--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We leave traces of ourselves wherever we…" description: "\"We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.\" — Lewis Thomas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/lewis-thomas-2299_leave_we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we_436002.png" --- # We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever… ![“We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.” quote by Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/lewis-thomas-2299_leave_we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we_436002.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/lewis-thomas-2299_leave_we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we_436002.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/lewis-thomas-2299_leave_we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we_436002.png) > “We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.” [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our actions and interactions leave lasting marks on people, places, and things we encounter. **In simple terms:** We always leave marks behind. Key Takeaway Be mindful of your impact. Themes legacy interconnectedness responsibility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - environmental stewardship - digital footprints - artistic creation - community building Key Concepts existentialism human impact Questions to Reflect On - How do you want to be remembered? - What marks do you leave on others? A Different Perspective Impact can be unintended and irreversible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave/) [Leave Traces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-traces-680881/) [Touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch/) [Traces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traces/) [Traces Touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traces-touch-3832987/) ## Related quotes > [Some memories aren't meant to leave traces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kreyzii/some-memories-aren-t-meant-to-leave-traces/) [Kreyzii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kreyzii/) > [“is true, then, that all our actions leave their traces—some sad, others bright—on our paths; it is true that every step in our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/is-true-then-that-all-our-actions-leave-their-traces-some-sad-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We leave traces with our energy and vibrations. We leave something of ourselves behind everywhere were we pass. This is what always fascinates and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saskia-de-brauw/we-leave-traces-with-our-energy-and-vibrations-we-leave-something-of/) [Saskia de Brauw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saskia-de-brauw/) > [People always leave traces. No person is without a shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/people-always-leave-traces-no-person-is-without-a-shadow/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Although we leave traces of our personal lives with our credit cards and Web browsers today, tomorrow's mobile devices will broadcast clouds of personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/although-we-leave-traces-of-our-personal-lives-with-our-credit-cards/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [You should not have any remains after you do something. But this does not mean to forget all about it. In order not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-should-not-have-any-remains-after-you-do-something-but-this-does/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [In order not to leave any traces, when you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/in-order-not-to-leave-any-traces-when-you-do-something-you-should-do-2/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Many people step in your life, and leave traces in your heart, but out of them all, 1 NEVER leaves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semeen-mahbub/many-people-step-in-your-life-and-leave-traces-in-your-heart-but-out/) [Semeen Mahbub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semeen-mahbub/) > [“Our kind, we don't leave many traces behind in this world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoraida-c-rdova/our-kind-we-don-t-leave-many-traces-behind-in-this-world/) [Zoraida Córdova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoraida-c-rdova/) > [“People leave traces of themselves where they feel most comfortable, most worthwhile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/people-leave-traces-of-themselves-where-they-feel-most-comfortable/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [A poet must leave traces of his passage, not proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-must-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proof/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“A poet should leave traces of his passage, not proof.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-should-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proof/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [A poet should leave traces of his passage, not proofs. Traces alone engender dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-should-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proofs-traces-alone/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“traumatic experiences do leave traces, whether on a large scale (on our histories and cultures) or close to home, on our families, with dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bessel-a-van-der-kolk/traumatic-experiences-do-leave-traces-whether-on-a-large-scale-on-our/) [Bessel A. van der Kolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bessel-a-van-der-kolk/) > [“In order not to leave any traces, when you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/in-order-not-to-leave-any-traces-when-you-do-something-you-should-do/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) ## More by Lewis Thomas > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“It is not a simple thing to decide where we fit, for at one time or another in our lives we manage to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-a-simple-thing-to-decide-where-we-fit-for-at-one-time-or/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It is in our genes to understand the universe if we can, to keep trying even if we cannot, and to be enchanted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-in-our-genes-to-understand-the-universe-if-we-can-to-keep/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [If an idea cannot move on its own, pushing it doesn't help; best to let it lie there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/if-an-idea-cannot-move-on-its-own-pushing-it-doesn-t-help-best-to-let/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Left to ourselves, mechanistic and autonomic, we hanker for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/left-to-ourselves-mechanistic-and-autonomic-we-hanker-for-friends/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I do not agree with this century's fashion of running down the human species as a failed try, a doomed sport. At our worst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-do-not-agree-with-this-century-s-fashion-of-running-down-the-human/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It would seem to me... an offense against nature, for us to come on the same scene endowed as we are with the curiosity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-would-seem-to-me-an-offense-against-nature-for-us-to-come-on-the/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The drive to be useful is encoded in our genes. But when we gather in very large numbers, as in the modern nation-state, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-drive-to-be-useful-is-encoded-in-our-genes-but-when-we-gather-in/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Nature abhors a long silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/nature-abhors-a-long-silence/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The future is too interesting and dangerous to be entrusted to any predictable, reliable agency. We need all the fallibility we can get. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-future-is-too-interesting-and-dangerous-to-be-entrusted-to-any/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-pass-the-word-around-we-ponder-how-the-case-is-put-by-different/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-uniformity-of-the-earth-s-life-more-astonishing-than-its/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Having long suspected that there was something alive in there, running the place, separate from everything else, absolutely individual and independent, we've celebrated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/having-long-suspected-that-there-was-something-alive-in-there-running/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) [Explore all 173 Lewis Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## More Leave quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [“Congregating power to leave u… To control this love But I always go back to December!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moaz-zulfiqar/congregating-power-to-leave-u-to-control-this-love-but-i-always-go/) [Moaz Zulfiqar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moaz-zulfiqar/) > [“You are the queen, he ought to be begging leave of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/you-are-the-queen-he-ought-to-be-begging-leave-of-you/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Can't blame people for walking away. People get tired and can only take so much. Don't be surprised when they leave and don't come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-t-blame-people-for-walking-away-people-get-tired-and-can-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you leave someone for another person, don't be surprised if that person leaves you for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-leave-someone-for-another-person-don-t-be-surprised-if-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To have a future we have to live and leave the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akiane-kramarik/to-have-a-future-we-have-to-live-and-leave-the-present/) [Akiane Kramarik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akiane-kramarik/) > [My parents and my sister always leave me over New Year, so I'm always on my own in London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-dimoldenberg/my-parents-and-my-sister-always-leave-me-over-new-year-so-i-m-always/) [Amelia Dimoldenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-dimoldenberg/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The fact that you can even make a record and leave a document that you were here, that's nothing to sneeze at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-trent-d-arby/the-fact-that-you-can-even-make-a-record-and-leave-a-document-that/) [Terence Trent D'Arby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-trent-d-arby/) > [Take what you LOVE , Leave what you don't :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psychefaye/take-what-you-love-leave-what-you-don-t/) [PsycheFaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psychefaye/) > [There is no reason why one should believe you should leave out politicians in cricket or any sport for that matter. There are ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roosevelt-skerrit/there-is-no-reason-why-one-should-believe-you-should-leave-out/) [Roosevelt Skerrit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roosevelt-skerrit/) > [Take your cap and leave my sweater cause we have nothing left to weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-urban/take-your-cap-and-leave-my-sweater-cause-we-have-nothing-left-to/) [Keith Urban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-urban/) > [I try to leave my work at the door when I leave the set. It's almost like summer camp. You go in hard, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/i-try-to-leave-my-work-at-the-door-when-i-leave-the-set-it-s-almost/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [It is our job to make a difference and leave the world a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karol-g/it-is-our-job-to-make-a-difference-and-leave-the-world-a-better-place/) [Karol G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karol-g/) > [In a portrait, you always leave part of yourself behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/in-a-portrait-you-always-leave-part-of-yourself-behind/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) [Browse all 3,701 Leave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we-go-on-whatever-we-touch/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Leave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we-go-on-whatever-we-touch/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/lewis-thomas-2299_leave_we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we_436002.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/lewis-thomas-2299_leave_we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we_436002.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/lewis-thomas-2299_leave_we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we_436002.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.” — Lewis Thomas", "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": "Lewis Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We leave traces of ourselves wherever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we-go-on-whatever-we-touch/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-leave-traces-of-ourselves-wherever-we-go-on-whatever-we-touch/#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 } } ] } ```