--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To live in this world is a rare thing…" description: "\"To live in this world is a rare thing; most people just exist.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/oscar-wilde-16_people_to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-mo_2174642.jpg" --- # To live in this world is a rare thing; most people just… ![“To live in this world is a rare thing; most people just exist.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/oscar-wilde-16_people_to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-mo_2174642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/oscar-wilde-16_people_to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-mo_2174642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/oscar-wilde-16_people_to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-mo_2174642.jpg) > “To live in this world is a rare thing; most people just exist.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living fully means actively engaging with life rather than merely passing through it. **In simple terms:** Live actively, not just exist. Key Takeaway Seek purpose, not mere survival. Themes existence engagement purpose Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - relationships - creative projects - community involvement Key Concepts existentialism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What does living fully look like for you? - How can you move from existing to engaging? A Different Perspective Existence can feel passive without intentional effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rare things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare-things/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [It's a great feeling to be a part of something - see it from beginning to end - and it's a rare thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-strangis/it-s-a-great-feeling-to-be-a-part-of-something-see-it-from-beginning/) [Ralph Strangis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-strangis/) > [Knowledge is a rare thing -- you gain by giving it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-sutherland/knowledge-is-a-rare-thing-you-gain-by-giving-it-away/) [Ivan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-sutherland/) > [That's actually a rare thing to be on a set full of people that you admire and make you laugh all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/that-s-actually-a-rare-thing-to-be-on-a-set-full-of-people-that-you/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [To be oneself is a rare thing, and a great one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-be-oneself-is-a-rare-thing-and-a-great-one/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [everybody fancies they have that rare thing, a sense of humour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-robertson/everybody-fancies-they-have-that-rare-thing-a-sense-of-humour/) Olivia Robertson > [Nothing in the world is so rare as a person one can always put up with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/nothing-in-the-world-is-so-rare-as-a-person-one-can-always-put-up-with/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [I have a good thing, that's a rare thing in this life to find or get anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sirivi-hanson/i-have-a-good-thing-that-s-a-rare-thing-in-this-life-to-find-or-get/) [Sirivi Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sirivi-hanson/) > [its a rare thing to know one completly to the core and stil love him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/its-a-rare-thing-to-know-one-completly-to-the-core-and-stil-love-him/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Live, don't just exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/live-don-t-just-exist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have to have a meaning in my life. If I roam around without some meaning in my life, I'm in deep and serious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/i-have-to-have-a-meaning-in-my-life-if-i-roam-around-without-some/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [“Don't think you're living when you just exist!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-mostafa/don-t-think-you-re-living-when-you-just-exist/) [Ahmed Mostafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-mostafa/) > [“You think i do not know how to live, but i think you are not even living, you just exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haritha-velpureddy/you-think-i-do-not-know-how-to-live-but-i-think-you-are-not-even/) [Haritha Velpureddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haritha-velpureddy/) > [We are not here to just exist; but to find the strength to co-exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-austin-green/we-are-not-here-to-just-exist-but-to-find-the-strength-to-co-exist/) [Brian Austin Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-austin-green/) > [Do not just exist... Live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janethnipay/do-not-just-exist-live/) Janethnipay > [Don't just exist, be a part of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uriah-hall/don-t-just-exist-be-a-part-of-life/) [Uriah Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uriah-hall/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Exist quotes > [A vacuum can only exist, I imagine, by the things which enclose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/a-vacuum-can-only-exist-i-imagine-by-the-things-which-enclose-it/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/you-would-not-exist-if-you-did-not-have-something-to-bring-to-the/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [I don't believe in moral victories. I don't think in pro ball they exist, and they shouldn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-witten/i-don-t-believe-in-moral-victories-i-don-t-think-in-pro-ball-they/) [Jason Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-witten/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Must a people disappear for us to know they exist? Mano Dayak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-dayak/must-a-people-disappear-for-us-to-know-they-exist-mano-dayak/) Mano Dayak > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“And then again, maybe people and things are the same as emotions: Even when you can't see them or feel them or be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-henriquez/and-then-again-maybe-people-and-things-are-the-same-as-emotions-even/) [Cristina Henriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-henriquez/) > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [If you ask why I do what I do - I want to make a difference. I don't just want to maintain the status…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/if-you-ask-why-i-do-what-i-do-i-want-to-make-a-difference-i-don-t/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [Happiness, I do not know where to turn to discover you on earth, in the air or the sky; yet I know you exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalia-de-castro/happiness-i-do-not-know-where-to-turn-to-discover-you-on-earth-in-the/) [Rosalia de Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalia-de-castro/) > [Is when you can not exist without your loves smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff/is-when-you-can-not-exist-without-your-loves-smile/) Jeff > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) Browse all 2,297 Exist quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To live in this world is a rare thing; most people just exist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-most-people-just-exist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-most-people-just-exist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/oscar-wilde-16_people_to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-mo_2174642.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/oscar-wilde-16_people_to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-mo_2174642.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/oscar-wilde-16_people_to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-mo_2174642.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To live in this world is a rare thing; most people just exist.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To live in this world is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-most-people-just-exist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-live-in-this-world-is-a-rare-thing-most-people-just-exist/#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 } } ] } ```