--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wanted to write; I sought all possible…" description: "\"I wanted to write; I sought all possible paths of personal liberation, but I could never sacrifice a living instant of life for the sake of a line to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/nina-berberova-25943_balance_i-wanted-to-write-i-sought-all-possible_1409580.jpg" --- # I wanted to write; I sought all possible paths of personal… ![“I wanted to write; I sought all possible paths of personal liberation, but I could never sacrifice a living instant of life for the sake of a line to be written, my balance for the sake of a manuscript, a storm within me for the sake of a poem. I loved life itself too much for this.” quote by Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/nina-berberova-25943_balance_i-wanted-to-write-i-sought-all-possible_1409580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/nina-berberova-25943_balance_i-wanted-to-write-i-sought-all-possible_1409580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/nina-berberova-25943_balance_i-wanted-to-write-i-sought-all-possible_1409580.jpg) > “I wanted to write; I sought all possible paths of personal liberation, but I could never sacrifice a living instant of life for the sake of a line to be written, my balance for the sake of a manuscript, a storm within me for the sake of a poem. I loved life itself too much for this.” [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She values living life fully over sacrificing moments for art, seeing constant creation as a loss of vitality. **In simple terms:** Life outweighs endless artistic pursuit. Key Takeaway Prioritize lived experience over relentless creation. Themes art life balance creative sacrifice Mood contemplative conflicted Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - writing career - daily routines - family time - travel Key Concepts existentialism personal freedom Questions to Reflect On - Can you find balance between creation and living? - What moments are you willing to let go for art? A Different Perspective Art can enrich life without demanding total sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Never is the gospel of Jesus Christ more beautiful than in times of intense need, or in times of a severe storm within us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-b-lee/never-is-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-more-beautiful-than-in-times-of/) [Harold B. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-b-lee/) > [Beneath our clothes, our reputations, our pretensions, beneath our religion or lack of it, we are all vulnerable both to the storm without and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/beneath-our-clothes-our-reputations-our-pretensions-beneath-our/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for the deliverance from fear. It is the storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-wise-man-in-the-storm-prays-to-god-not-for-safety-from-danger-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If the storm within gets too loud, I take a glass too much to stun myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/if-the-storm-within-gets-too-loud-i-take-a-glass-too-much-to-stun/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [The wise man in the storm prays God not for safety from danger but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-wise-man-in-the-storm-prays-god-not-for-safety-from-danger-but-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“He opened his eyes to reveal the storm within him. “My every instinct is telling me to have my way with you.” He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/he-opened-his-eyes-to-reveal-the-storm-within-him-my-every-instinct/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [“You know nothing about me. You see me. But you don't see me. Everyone else sees me. And yet no one has the foggiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/you-know-nothing-about-me-you-see-me-but-you-don-t-see-me-everyone/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [God may calm the storm around you,but more often He'll calm the storm within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-may-calm-the-storm-around-you-but-more-often-he-ll-calm-the-storm/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It seemed to me that I, rather than he, had brought this about, and my despair was extreme. For now that I knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-brookner/it-seemed-to-me-that-i-rather-than-he-had-brought-this-about-and-my/) [Anita Brookner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-brookner/) > [There's no other city like New York in the world; I loved our life there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenya-moore/there-s-no-other-city-like-new-york-in-the-world-i-loved-our-life/) [Kenya Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenya-moore/) > [All the things I've loved the most in life were my biggest risks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-silverstone/all-the-things-i-ve-loved-the-most-in-life-were-my-biggest-risks/) [Alicia Silverstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-silverstone/) > [“She wanted to live, and live fully, and to give life, she who loved life! What was the good of existing, if you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/she-wanted-to-live-and-live-fully-and-to-give-life-she-who-loved-life/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“I loved my family, and I loved our life. Kash and I had gone through rough times at the beginning, but life was good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-mcadams/i-loved-my-family-and-i-loved-our-life-kash-and-i-had-gone-through/) [Molly McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-mcadams/) > [I have loved this life. I smile because I have tiny dreams that play hopscotch at the corners of my mouth. And every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-koyczan/i-have-loved-this-life-i-smile-because-i-have-tiny-dreams-that-play/) [Shane Koyczan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-koyczan/) > [In my great melancholy, I loved life, for I love my melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-my-great-melancholy-i-loved-life-for-i-love-my-melancholy/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More by Nina Berberova > [Moscow, Rome, London, Paris stay in place. Leningrad and New York float, spreading all their sails, cutting space with their prows, and can disappear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/moscow-rome-london-paris-stay-in-place-leningrad-and-new-york-float/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [Pearls ... have a way of dying when separated from their owner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/pearls-have-a-way-of-dying-when-separated-from-their-owner/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [I had learnt to seek intensity rather than happiness, not joys and prosperity but more of life, a concentrated sense of life, a strengthened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/i-had-learnt-to-seek-intensity-rather-than-happiness-not-joys-and/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [my choices were partly conditioned by the two great laws - of biology and sociology - for I do not conceive of myself outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/my-choices-were-partly-conditioned-by-the-two-great-laws-of-biology/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [It looks now as if everything has been profitable to me. And if the payment has sometimes been excessive, it was afer all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/it-looks-now-as-if-everything-has-been-profitable-to-me-and-if-the/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [Paris is not a city, it is the image, the symbol of France, its today and yesterday, the reflection of its history, its geography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/paris-is-not-a-city-it-is-the-image-the-symbol-of-france-its-today/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [For many years I used the pronoun 'we.' Now, as in my youth, I go to sleep and wake up alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/for-many-years-i-used-the-pronoun-we-now-as-in-my-youth-i-go-to-sleep/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [The idea came to me that I was, am, and will be, but perhaps will not become. This did not scare me. There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/the-idea-came-to-me-that-i-was-am-and-will-be-but-perhaps-will-not/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [I had learnt to seek intensity — more of life, a concentrated sense of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/i-had-learnt-to-seek-intensity-more-of-life-a-concentrated-sense-of/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [“So we stood on the corner by the stationery shop and were deeply insincere with each other. --The Tattered Cloak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/so-we-stood-on-the-corner-by-the-stationery-shop-and-were-deeply/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [ \[On New York:\] ... a city rose before me. It was narrow and tall like a gothic temple, surrounded by water, and ... it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/on-new-york-a-city-rose-before-me-it-was-narrow-and-tall-like-a/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [I think that an anthill is better than a nest ... that in the anthill among a hundred thousand or a million you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/i-think-that-an-anthill-is-better-than-a-nest-that-in-the-anthill/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [ \[On Paris:\] It exists, constant, eternal, surrounding us who live in it, and it is in us. We love it or hate it, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/on-paris-it-exists-constant-eternal-surrounding-us-who-live-in-it-and/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [Doesn't the theory of relativity concern literature too? In our world there is no longer any room for the privileged observer, as there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/doesn-t-the-theory-of-relativity-concern-literature-too-in-our-world/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [This is my main shortcoming: I was so determined not to lose time that I often did the wrong thing. Not losing time has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/this-is-my-main-shortcoming-i-was-so-determined-not-to-lose-time-that/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) [Explore all 19 Nina Berberova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wanted to write; I sought all possible paths of personal liberation, but I could never sacrifice a living instant of life for the sake of a line to be written, my balance for the sake of a manuscript, a storm within me for the sake of a poem. 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