--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The finest life is spent creating…" description: "\"The finest life is spent creating oneself, not procreating.\" — Natalie Clifford Barney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/natalie-clifford-barney-9971_creating_the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-onesel_878587.jpg" --- # The finest life is spent creating oneself, not procreating. ![“The finest life is spent creating oneself, not procreating.” quote by Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/natalie-clifford-barney-9971_creating_the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-onesel_878587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/natalie-clifford-barney-9971_creating_the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-onesel_878587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/natalie-clifford-barney-9971_creating_the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-onesel_878587.jpg) > “The finest life is spent creating oneself, not procreating.” [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑creation through art and personal expression outweighs biological reproduction. **In simple terms:** Create yourself, not just offspring. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal development over societal expectations. Themes self‑creation art individualism Mood introspective empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career building - artistic pursuits - education - mentoring Key Concepts existentialism feminism autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “creating oneself”? - What obstacles hinder personal self?creation? A Different Perspective Societal pressure may still value procreation over self‑expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Creating Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating-oneself-1029196/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Finest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finest/) [Finest Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finest-life-1029195/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life Spent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-spent/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Oneself Procreating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself-procreating-1029194/) [Procreating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procreating-1029197/) ## Related quotes > [I sometimes think love is God's way of hoodwinking people into having kids. 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That's pretty narrow... I don't view myself as a person who's well-versed in very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-parcells/my-entire-life-has-been-spent-thinking-about-this-game-that-s-pretty/) [Bill Parcells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-parcells/) > [Yes, I found myself, by insensible degrees, sincerely fond of her; and the happiest hours of my life were what I spent with her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/yes-i-found-myself-by-insensible-degrees-sincerely-fond-of-her-and/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [It was my whole life; I spent all my time dancing, and I loved it very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jeffery/it-was-my-whole-life-i-spent-all-my-time-dancing-and-i-loved-it-very/) [Sarah Jeffery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jeffery/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Natalie Clifford Barney > [Paris has always seemed to me to be the only city in which one can live as one sees fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/paris-has-always-seemed-to-me-to-be-the-only-city-in-which-one-can/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [doubt seems the only purity for those who are too fervent to deny, and too lucid to affirm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/doubt-seems-the-only-purity-for-those-who-are-too-fervent-to-deny-and/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Hero worship has died with heroes, and if someone bows down today, it is to pick up something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/hero-worship-has-died-with-heroes-and-if-someone-bows-down-today-it/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [A good book is never exhausted; we are never exhausted by a good book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/a-good-book-is-never-exhausted-we-are-never-exhausted-by-a-good-book/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Like all religions, love has more believers than practitioners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/like-all-religions-love-has-more-believers-than-practitioners/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Might I be the one I am looking for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/might-i-be-the-one-i-am-looking-for/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Lovers should also have their days off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/lovers-should-also-have-their-days-off/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Would that well-thinking people should be replaced by thinking ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/would-that-well-thinking-people-should-be-replaced-by-thinking-ones/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [To mis-quote is the very foundation of original style. The success of most writers is almost entirely due to continuous and courageous abuse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/to-mis-quote-is-the-very-foundation-of-original-style-the-success-of/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Tea - that perfume that one drinks, that connecting hyphen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/tea-that-perfume-that-one-drinks-that-connecting-hyphen/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Our prejudices, our antipathies, are our natural defenses against what we could not assimilate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/our-prejudices-our-antipathies-are-our-natural-defenses-against-what/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Fatalism is the lazy man's way of accepting the inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/fatalism-is-the-lazy-man-s-way-of-accepting-the-inevitable/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [If only art were as rare as good taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/if-only-art-were-as-rare-as-good-taste/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Time engraves our faces with all the tears we have not shed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/time-engraves-our-faces-with-all-the-tears-we-have-not-shed/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) > [Indiscretion has always seemed to me to be one of the privileges of tact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/indiscretion-has-always-seemed-to-me-to-be-one-of-the-privileges-of/) [Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) [Explore all 69 Natalie Clifford Barney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/) ## More Creating quotes > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [People who are creating history don't realize they're creating it at the time it's happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-dreymon/people-who-are-creating-history-don-t-realize-they-re-creating-it-at/) [Alexander Dreymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-dreymon/) > [When I am creating art, I have absolutely no social responsibility. It's like dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/when-i-am-creating-art-i-have-absolutely-no-social-responsibility-it/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [You can disseminate your art, and it's all such easy access now. The upside to it is that more people are creating than ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-clarke/you-can-disseminate-your-art-and-it-s-all-such-easy-access-now-the/) [Stanley Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-clarke/) > [“It didn’t matter that the scarves weren’t even all that special or great or that I was making far too many to actually keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-vercillo/it-didn-t-matter-that-the-scarves-weren-t-even-all-that-special-or/) [Kathryn Vercillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-vercillo/) > [I think, if I had my choice, I would spend all my time in the studio writing, and creating music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-condon/i-think-if-i-had-my-choice-i-would-spend-all-my-time-in-the-studio/) [Zach Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-condon/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Without a vision there is no possibility of creating something larger than what al-ready exists. An entrepreneur has to be able to bring something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/without-a-vision-there-is-no-possibility-of-creating-something-larger/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Creating a top team and being in a position to win the Tour de France will give me a nice feeling. But I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-alonso/creating-a-top-team-and-being-in-a-position-to-win-the-tour-de-france/) [Fernando Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-alonso/) > [When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-not-honoring-the-present-moment-by-allowing-it-to-be-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [Intimacy requires an ability to both merge and be separate, to come together and be apart, like oscillating on a giant swing from oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/intimacy-requires-an-ability-to-both-merge-and-be-separate-to-come/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) > [Creating something new is easy, creating something that lasts is the challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-braun/creating-something-new-is-easy-creating-something-that-lasts-is-the/) [Adam Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-braun/) [Browse all 3,972 Creating quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The finest life is spent creating oneself, not procreating.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Natalie Clifford Barney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-oneself-not-procreating/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creating" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-oneself-not-procreating/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/natalie-clifford-barney-9971_creating_the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-onesel_878587.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/natalie-clifford-barney-9971_creating_the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-onesel_878587.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/natalie-clifford-barney-9971_creating_the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-onesel_878587.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The finest life is spent creating oneself, not procreating.” — Natalie Clifford Barney", "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": "Natalie Clifford Barney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The finest life is spent creating...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-oneself-not-procreating/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/the-finest-life-is-spent-creating-oneself-not-procreating/#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 } } ] } ```