already exists in my imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-pratt/for-me-my-travels-have-been-the-chance-to-go-to-a-place-that-already/) [Hugo Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-pratt/) > [“the past exists only in your mind,” he said. “Likewise, the future exists only in your mind because it has not happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-past-exists-only-in-your-mind-he-said-likewise-the-future-exists/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Imagination is the only key to the future. Without it none exists - with it all things are possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/imagination-is-the-only-key-to-the-future-without-it-none-exists-with/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Time is not at all what it seems. It does not flow in only one direction, and the future exists simultaneously with the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/time-is-not-at-all-what-it-seems-it-does-not-flow-in-only-one/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Time and space always change, but there is something which is eternal and changeless. For example, the world and time, past or future, nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/time-and-space-always-change-but-there-is-something-which-is-eternal/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“Sometimes stop walking, look back at your life, detect your errors, and make new plans for the future where there exists no place for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/sometimes-stop-walking-look-back-at-your-life-detect-your-errors-and/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Have you never heard what the wise man say : all of the future exists in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/have-you-never-heard-what-the-wise-man-say-all-of-the-future-exists/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [Have you never heard what the wise men say: all of the future exists in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/have-you-never-heard-what-the-wise-men-say-all-of-the-future-exists/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“The difference between past and future exists only when there is heat. The fundamental phenomenon that distinguishes the future from the past is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/the-difference-between-past-and-future-exists-only-when-there-is-heat/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [The past is no more; the future not yet. Nothing exists except the here and now. Our grand business is not to see what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-past-is-no-more-the-future-not-yet-nothing-exists-except-the-here/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) ## More by Dawna Markova > [Forgiveness in no way justifies the actions that caused your wounding, nor does it mean that you have to seek out those who harmed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/forgiveness-in-no-way-justifies-the-actions-that-caused-your-wounding/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [I will not Die an Unlived Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/i-will-not-die-an-unlived-life/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [When cancer first came into my life, people all around me treated it as the enemy. I was told I had to join the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/when-cancer-first-came-into-my-life-people-all-around-me-treated-it/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [In my better moments, I think of apathy as purpose's sleep. In my worse moments, when I'm trying to fix it or get rid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/in-my-better-moments-i-think-of-apathy-as-purpose-s-sleep-in-my-worse/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [I wonder why it is that we so often imprison ourselves in the opinions of other people. 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I choose to inhabit my days,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/i-will-not-die-an-unlived-life-i-will-not-live-in-fear-of-falling-or/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [Once you begin to acknowledge random acts of kindness-both the ones you have received and the ones you have given - you can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/once-you-begin-to-acknowledge-random-acts-of-kindness-both-the-ones/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [Through fear of knowing who we really are we sidestep our own destiny, which leaves us hungry in a famine of our own making...we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/through-fear-of-knowing-who-we-really-are-we-sidestep-our-own-destiny/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [The tears had turned to ink...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/the-tears-had-turned-to-ink/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [That which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom, and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/that-which-came-to-me-as-seed-goes-to-the-next-as-blossom-and-that/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [The moments you are given are your true wealth. 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Live on purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/reignite-the-fire-in-your-heart-live-on-purpose/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/i-choose-to-inhabit-my-days-to-allow-my-living-to-open-me-to-make-me/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) [Explore all 32 Dawna Markova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) ## More Collectives quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [There is a way in which the collective knowledge of mankind expresses itself, for the finite individual, through mere daily living . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/there-is-a-way-in-which-the-collective-knowledge-of-mankind-expresses/) [Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. 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Man, in the collective sense, is the hero of Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/man-in-the-collective-sense-is-the-hero-of-science-man-in-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) [Browse all 1,039 Collectives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The future exists only in our imagination it is a collective story waiting for our voices to express that can only happen when you and I are willing to enter the emptiness listening in the silence until we can begin to create a future we can befriend.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dawna Markova" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/the-future-exists-only-in-our-imagination-it-is-a-collective-story/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Collectives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/the-future-exists-only-in-our-imagination-it-is-a-collective-story/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/dawna-markova-19652_collectives_the-future-exists-only-in-our-imaginatio_2323861.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/dawna-markova-19652_collectives_the-future-exists-only-in-our-imaginatio_2323861.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bc/dawna-markova-19652_collectives_the-future-exists-only-in-our-imaginatio_2323861.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The future exists only in our imagination it is a collective story waiting for our voices to express that…” — Dawna Markova", "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": "Dawna Markova", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The future exists only in our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/the-future-exists-only-in-our-imagination-it-is-a-collective-story/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/the-future-exists-only-in-our-imagination-it-is-a-collective-story/#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 } } ] } ```