--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have every useless thing in the world…" description: "\"“I have every useless thing in the world in my house there. The only thing wanting is the necessary thing, a great patch of open sky like this. Always ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/marcel-proust-114_life_i-have-every-useless-thing-in-the-world_1081572.jpg" --- # I have every useless thing in the world in my house there… ![“I have every useless thing in the world in my house there. The only thing wanting is the necessary thing, a great patch of open sky like this. Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life, little boy,” he added, turning to me. “You have a soul in you of rare quality, an artist’s nature; never…” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/marcel-proust-114_life_i-have-every-useless-thing-in-the-world_1081572.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/marcel-proust-114_life_i-have-every-useless-thing-in-the-world_1081572.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/marcel-proust-114_life_i-have-every-useless-thing-in-the-world_1081572.jpg) > ““I have every useless thing in the world in my house there. The only thing wanting is the necessary thing, a great patch of open sky like this. Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life, little boy,” he added, turning to me. “You have a soul in you of rare quality, an artist’s nature; never let it starve for lack of what it needs.”” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A need for open space and artistic freedom is essential; material possessions are less important than inspiration. **In simple terms:** Space and inspiration are vital. Key Takeaway Seek freedom and nurture creativity. Themes art freedom inspiration Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - artistic development - mental well‑being Key Concepts existentialism creative necessity spiritual health Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain creative space in a busy life? - What does 'sky' symbolize for you? A Different Perspective May be idealistic, ignoring practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/always-try-to-keep-a-patch-of-sky-above-your-life/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [poverty denotes a lack of necessities and simplicity a lack of needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/poverty-denotes-a-lack-of-necessities-and-simplicity-a-lack-of-needs/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/you-cannot-love-a-thing-without-wanting-to-fight-for-it/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [You can do anything you want to do. What is rare is this actual wanting to do a specific thing: wanting it so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-do-anything-you-want-to-do-what-is-rare-is-this-actual/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By the way, you won't put that thing in about me wanting to have sex on a football pitch, will you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-nurding/by-the-way-you-won-t-put-that-thing-in-about-me-wanting-to-have-sex/) [Louise Nurding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-nurding/) > [Spock: Stonn, she is yours. After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-roddenberry-theodore-sturgeon/spock-stonn-she-is-yours-after-a-time-you-may-find-that-having-is-not/) Gene Roddenberry Theodore Sturgeon > [One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-marks-of-a-certain-type-of-bad-man-is-that-he-cannot-give/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's always this thing of wanting to be elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-gainsbourg/there-s-always-this-thing-of-wanting-to-be-elsewhere/) [Charlotte Gainsbourg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-gainsbourg/) > [“That blasted family could never look at a living thing without wanting to make a profit out of it, preferably by killing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/that-blasted-family-could-never-look-at-a-living-thing-without/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/after-a-time-you-may-find-that-having-is-not-so-pleasing-a-thing/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting everyone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-marks-of-a-certain-type-of-bad-man-is-that-he-cannot-give-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The earth itself is their church; the vast, open sky its ceiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-teasdale/the-earth-itself-is-their-church-the-vast-open-sky-its-ceiling/) [Wayne Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-teasdale/) > [“There's something about being from Maine that you can never let hold of - the pointed firs and feathery pine trees, the wide open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-shetterly/there-s-something-about-being-from-maine-that-you-can-never-let-hold/) Caitlin Shetterly > [“In Afghanistan, not much is for certain other than an open sky and eventual death. In between the two is family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-nordberg/in-afghanistan-not-much-is-for-certain-other-than-an-open-sky-and/) [Jenny Nordberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-nordberg/) > [“In the open sky above the hushed streets, the moon was a porcelain plate on a black table as I walked home. A breeze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cotto/in-the-open-sky-above-the-hushed-streets-the-moon-was-a-porcelain/) [Andrew Cotto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cotto/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have every useless thing in the world in my house there. 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