--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your life has little purpose if you are…" description: "\"Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your own knowledge within.\" — John de Ruiter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/john-de-ruiter-2726_ifs_your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are_1110652.png" --- # Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your… ![“Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your own knowledge within.” quote by John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/john-de-ruiter-2726_ifs_your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are_1110652.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/john-de-ruiter-2726_ifs_your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are_1110652.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/john-de-ruiter-2726_ifs_your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are_1110652.png) > “Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your own knowledge within.” [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life lacks purpose when disconnected from inner knowledge and self‑understanding. **In simple terms:** Purpose comes from inner self‑knowledge. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑awareness for meaning. Themes self‑knowledge purpose spirituality Mood introspective motivational Type spiritual psychological When to use this quote - personal development - therapy - spiritual practice - creative work Key Concepts inner reflection mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you reconnect with your inner knowledge? - What practices deepen self‑awareness? A Different Perspective Inner work can be uncomfortable and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [“At present time, we cannot separate knowledge and creativity if we want to stay competitive on the market.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/at-present-time-we-cannot-separate-knowledge-and-creativity-if-we/) [Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/) > [“In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half times more likely to develop dementia than those with a mission.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were-two-and-a-half-times-more/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich to so little purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-people-been-so-rich-to-so-little/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [“Modesty serves little purpose. Other than to feed one’s insecurities by inviting more praise, that is. I have no need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stephenson/modesty-serves-little-purpose-other-than-to-feed-one-s-insecurities/) [Nick Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stephenson/) > [The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone… Unless we lose ourselves in service to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/the-needs-of-others-are-ever-present-and-each-of-us-can-do-something/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Ships are to little purpose without skillful Sea Men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hakluyt/ships-are-to-little-purpose-without-skillful-sea-men/) Richard Hakluyt > [He that has seen both sides of fifty has lived to little purpose if he has no other views of the world than he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/he-that-has-seen-both-sides-of-fifty-has-lived-to-little-purpose-if/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [So I observe life a little bit, rather than participating in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tate/so-i-observe-life-a-little-bit-rather-than-participating-in-it/) [Jeffrey Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tate/) > [Live Life a little dangerously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/live-life-a-little-dangerously/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Death, thou art infinite; it is life is little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/death-thou-art-infinite-it-is-life-is-little/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [It's a lot like life. I think 99 percent of what goes on in life, we have very little control over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-van-slyke/it-s-a-lot-like-life-i-think-99-percent-of-what-goes-on-in-life-we/) [Andy Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-van-slyke/) > [To those who have given up on love: I say, "Trust life a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/to-those-who-have-given-up-on-love-i-say-trust-life-a-little-bit/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes I forget that the world is not on the same schedule as I. That everything is not dying, or that if it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-i-forget-that-the-world-is-not-on-the-same-schedule-as-i/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“I think, How small my life seemed then. How little I wanted for myself. How little I expected of myself and those who claimed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-palmer/i-think-how-small-my-life-seemed-then-how-little-i-wanted-for-myself/) [Liza Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-palmer/) > [“And what is life but a little row in a small boat, every moment leaving what we know, every stroke unable to see where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-p-kiernan/and-what-is-life-but-a-little-row-in-a-small-boat-every-moment/) [Stephen P. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-p-kiernan/) ## More by John de Ruiter > [Your deeper sense isn’t a springboard; it’s a landing place. If you draw conclusions too quickly or too slowly, you’ll establish your self where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-deeper-sense-isn-t-a-springboard-it-s-a-landing-place-if-you/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [Relate to the little instead of relating to the big. The little is indomitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/relate-to-the-little-instead-of-relating-to-the-big-the-little-is/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When you, awareness, are mastered by the deepest that you know the truth of, then you are no longer awareness. You are oneness aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-you-awareness-are-mastered-by-the-deepest-that-you-know-the/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [The let-go of the last little bit is the biggest because, in that, there is no return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/the-let-go-of-the-last-little-bit-is-the-biggest-because-in-that/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [If you die of cancer with only openness and softness in your heart, you will live and die integrating your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-die-of-cancer-with-only-openness-and-softness-in-your-heart/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When you move as openness and softness of heart you’re moving in this life within your self in the same way that your being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-you-move-as-openness-and-softness-of-heart-you-re-moving-in-this/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [The more open you are within, the more capacity you will have to know, to see, and to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/the-more-open-you-are-within-the-more-capacity-you-will-have-to-know/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When resistance no longer serves you, you'll no longer have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-resistance-no-longer-serves-you-you-ll-no-longer-have-it/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [While sincerity is to carry the weight of knowledge in the self, it is also to be the lightness of being clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/while-sincerity-is-to-carry-the-weight-of-knowledge-in-the-self-it-is/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When awareness believes what it knows is true, the truth of what awareness really is, moves. That movement is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-awareness-believes-what-it-knows-is-true-the-truth-of-what/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [Believe only what you know and all of what you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/believe-only-what-you-know-and-all-of-what-you-know/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [For you to be free of your thinking mind, that will cost you the way that you've put your self together. It will cost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/for-you-to-be-free-of-your-thinking-mind-that-will-cost-you-the-way/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [The formless cannot be based on the form. The form needs to be based on the formless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/the-formless-cannot-be-based-on-the-form-the-form-needs-to-be-based/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [To really evolve as awareness, be just like your own being in a self like yours and on a planet like this one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/to-really-evolve-as-awareness-be-just-like-your-own-being-in-a-self/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When you lay down your life for what you are after you've died, you're clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-you-lay-down-your-life-for-what-you-are-after-you-ve-died-you-re/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) [Explore all 152 John de Ruiter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your own knowledge within.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John de Ruiter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are-separate-from-your-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are-separate-from-your-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/john-de-ruiter-2726_ifs_your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are_1110652.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/john-de-ruiter-2726_ifs_your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are_1110652.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/john-de-ruiter-2726_ifs_your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are_1110652.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your own knowledge within.” — John de Ruiter", "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": "John de Ruiter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Your life has little purpose if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are-separate-from-your-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are-separate-from-your-own/#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 } } ] } ```