--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are what we imagine. Our very…" description: "\"We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/n-scott-momaday-12844_destiny_we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existenc_2825366.png" --- # We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our… ![“We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what, and that we are. The greatest tragedy that can befall us is to go unimagined.” quote by N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/n-scott-momaday-12844_destiny_we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existenc_2825366.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/n-scott-momaday-12844_destiny_we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existenc_2825366.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/n-scott-momaday-12844_destiny_we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existenc_2825366.png) > “We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what, and that we are. The greatest tragedy that can befall us is to go unimagined.” [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our identity is shaped by the images we create of ourselves; lacking imagination leads to a loss of purpose. **In simple terms:** Imagination defines who we are. Key Takeaway Cultivate a vivid self‑vision. Themes identity imagination purpose Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - personal growth - mental health Key Concepts self‑concept psychology Questions to Reflect On - What picture do you hold of yourself? - How can you expand your self‑imagining? A Different Perspective Without imagination, life can feel directionless and stagnant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [“No one in this room is identical. We all have something unique to offer. It is the responsibility of each of us to realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/no-one-in-this-room-is-identical-we-all-have-something-unique-to/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [So not only can you not imagine dying, you can't really imagine existence before you were born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/so-not-only-can-you-not-imagine-dying-you-can-t-really-imagine/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [It is impossible to imagine existence void of any intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/it-is-impossible-to-imagine-existence-void-of-any-intelligence/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [“Our self-awareness impresses itself on us so cogently, as individuals and as a species, that we cannot imagine ourselves out of existence, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/our-self-awareness-impresses-itself-on-us-so-cogently-as-individuals/) Richard E. Leakey > [“It is strange how custom can mould our tastes and ideas: many could not imagine the existence of happiness in a life of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-is-strange-how-custom-can-mould-our-tastes-and-ideas-many-could/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [There's no straight line between closing the mental institutions and filling the prisons but there is some sort of relationship. And it's hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-moskos/there-s-no-straight-line-between-closing-the-mental-institutions-and/) [Peter Moskos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-moskos/) > [Conflict acting on intelligence creates imagination. Faced with conflict, creatures are forced to imagine what will happen, where the next threat will come from.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/conflict-acting-on-intelligence-creates-imagination-faced-with/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [The most fundamental tragedy of my life is that the ones who I see do not exist and the one who exists I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/the-most-fundamental-tragedy-of-my-life-is-that-the-ones-who-i-see-do/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [I've lived so little that I tend to imagine I'm not going to die; it seems improbable that human existence can be reduced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/i-ve-lived-so-little-that-i-tend-to-imagine-i-m-not-going-to-die-it/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [For me, spirituality includes the belief in things larger than ourselves, an appreciation of nature and beauty, a sensitivity to the world, a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/for-me-spirituality-includes-the-belief-in-things-larger-than/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Art does not solve problems but makes us aware of their existence. It opens our eyes to see and our brain to imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-abakanowicz/art-does-not-solve-problems-but-makes-us-aware-of-their-existence-it/) [Magdalena Abakanowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-abakanowicz/) > [“Things are sometimes faded but they will always become clear, where there seems nothing but bad look closer, you’re sure to find good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-kennon/things-are-sometimes-faded-but-they-will-always-become-clear-where/) [Sherman Kennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-kennon/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) ## More by N. Scott Momaday > [It is here that I can concentrate my mind upon the Remembered Earth. It is here that I am most conscious of being, here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-is-here-that-i-can-concentrate-my-mind-upon-the-remembered-earth/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“He wondered what his sorrow was and could not remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/he-wondered-what-his-sorrow-was-and-could-not-remember/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [I wonder if, in the dark night of the sea, the octopus dreams of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/i-wonder-if-in-the-dark-night-of-the-sea-the-octopus-dreams-of-me/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Sometimes, I think the best kind of poem is one in which there is an acute balance between what is humorous and that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/sometimes-i-think-the-best-kind-of-poem-is-one-in-which-there-is-an/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [My father was a painter and he taught art. He once said to me, 'I never knew an Indian child who could not draw.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/my-father-was-a-painter-and-he-taught-art-he-once-said-to-me-i-never/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“If coupling should but make us whole / And of the selfsame mind and soul, / Then couple let's in celebration; / We have contained the population.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/if-coupling-should-but-make-us-whole-and-of-the-selfsame-mind-and/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [In the beginning was the word, and it was spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/in-the-beginning-was-the-word-and-it-was-spoken/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [The Kiowas reckoned their stature by the distance they could see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/the-kiowas-reckoned-their-stature-by-the-distance-they-could-see/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the-2/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that oral tradition is stronger than the written tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/indians-are-marvelous-storytellers-in-some-ways-that-oral-tradition/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is where Creation was begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/your-imagination-comes-to-life-and-this-you-think-is-where-creation/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [As far as I am concerned, poetry is a statement concerning the human condition, composed in verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-is-a-statement-concerning-the-human/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [It's a landscape that has to be seen to be believed. And as I say on occasion, it may have to be believed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-s-a-landscape-that-has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed-and-as-i-say-on/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [There was only the dark infinity in which nothing was. And something happened. At the distance of a star something happened, and everything began.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/there-was-only-the-dark-infinity-in-which-nothing-was-and-something/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) [Explore all 53 N. Scott Momaday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what, and that we are. The greatest tragedy that can befall us is to go unimagined.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N. Scott Momaday" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existence-consists-in-our-imagination/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existence-consists-in-our-imagination/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/n-scott-momaday-12844_destiny_we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existenc_2825366.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/n-scott-momaday-12844_destiny_we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existenc_2825366.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/n-scott-momaday-12844_destiny_we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existenc_2825366.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. Our best destiny is to…” — N. Scott Momaday", "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": "N. Scott Momaday", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are what we imagine. Our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existence-consists-in-our-imagination/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/we-are-what-we-imagine-our-very-existence-consists-in-our-imagination/#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 } } ] } ```