--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Feeling real is more than existing; it is…" description: "\"Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself... and to have a self into which to retreat for relaxation.\" — Donald Woods..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/donald-woods-winnicott-25798_feelings_feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is_2163887.jpg" --- # Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to… ![“Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself... and to have a self into which to retreat for relaxation.” quote by Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/donald-woods-winnicott-25798_feelings_feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is_2163887.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/donald-woods-winnicott-25798_feelings_feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is_2163887.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/donald-woods-winnicott-25798_feelings_feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is_2163887.jpg) > “Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself... and to have a self into which to retreat for relaxation.” [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being truly alive means existing authentically and having a private inner space for relaxation. **In simple terms:** Real existence includes a private retreat. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner sanctuary. Themes self authenticity relaxation psychology Mood calm reflective Type therapeutic philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - personal growth - stress relief Key Concepts inner self psychic space Questions to Reflect On - How do you create a personal retreat? - What hinders authentic self‑expression? A Different Perspective Finding such a space can be challenging in hectic lives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exist Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist-oneself-1856942/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Feeling Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-real-592823/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Existing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-existing-4603644/) [Relaxation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relaxation/) [Retreat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retreat/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [To be rich is to give; to give nothing is to be poor; to live is to love; to love nothing is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/to-be-rich-is-to-give-to-give-nothing-is-to-be-poor-to-live-is-to/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [The myth holds us, therefore, not through its romantic flavor, not the remembrance of beauty of some bygone age, not through the possibilities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/the-myth-holds-us-therefore-not-through-its-romantic-flavor-not-the/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Your real home isn't your patterned self. It isn't your thinking. It isn't your feeling. Your real home is the deepest within that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-real-home-isn-t-your-patterned-self-it-isn-t-your-thinking-it/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [These Days I'm feeling real good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ab-soul/these-days-i-m-feeling-real-good/) [Ab-Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ab-soul/) > [I can't fight off this feeling that was once so real for me. But it was only a dream. I could swair his touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/i-can-t-fight-off-this-feeling-that-was-once-so-real-for-me-but-it/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [“Achieving quite easy things does not earn you glory, but getting right back up from the hardest fall to succeed gives you the feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taskinsoy/achieving-quite-easy-things-does-not-earn-you-glory-but-getting-right/) [JOHN TASKINSOY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taskinsoy/) > [“It's a wonderful, inspiring feeling to have real friends who love and understand you. I have never had that feeling before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-berr/it-s-a-wonderful-inspiring-feeling-to-have-real-friends-who-love-and/) [Hélène Berr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-berr/) > [When I was a kid and I would play pretend, I would end up with blood everywhere and I would cut my feet up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-butler/when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-would-play-pretend-i-would-end-up-with-blood/) [Austin Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-butler/) > [I'd known since I was 17 that I was going to be a star. It was a strange feeling but a very real one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-harket/i-d-known-since-i-was-17-that-i-was-going-to-be-a-star-it-was-a/) [Morten Harket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-harket/) > [I've been feeling real good, came a long way from misunderstood, Far away from the days where I wouldn't wanna go home cuz I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/outasight/i-ve-been-feeling-real-good-came-a-long-way-from-misunderstood-far/) [Outasight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/outasight/) > [A feeling of real need is always a good enough reason to pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-whitall-smith/a-feeling-of-real-need-is-always-a-good-enough-reason-to-pray/) [Hannah Whitall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-whitall-smith/) > [“Every part of me pulses with electric energy. Every synapse is firing, every part of me is alert, awake, and what I think is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-alan/every-part-of-me-pulses-with-electric-energy-every-synapse-is-firing/) [Theresa Alan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-alan/) > [I'm full of restlessness. Not lonely, exactly - my head is racing with ideas. But it is that old treacherous feeling that real life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/i-m-full-of-restlessness-not-lonely-exactly-my-head-is-racing-with/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [“The feeling you have that 'there's something else' is real. What happens when you don't follow the compulsion? What is on the other side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/the-feeling-you-have-that-there-s-something-else-is-real-what-happens/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [Happiness, for me, has to be real - life that is made of real conversations, of spending quality time with close friends, walks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/happiness-for-me-has-to-be-real-life-that-is-made-of-real/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) ## More by Donald Woods Winnicott > [It's only too easy to idealise a mother's job. We know well that every job has its frustrations and its boring routines and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/it-s-only-too-easy-to-idealise-a-mother-s-job-we-know-well-that-every/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [Tell me what you fear and I will tell you what has happened to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/tell-me-what-you-fear-and-i-will-tell-you-what-has-happened-to-you/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [Play like dreams serves the function of self realization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/play-like-dreams-serves-the-function-of-self-realization/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/it-is-in-playing-and-only-in-playing-that-the-individual-child-or/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [“The most aggressive and therefore the most dangerous words in the languages of the world are to be found in the assertion I AM.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/the-most-aggressive-and-therefore-the-most-dangerous-words-in-the/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [The mother gazes at the baby in her arms, and the baby gazes at his mother's face and finds himself therein... provided that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/the-mother-gazes-at-the-baby-in-her-arms-and-the-baby-gazes-at-his/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [There is for many a poverty of play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/there-is-for-many-a-poverty-of-play/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [However, it can't be helped; mothers, if they do their job properly, are the representatives of the hard, demanding world and it is they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/however-it-can-t-be-helped-mothers-if-they-do-their-job-properly-are/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [Creativity consists in maintaining a key aspect of the experience of childhood throughout one's life: the capacity to create and recreate the world. Creativity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/creativity-consists-in-maintaining-a-key-aspect-of-the-experience-of/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [If mothers are told to do this or that or the other,... they lose touch with their own ability to act… Only too easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/if-mothers-are-told-to-do-this-or-that-or-the-other-they-lose-touch/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [It's a poor thing to be sane!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/it-s-a-poor-thing-to-be-sane/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [The capacity to still feel wonder is essential to the creative process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/the-capacity-to-still-feel-wonder-is-essential-to-the-creative-process/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [It is in playing, and perhaps only in playing, that the child is free to be creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/it-is-in-playing-and-perhaps-only-in-playing-that-the-child-is-free/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/artists-are-people-driven-by-the-tension-between-the-desire-to/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) > [There is no such thing as a baby, there is a baby and someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-baby-there-is-a-baby-and-someone/) [Donald Woods Winnicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) [Explore all 22 Donald Woods Winnicott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/) ## More Feeling quotes > [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/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myself/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Hate not knowing when things are going to happen feeling different every single day. It is called LIFE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-valdovinos/hate-not-knowing-when-things-are-going-to-happen-feeling-different/) [Stephanie Valdovinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-valdovinos/) > [The best feeling comes when you realise, that you are perfectly happy without the things, once you thought you needed the most…!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-feeling-comes-when-you-realise-that-you-are-perfectly-happy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love transforming myself constantly because it gives me that 'new' feeling that I'm very much addicted to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-mondo/i-love-transforming-myself-constantly-because-it-gives-me-that-new/) [Brad Mondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-mondo/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want the truth, so here it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mandrell/what-i-do-miss-that-i-don-t-get-anymore-you-re-going-to-think-i-m/) [Barbara Mandrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mandrell/) > [I think kids growing up, if they were picked on and feeling inferior at 12, they're going to feel that way at 72. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-kids-growing-up-if-they-were-picked-on-and-feeling-inferior/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I don't think Alfonso was a big expert on Potter either. He was feeling his way through it more than I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thewlis/i-don-t-think-alfonso-was-a-big-expert-on-potter-either-he-was/) [David Thewlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thewlis/) > [The most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/the-most-difficult-part-for-me-is-feeling-connected-to-the-people/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) [Browse all 8,809 Feeling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself... and to have a self into which to retreat for relaxation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Woods Winnicott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is-finding-a-way-to-exist-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feeling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is-finding-a-way-to-exist-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/donald-woods-winnicott-25798_feelings_feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is_2163887.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/donald-woods-winnicott-25798_feelings_feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is_2163887.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/donald-woods-winnicott-25798_feelings_feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is_2163887.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself... and to have a self into which…” — Donald Woods Winnicott", "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": "Donald Woods Winnicott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-woods-winnicott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Feeling real is more than existing;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is-finding-a-way-to-exist-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-woods-winnicott/feeling-real-is-more-than-existing-it-is-finding-a-way-to-exist-as/#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 } } ] } ```