--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Words are not necessary to one's…" description: "\"Words are not necessary to one's experience of the true life.\" — Don DeLillo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/don-delillo-294_language_words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experie_1520167.jpg" --- # Words are not necessary to one's experience of the true… ![“Words are not necessary to one's experience of the true life.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/don-delillo-294_language_words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experie_1520167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/don-delillo-294_language_words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experie_1520167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/don-delillo-294_language_words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experie_1520167.jpg) > “Words are not necessary to one's experience of the true life.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests that true life can be experienced without verbal description **In simple terms:** Life can be felt beyond words Key Takeaway Appreciate non‑verbal experiences Themes communication experience silence Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - art appreciation - personal reflection - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What non‑verbal moments have impacted you? - Can silence convey deeper meaning than speech? A Different Perspective Words often shape understanding, so silence may miss nuance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [True life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-life/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [To experience true life, we must continue the Christian journey the same way we began it - by faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bright/to-experience-true-life-we-must-continue-the-christian-journey-the/) [Bill Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bright/) > [Everyone has that person that you fell head over heels for but weren't meant to be with.. It's an unforgettable but necessary experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-has-that-person-that-you-fell-head-over-heels-for-but-weren/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A person can do a lot of reading and research as I have done. I went to Spain and spent a whole summer there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-beiser/a-person-can-do-a-lot-of-reading-and-research-as-i-have-done-i-went/) [Maya Beiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-beiser/) > [“The meaning of the words is necessary and not their extent. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/the-meaning-of-the-words-is-necessary-and-not-their-extent/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [“The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by-3/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by-2/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Gratitude is the experience of our true self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-lakes/gratitude-is-the-experience-of-our-true-self/) Gina Lakes > [Only those who walk in holiness experience true joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/only-those-who-walk-in-holiness-experience-true-joy/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [Outside our comfort zone, though, is where we experience the true awesomeness of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/outside-our-comfort-zone-though-is-where-we-experience-the-true/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“I argued myself into thinking that physical experience is the only true reality. I didn't want to be told about this, nor did I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-argued-myself-into-thinking-that-physical-experience-is-the-only/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [You are perfect, whole and complete. You needn't add anything to yourself to experience your true power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/you-are-perfect-whole-and-complete-you-needn-t-add-anything-to/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [“To know the true value of true love one must experience true hatred first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-besselaar/to-know-the-true-value-of-true-love-one-must-experience-true-hatred/) Albert Besselaar > [“Just doing the audition was going to be an experience, and I am a true collector of life experiences. I live for life experiences.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-turis/just-doing-the-audition-was-going-to-be-an-experience-and-i-am-a-true/) [Stacey Turis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-turis/) > [I keep saying this, and I truly mean this: I think that when you experience true love, it never really goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inbar-lavi/i-keep-saying-this-and-i-truly-mean-this-i-think-that-when-you/) [Inbar Lavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inbar-lavi/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) TimBur > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Words are not necessary to one's experience of the true life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don DeLillo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experience-of-the-true-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experience-of-the-true-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/don-delillo-294_language_words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experie_1520167.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/don-delillo-294_language_words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experie_1520167.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/don-delillo-294_language_words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experie_1520167.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Words are not necessary to one's experience of the true life.” — Don DeLillo", "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": "Don DeLillo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Words are not necessary to one's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experience-of-the-true-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/words-are-not-necessary-to-one-s-experience-of-the-true-life/#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 } } ] } ```