--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we survey our lives, seeking to…" description: "\"When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfil our creativity, we often see we had a dream that went glimmering because we believed, and those around us b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/julia-cameron-830_creativity_when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulf_2854549.png" --- # When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfil our… ![“When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfil our creativity, we often see we had a dream that went glimmering because we believed, and those around us believed, that the dream was beyond our reach.” quote by Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/julia-cameron-830_creativity_when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulf_2854549.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/julia-cameron-830_creativity_when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulf_2854549.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/julia-cameron-830_creativity_when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulf_2854549.png) > “When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfil our creativity, we often see we had a dream that went glimmering because we believed, and those around us believed, that the dream was beyond our reach.” [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing creativity often feels distant, but belief and support can bring dreams within reach. **In simple terms:** Dreams feel distant but become reachable. Key Takeaway Cultivate belief and community. Themes creativity self‑belief support Mood encouraging reflective Type self‑help inspirational When to use this quote - art projects - writing groups - mentoring Key Concepts dream realization community encouragement Questions to Reflect On - What belief blocks your creativity? - Who can support your dream? A Different Perspective Self‑doubt can still hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [I loved to sing and dance and play-act, and I always believed that my dream to become an actor would come true because my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-guerrero/i-loved-to-sing-and-dance-and-play-act-and-i-always-believed-that-my/) [Diane Guerrero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-guerrero/) > [They were told what they wanted and they believed it. They can only keep their dream alive by being with others like themselves who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/they-were-told-what-they-wanted-and-they-believed-it-they-can-only/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“She believed in her dream like a fabled virgin mother expecting a messiah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-anderson/she-believed-in-her-dream-like-a-fabled-virgin-mother-expecting-a/) [C.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-anderson/) > [I’m an ordinary girl who believed in her dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-watson/i-m-an-ordinary-girl-who-believed-in-her-dream/) [Jessica Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-watson/) > [“I had a dream about you. We went for a walk, though we didn’t hold hands because we went in separate directions. As I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-had-a-dream-about-you-we-went-for-a-walk-though-we-didn-t-hold/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [My dream went all the way back to the beginning. The rain rose into the clouds, and the animals descended the ramp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/my-dream-went-all-the-way-back-to-the-beginning-the-rain-rose-into/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Today, I am blessed to be living a dream. And yet, if it all went away tomorrow, I know I would still have peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/today-i-am-blessed-to-be-living-a-dream-and-yet-if-it-all-went-away/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [Where weary folk toil, black with smoke, And hear but whistles scream, I went, all fresh from dawn and dew To carry them a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-carolyn-davies/where-weary-folk-toil-black-with-smoke-and-hear-but-whistles-scream-i/) [Mary Carolyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-carolyn-davies/) > [“I had this dream about you. We went hunting up in the mountains and I caught a unicorn. You told me now I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-hudson/i-had-this-dream-about-you-we-went-hunting-up-in-the-mountains-and-i/) [Crystal Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-hudson/) > [“Dream a bigger dream to reach uncharted success”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-ellington/dream-a-bigger-dream-to-reach-uncharted-success/) S.C. Ellington > [I'm a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-m-a-dreamer-i-have-to-dream-and-reach-for-the-stars-and-if-i-miss-a/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If you have a dream reach for the stars even if you fall in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-a-dream-reach-for-the-stars-even-if-you-fall-in-the-sky/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Dream to reach the stars; awaken to reach the edge of the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/dream-to-reach-the-stars-awaken-to-reach-the-edge-of-the-universe/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“If you do not dream of, and reach for a different future, you'll wind up at your same past again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/if-you-do-not-dream-of-and-reach-for-a-different-future-you-ll-wind/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [“YOUR DREAM IS WITHIN YOUR REACH, BUT IT'LL JUST STAY THERE DANGLING IN THE AIR IF YOU DON'T GRAB FOR IT!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-d-sherman/your-dream-is-within-your-reach-but-it-ll-just-stay-there-dangling-in/) D.D. Sherman ## More by Julia Cameron > [All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-too-often-it-is-audacity-and-not-talent-that-moves-an-artist-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Fatigue can make it hard to have faith. Too much busyness can make it hard to have faith. Too much of too little solitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/fatigue-can-make-it-hard-to-have-faith-too-much-busyness-can-make-it/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [We are not accustomed to thinking that God's will for us and our own inner dreams can coincide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/we-are-not-accustomed-to-thinking-that-god-s-will-for-us-and-our-own/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/what-we-really-want-to-do-is-what-we-are-really-meant-to-do/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [The need to be a great artist makes it hard to be an artist. The need to produce a great work of art makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/the-need-to-be-a-great-artist-makes-it-hard-to-be-an-artist-the-need/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [All of us contain a divine, expressive spark, a creative candle intended to light our path and that of our fellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-of-us-contain-a-divine-expressive-spark-a-creative-candle/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Possibility is far more frightening than impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/possibility-is-far-more-frightening-than-impossibility/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Creativity is our true nature; blocks are an unnatural thwarting of a process at once as normal and as miraculous as the blossoming of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/creativity-is-our-true-nature-blocks-are-an-unnatural-thwarting-of-a/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Just as a good rain clears the air, a good writing day clears the psyche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/just-as-a-good-rain-clears-the-air-a-good-writing-day-clears-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Survival lies in sanity, and sanity lies in paying attention...the capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/survival-lies-in-sanity-and-sanity-lies-in-paying-attention-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Technology teaches passivity. Absorbed in our devices - at any age - we are absorbed in someone else's perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/technology-teaches-passivity-absorbed-in-our-devices-at-any-age-we/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [There's this mythology that parents are supposed to be parents 24/7 and are supposed to be completely fulfilled by their kids. That's not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/there-s-this-mythology-that-parents-are-supposed-to-be-parents-24-7/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/perfectionism-is-not-a-quest-for-the-best-it-is-a-pursuit-of-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [I am compassionate. I allow my heart and imagination to embrace the difficulties and concerns of others. While maintaining my own balance, I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-am-compassionate-i-allow-my-heart-and-imagination-to-embrace-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [All change can be expansive in potential. The choice is ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-change-can-be-expansive-in-potential-the-choice-is-ours/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) [Explore all 358 Julia Cameron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfil our creativity, we often see we had a dream that went glimmering because we believed, and those around us believed, that the dream was beyond our reach.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Cameron" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulfil-our-creativity-we-often/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulfil-our-creativity-we-often/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/julia-cameron-830_creativity_when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulf_2854549.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/julia-cameron-830_creativity_when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulf_2854549.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/julia-cameron-830_creativity_when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulf_2854549.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfil our creativity, we often see we had a dream that went glimmering…” — Julia Cameron", "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": "Julia Cameron", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we survey our lives, seeking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulfil-our-creativity-we-often/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/when-we-survey-our-lives-seeking-to-fulfil-our-creativity-we-often/#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 } } ] } ```