--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even the most miserable life is better…" description: "\"Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected.\" — Federico Fel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/federico-fellini-4845_existence_even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-t_2364468.jpg" --- # Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered… ![“Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected.” quote by Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/federico-fellini-4845_existence_even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-t_2364468.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/federico-fellini-4845_existence_even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-t_2364468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/federico-fellini-4845_existence_even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-t_2364468.jpg) > “Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected.” [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A miserable life is preferable to a perfectly ordered, calculated society. **In simple terms:** Even suffering beats a sterile, controlled existence. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfection and spontaneity. Themes existentialism society freedom Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban living - career choices - personal relationships Key Concepts philosophy political theory Questions to Reflect On - What does “sheltered existence” mean to you? - Can chaos be constructive? A Different Perspective Order can provide safety and predictability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Sheltered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-sheltered-5692140/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-better/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Miserable life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable-life/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Organized Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized-society-1336982/) [Sheltered Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheltered-existence-3898588/) ## Related quotes > [“A more miserable life is better...believe me..than an existence protected by an organized society...where everything is calculated…where everything is perfect...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-more-miserable-life-is-better-believe-me-than-an-existence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The difference between those whom the world esteems as good and those whom it condemns as bad, is in many cases little else than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/the-difference-between-those-whom-the-world-esteems-as-good-and-those/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [I'm not sure how aware of the rest of the world I am. I live a rather sheltered existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-clary/i-m-not-sure-how-aware-of-the-rest-of-the-world-i-am-i-live-a-rather/) [Julian Clary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-clary/) > [We must do jobs we detest because we are part of an organized society, and if everyone did what they wanted to do, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-must-do-jobs-we-detest-because-we-are-part-of-an-organized-society/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [If, in the present chaotic and shameful struggle for existence, when organized society offers a premium on greed, cruelty, and deceit, men can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-parsons/if-in-the-present-chaotic-and-shameful-struggle-for-existence-when-2/) [Lucy Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-parsons/) > [Anarchism means all sort of things to different people, but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-different-people-but-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/taxes-after-all-are-dues-that-we-pay-for-the-privileges-of-membership/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“The limit of the law is the limit of enforcement—the real limit of organized society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-limit-of-the-law-is-the-limit-of-enforcement-the-real-limit-of/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“Every human society must of necessity be composed of several strata. You may disturb it temporarily into an amorphous whole by a revolution such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-sabatini/every-human-society-must-of-necessity-be-composed-of-several-strata/) [Rafael Sabatini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-sabatini/) > [The Right of all members of society to form their own beliefs and communicate them freely to others must be regarded as an essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-i-emerson/the-right-of-all-members-of-society-to-form-their-own-beliefs-and/) [Thomas I. Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-i-emerson/) > [“And that is the terrible myth of organized society, that everything that's done through the established system is legal -- and that word has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-m-kunstler/and-that-is-the-terrible-myth-of-organized-society-that-everything/) [William M. Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-m-kunstler/) > [“And that’s the terrible myth of organized society. That everything that’s done through the established system is legal. And that word has a powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-m-kunstler/and-that-s-the-terrible-myth-of-organized-society-that-everything/) [William M. Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-m-kunstler/) > [If, in the present chaotic and shameful struggle for existence, when organized society offers a premium on greed, cruelty, and deceit, men can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-parsons/if-in-the-present-chaotic-and-shameful-struggle-for-existence-when/) [Lucy Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-parsons/) > [“(…) It would kill her because she’s spent her whole life worrying about How She Messed Up Those Kids, and what better proof of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-j-miller/it-would-kill-her-because-she-s-spent-her-whole-life-worrying-about/) [Sam J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-j-miller/) > [“You'll be miserable your whole life if you fight who and what you are. But if you accept yourself, all parts of yourself, you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lux/you-ll-be-miserable-your-whole-life-if-you-fight-who-and-what-you-are/) [Alex Lux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lux/) ## More by Federico Fellini > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Even if I set out to make a film about a fillet of sole, it would be about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-if-i-set-out-to-make-a-film-about-a-fillet-of-sole-it-would-be/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/when-work-commitment-and-pleasure-all-become-one-and-you-reach-that/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [As a writer and director, I want to know what is behind the good manners and soft voice. Who is inside the silhouette?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/as-a-writer-and-director-i-want-to-know-what-is-behind-the-good/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Don't forget that costumes, like dreams, are symbolic communication. Dreams teach us that a language for everything exists - for every object, every color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/don-t-forget-that-costumes-like-dreams-are-symbolic-communication/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [It is only when I am doing my work that I feel truly alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/it-is-only-when-i-am-doing-my-work-that-i-feel-truly-alive/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [We must get beyond passions, like a great work of art. In such miraculous harmony. We should learn to love each other so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/we-must-get-beyond-passions-like-a-great-work-of-art-in-such/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [We can all pretend to be cynical and scheming, but when we’re faced with purity and innocence, the cynical mask drops off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/we-can-all-pretend-to-be-cynical-and-scheming-but-when-we-re-faced/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [The public has lost the habit of movie-going because the cinema no longer possesses the charm, the hypnotic charisma, the authority it once commanded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/the-public-has-lost-the-habit-of-movie-going-because-the-cinema-no/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Everyone knows that time is Death, that Death hides in clocks. Imposing another time powered by the Clock of the Imagination, however, can refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/everyone-knows-that-time-is-death-that-death-hides-in-clocks-imposing/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Our duty as storytellers is to bring people to the station. There each person will choose his or her own train...But we must at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/our-duty-as-storytellers-is-to-bring-people-to-the-station-there-each/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [What's important is the way we say it. Art is all about craftsmanship. Others can interpret craftsmanship as style if they wish. Style is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/what-s-important-is-the-way-we-say-it-art-is-all-about-craftsmanship/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/there-is-no-end-there-is-no-beginning-there-is-only-the-passion-of/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [My work has always been the thing that justifies my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/my-work-has-always-been-the-thing-that-justifies-my-life/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [My relationship with my body has changed. I used to consider it as a servant who should obey, function, give pleasure. In sickness, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/my-relationship-with-my-body-has-changed-i-used-to-consider-it-as-a/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) [Explore all 104 Federico Fellini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Federico Fellini" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-than-a-sheltered-existence-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-than-a-sheltered-existence-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/federico-fellini-4845_existence_even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-t_2364468.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/federico-fellini-4845_existence_even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-t_2364468.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/federico-fellini-4845_existence_even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-t_2364468.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything…” — Federico Fellini", "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": "Federico Fellini", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even the most miserable life is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-than-a-sheltered-existence-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-the-most-miserable-life-is-better-than-a-sheltered-existence-in/#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 } } ] } ```