---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The startling reality of things is my…"
description: "\"The startling reality of things is my discovery every single day.\" — Fernando Pessoa"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/fernando-pessoa-177_discovery_the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-di_2202907.jpg"
---

#  The startling reality of things is my discovery every…

![“The startling reality of things is my discovery every single day.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/fernando-pessoa-177_discovery_the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-di_2202907.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/fernando-pessoa-177_discovery_the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-di_2202907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/fernando-pessoa-177_discovery_the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-di_2202907.jpg)

> “The startling reality of things is my discovery every single day.”

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Each day reveals new insights, showing that reality is constantly reshaped by personal discovery.

**In simple terms:** Every day brings new discoveries.

Key Takeaway

Embrace daily curiosity.

Themes

self‑discovery reality philosophy

Mood

contemplative inquisitive

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal journaling
- scientific research
- creative writing
- travel exploration

Key Concepts

existentialism perception mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you capture daily insights?
- What patterns emerge over time?

A Different Perspective

Discovery can be fleeting without reflection.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Every single day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-single-day/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-things-301159/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Startling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/startling/) [Startling Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/startling-reality-4847136/) [Things Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-discovery-3783177/)

## Related quotes

> [“The whole key to life is discovering things for yourself. What you do with that discovery is what lies on the other side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whitaker/the-whole-key-to-life-is-discovering-things-for-yourself-what-you-do/)

[David Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whitaker/)

> [I don't know how everybody else feels, but I just long for reality rather than these made-up things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-don-t-know-how-everybody-else-feels-but-i-just-long-for-reality/)

[Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/)

> [“Live, you say, in the present; Live only in the present. But I don’t want the present, I want reality; I want things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-caeiro/live-you-say-in-the-present-live-only-in-the-present-but-i-don-t-want/)

[Alberto Caeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-caeiro/)

> [But when one believes in the reality of things, making them visible by artificial means is not quite the same as feeling that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-when-one-believes-in-the-reality-of-things-making-them-visible-by/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“To clarify, things that fight against reality are those things we tend not to accept and therefore never let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-g-roldan/to-clarify-things-that-fight-against-reality-are-those-things-we-tend/)

[Alexis G. Roldan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-g-roldan/)

> [Some people become the reality of the many things we dream of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jey-lopez/some-people-become-the-reality-of-the-many-things-we-dream-of/)

[Jey Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jey-lopez/)

> [For, try as we may, we cannot get behind the appearence of things to reality. And the terrible reason may be that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/for-try-as-we-may-we-cannot-get-behind-the-appearence-of-things-to/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“The subject matter. . . is not that collection of solid, static objects extended in space but the life that is lived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-subject-matter-is-not-that-collection-of-solid-static-objects-2/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [I write toward both idealism and reality - how things are and how I wish they could be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-write-toward-both-idealism-and-reality-how-things-are-and-how-i/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [I use to do things that changed my perception of reality now I do things that change my perception to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/i-use-to-do-things-that-changed-my-perception-of-reality-now-i-do/)

[Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/)

> [The reality of things going on around me is more interesting than the fantasies of the world I work in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me-is-more-interesting-than-the/)

[Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/)

> [I realize now that the reality of things is not something you convey to people but something you make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-realize-now-that-the-reality-of-things-is-not-something-you-convey/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I think you just have to give yourself a dose of reality. Things don't always work out the way you want them to in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brady-quinn/i-think-you-just-have-to-give-yourself-a-dose-of-reality-things-don-t/)

[Brady Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brady-quinn/)

> [The only shared reality we have is things we have seen on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armando-iannucci/the-only-shared-reality-we-have-is-things-we-have-seen-on-television/)

[Armando Iannucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armando-iannucci/)

> [I've always been kind of an escape artist. I think that I thought the day-to-day reality of things was unbearably flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-ve-always-been-kind-of-an-escape-artist-i-think-that-i-thought-the/)

[Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/)

## More by Fernando Pessoa

> [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

[Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

## More Discovery quotes

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/)

[Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/)

> [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/)

[Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/)

> [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/)

[Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/)

> [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/)

[Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/)

> [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

[Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The startling reality of things is my discovery every single day.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Fernando Pessoa"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-discovery-every-single-day/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Discovery"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-discovery-every-single-day/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/fernando-pessoa-177_discovery_the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-di_2202907.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/fernando-pessoa-177_discovery_the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-di_2202907.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/fernando-pessoa-177_discovery_the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-di_2202907.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The startling reality of things is my discovery every single day.” — Fernando Pessoa",
                "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": "Fernando Pessoa",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The startling reality of things is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-discovery-every-single-day/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-discovery-every-single-day/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
