--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That I exist is a perpetual surprise…" description: "\"That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life.\" — Rabindranath Tagore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/rabindranath-tagore-383_exist_that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-whi_1603124.png" --- # That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life. ![“That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life.” quote by Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/rabindranath-tagore-383_exist_that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-whi_1603124.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/rabindranath-tagore-383_exist_that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-whi_1603124.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/rabindranath-tagore-383_exist_that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-whi_1603124.png) > “That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life.” [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existence itself is a continual marvel, the essence of life. **In simple terms:** Life is constantly surprising. Key Takeaway Embrace the wonder of being alive. Themes existence wonder philosophy Mood contemplative inspiring Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - daily meditation - creative writing - teaching philosophy Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness gratitude Questions to Reflect On - What daily moments surprise you? - How does surprise shape your purpose? A Different Perspective Surprise can be unsettling; may cause existential anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [We can depend on the world being a perpetual surprise in perpetual motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/we-can-depend-on-the-world-being-a-perpetual-surprise-in-perpetual/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [“I experience what it is to exist in perpetual fear, afraid, totally controlled, manipulated, ashamed at all times and many more things one can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/i-experience-what-it-is-to-exist-in-perpetual-fear-afraid-totally/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [You showed me something I couldn't see, I don't wanna hide in the shadow, all I know is that I can't stop loving you…you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fash/you-showed-me-something-i-couldn-t-see-i-don-t-wanna-hide-in-the/) Fash > ["What is the greatest surprise you have found about life?" a university student asked me several years ago. "The brevity of it," I replied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/what-is-the-greatest-surprise-you-have-found-about-life-a-university/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Surprise is joy, a way to feel, beyond the feelings, of my heart to yield. Surprise is life that cannot sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/surprise-is-joy-a-way-to-feel-beyond-the-feelings-of-my-heart-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I suppose it's nice to have some surprise in life and to surprise yourself in life and see what else you can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/i-suppose-it-s-nice-to-have-some-surprise-in-life-and-to-surprise/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [The most delightful surprise in life is to suddenly recognise your own worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/the-most-delightful-surprise-in-life-is-to-suddenly-recognise-your/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [“While on a left-turning road, stop your vehicle, get out of the vehicle, start walking to the right! Surprise life, because life is sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/while-on-a-left-turning-road-stop-your-vehicle-get-out-of-the-vehicle/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Prayer adds an element of surprise to your life that is more fun than a surprise party or surprise gift or surprise romance. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/prayer-adds-an-element-of-surprise-to-your-life-that-is-more-fun-than/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [Growing old has been the greatest surprise of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/growing-old-has-been-the-greatest-surprise-of-my-life/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The greatest surprise in life to me is the brevity of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-greatest-surprise-in-life-to-me-is-the-brevity-of-life/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Italy was a surprise in my life. I went there just to make money and then go back to Israel and study psychology. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moran-atias/italy-was-a-surprise-in-my-life-i-went-there-just-to-make-money-and/) [Moran Atias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moran-atias/) > [Life's fulfillment finds constant obstacles in its path; but those are necessary for the sake of its advance. The stream is saved from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/life-s-fulfillment-finds-constant-obstacles-in-its-path-but-those-are/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) ## More by Rabindranath Tagore > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The meaning of this is, that whomsoever we love, in him we find our own soul in the highest sense. The final truth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-meaning-of-this-is-that-whomsoever-we-love-in-him-we-find-our-own/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-you-shed-tears-when-you-miss-the-sun-you-also-miss-the-stars/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-best-kind-of-wealth-is-to-give-up-inordinate-desires/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Now it is time to sit quiet, face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/now-it-is-time-to-sit-quiet-face-to-face-with-thee-and-to-sing/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If it is necessary to die in order to live like men, what harm in dying?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-it-is-necessary-to-die-in-order-to-live-like-men-what-harm-in-dying/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Strong Mercy: My desires are many and my cry is pitiful, but ever didst thou save me by hard refusals; and this strong mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/strong-mercy-my-desires-are-many-and-my-cry-is-pitiful-but-ever-didst/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-try-furiously-to-appear-strong/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The movement of life has to rest in its own music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-movement-of-life-has-to-rest-in-its-own-music/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [It is the docile who achieve the most impossible things in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/it-is-the-docile-who-achieve-the-most-impossible-things-in-this-world/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“There, display and extravagance, in dress, in furniture, in costly entertainments, are startling. They seem to push you back into a corner, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/there-display-and-extravagance-in-dress-in-furniture-in-costly/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) [Explore all 596 Rabindranath Tagore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## 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": "That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rabindranath Tagore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-which-is-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-which-is-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/rabindranath-tagore-383_exist_that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-whi_1603124.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/rabindranath-tagore-383_exist_that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-whi_1603124.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/rabindranath-tagore-383_exist_that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-whi_1603124.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life.” — Rabindranath Tagore", "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": "Rabindranath Tagore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That I exist is a perpetual...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-which-is-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/that-i-exist-is-a-perpetual-surprise-which-is-life/#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 } } ] } ```