---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each of us possesses a tangible living…"
description: "\"Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system has no such thing. We must not allow the system to exploit us.\" — Haruki Murakami"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/haruki-murakami-21_allow_each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-s_179954.jpg"
---

#  Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system…

![“Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system has no such thing. We must not allow the system to exploit us.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/haruki-murakami-21_allow_each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-s_179954.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/haruki-murakami-21_allow_each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-s_179954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/haruki-murakami-21_allow_each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-s_179954.jpg)

> “Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system has no such thing. We must not allow the system to exploit us.”

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

## About This Quote

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

Human beings possess an inner essence that systems cannot replicate; we must protect our individuality from exploitation.

**In simple terms:** People have a soul; systems lack it.

Key Takeaway

Guard your inner self against systemic misuse.

Themes

individuality humanity systemic risk

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- workplace surveillance
- AI data collection
- political propaganda
- consumer manipulation

Key Concepts

existential ethical autonomy

Questions to Reflect On

- What boundaries protect your personal essence?
- How can you resist systemic exploitation?

A Different Perspective

Systems may also empower self‑expression if used wisely.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/)

## Related quotes

> [“Your dream will only benefit humanity when you make it tangible by living it out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/your-dream-will-only-benefit-humanity-when-you-make-it-tangible-by/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [“Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul: While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-fischer/almost-suspended-we-are-laid-asleep-in-body-and-become-a-living-soul-2/)

Eric Fischer

> [Look at another person while living; the soul is not visible, only the body which it animates. Therefore, merely because after death the soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jefferies/look-at-another-person-while-living-the-soul-is-not-visible-only-the/)

[Richard Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jefferies/)

> [Learn your theories as well as you can, but put them aside when you touch the miracle of the living soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/learn-your-theories-as-well-as-you-can-but-put-them-aside-when-you/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [Passionate living is the soul of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-amen/passionate-living-is-the-soul-of-success/)

[Daniel Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-amen/)

> [The one thing worth living for is to keep one's soul pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-one-thing-worth-living-for-is-to-keep-one-s-soul-pure/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [Spirit and body, when joined together, become a living soul of supernal worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/spirit-and-body-when-joined-together-become-a-living-soul-of-supernal/)

[Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/)

> [When scholars study a thing, they strive to kill it first, if it's alive; then they have the parts and the'be lost the whole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/when-scholars-study-a-thing-they-strive-to-kill-it-first-if-it-s/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Tone has the living soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinichi-suzuki/tone-has-the-living-soul/)

[Shinichi Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinichi-suzuki/)

> [There are places in my heart...where no living soul...has...or can ever...trespass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/there-are-places-in-my-heart-where-no-living-soul-has-or-can-ever/)

[Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/)

> [“Every living soul must endure to strive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-living-soul-must-endure-to-strive/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [The living soul of man, once conscious of its power, cannot be quelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-living-soul-of-man-once-conscious-of-its-power-cannot-be-quelled/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [“Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul: While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/almost-suspended-we-are-laid-asleep-in-body-and-become-a-living-soul/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Until, the breath of this corporeal frame And even the motion of our human blood Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/until-the-breath-of-this-corporeal-frame-and-even-the-motion-of-our/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [“But it is interesting to notice that, while the soul is the meeting-point of the elements of our being in this present life, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-pember/but-it-is-interesting-to-notice-that-while-the-soul-is-the-meeting/)

[G.H. Pember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-pember/)

## More by Haruki Murakami

> [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/)

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

> [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/)

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

> [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/)

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

> [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/)

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

> [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/)

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

> [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/)

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

> [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/)

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

> [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/)

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

> [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/)

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

> [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/)

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

> [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/)

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

> [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/)

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

> [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/)

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

> [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/)

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

> [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/)

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

[Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## More Allow quotes

> [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/)

[Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/)

> [Please don't allow anyone to make you feel less than what you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/please-don-t-allow-anyone-to-make-you-feel-less-than-what-you-are/)

[Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/)

> [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/)

[George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/)

> [Nothing has power over you unless you allow it. No matter what happens, you can choose what and how to think, act, and speak!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-has-power-over-you-unless-you-allow-it-no-matter-what-happens/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you don't allow people to contribute, to offer their point of view, or to criticize what has been put before them, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/if-you-don-t-allow-people-to-contribute-to-offer-their-point-of-view/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [While we welcome people of all faiths in America we cannot be so naive as to expect all countries to do the same. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-huffington/while-we-welcome-people-of-all-faiths-in-america-we-cannot-be-so/)

[Michael Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-huffington/)

> [“Allow yourself some happiness, so that I can be a part of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-mahaffey/allow-yourself-some-happiness-so-that-i-can-be-a-part-of-it/)

[Montgomery Mahaffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montgomery-mahaffey/)

> [I've cosponsored legislation to establish a lend-lease program to simplify bureaucratic barriers and allow a speedier transfer of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/i-ve-cosponsored-legislation-to-establish-a-lend-lease-program-to/)

[Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/)

> [“Sometimes life doesn't allow us to be free to fly wherever we'd like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-johnson/sometimes-life-doesn-t-allow-us-to-be-free-to-fly-wherever-we-d-like/)

[Elana Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-johnson/)

> [I am that which I am, and I am willing to allow all others to be that which they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/i-am-that-which-i-am-and-i-am-willing-to-allow-all-others-to-be-that/)

[Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/)

> [By letting go, you allow everything to find it's rightful place. Once free, everything finds its way home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-brown/by-letting-go-you-allow-everything-to-find-it-s-rightful-place-once/)

[Leon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-brown/)

> [As long as a man's heart beats, as long as a man's flesh quivers, I do not allow that a being gifted with thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/as-long-as-a-man-s-heart-beats-as-long-as-a-man-s-flesh-quivers-i-do/)

[Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/)

> [Allow yourself to graduate, every five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/allow-yourself-to-graduate-every-five-years/)

[Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/)

> [“A man will only do what you allow him to do,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kennedi-dior/a-man-will-only-do-what-you-allow-him-to-do/)

Kennedi Dior

Browse all 1,065 Allow quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system has no such thing. We must not allow the system to exploit us.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Haruki Murakami"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-soul-the-system-has-no-such/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Allow"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-soul-the-system-has-no-such/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/haruki-murakami-21_allow_each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-s_179954.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/haruki-murakami-21_allow_each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-s_179954.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/haruki-murakami-21_allow_each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-s_179954.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system has no such thing. We must not allow the system to…” — Haruki Murakami",
                "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": "Haruki Murakami",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Each of us possesses a tangible...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-soul-the-system-has-no-such/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/each-of-us-possesses-a-tangible-living-soul-the-system-has-no-such/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
