--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot look upon our lives as dreams…" description: "\"We cannot look upon our lives as dreams of a dreamer who has no awakening in all time. We have a personality to which matter and force are unmeaning un..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/rabindranath-tagore-383_all-time_we-cannot-look-upon-our-lives-as-dreams_1748980.jpg" --- # We cannot look upon our lives as dreams of a dreamer who… ![“We cannot look upon our lives as dreams of a dreamer who has no awakening in all time. We have a personality to which matter and force are unmeaning unless related to something infinitely personal, whose nature we have discovered, in some measure, in human love, in the greatness of the good, in…” quote by Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/rabindranath-tagore-383_all-time_we-cannot-look-upon-our-lives-as-dreams_1748980.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/rabindranath-tagore-383_all-time_we-cannot-look-upon-our-lives-as-dreams_1748980.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/rabindranath-tagore-383_all-time_we-cannot-look-upon-our-lives-as-dreams_1748980.jpg) > “We cannot look upon our lives as dreams of a dreamer who has no awakening in all time. We have a personality to which matter and force are unmeaning unless related to something infinitely personal, whose nature we have discovered, in some measure, in human love, in the greatness of the good, in the martyrdom of heroic souls, in the ineffable beauty of nature, which can never be a mere physical fact nor anything but an expression of personality.” [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. Life gains meaning only when personal experience connects with love, goodness, heroism, and nature, transcending mere material existence. **In simple terms:** Purpose comes from deep personal connections beyond material reality. Key Takeaway Seek relationships that reflect love, virtue, and beauty. Themes meaning purpose transcendence spirituality Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - personal relationships - volunteer work - creative pursuits - environmental activism Key Concepts existentialism humanism aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance material needs with deeper personal meaning? - What daily actions nurture your sense of purpose? A Different Perspective May overlook practical responsibilities while chasing idealism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Of Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-of-nature/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamer/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic/) [Human love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-love/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Martyrdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrdom/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [I felt I had to share Idaho with my friend from New York because he'd shared New York with me, so I was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariel-hemingway/i-felt-i-had-to-share-idaho-with-my-friend-from-new-york-because-he-d/) [Mariel Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariel-hemingway/) > [Many people are so imprisoned in their minds that the beauty of nature does not really exist for them. They might say, 'What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/many-people-are-so-imprisoned-in-their-minds-that-the-beauty-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/because-only-then-does-one-feel-that-all-is-as-it-should-be-and-that/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [Photography begins not in the camera but in the mind and the eye. The real work is one of noticing and appreciating, seeing things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-atkinson/photography-begins-not-in-the-camera-but-in-the-mind-and-the-eye-the/) Bill Atkinson > [I was completely astonished by the beauty of nature. Our eyes see just a small fraction of the light in the world. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-hofmann/i-was-completely-astonished-by-the-beauty-of-nature-our-eyes-see-just/) [Albert Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-hofmann/) > [The great purpose of school can be realized better in dark, airless, ugly places ... It is to master the physical self, to transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-torrey-harris/the-great-purpose-of-school-can-be-realized-better-in-dark-airless/) [William Torrey Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-torrey-harris/) > [We feel the beauty of nature because we are part of nature and because we know that however much in our separate domains we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-everett-just/we-feel-the-beauty-of-nature-because-we-are-part-of-nature-and/) Ernest Everett Just > [Konstantin Levin did not like talking and hearing about the beauty of nature. Words for him took away the beauty of what he saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/konstantin-levin-did-not-like-talking-and-hearing-about-the-beauty-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Aren't we grateful for our brains, that can take this electrical impulse that comes from light energy and use it to explore our world?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-schwartzberg/aren-t-we-grateful-for-our-brains-that-can-take-this-electrical/) [Louis Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-schwartzberg/) > [...he who has seen the intimate beauty of nature cannot tear himself away from it again. He must become either a poet or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/he-who-has-seen-the-intimate-beauty-of-nature-cannot-tear-himself/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [People who put my paintings on their walls are putting their values on their walls: faith, family, home, a simpler way of living, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-who-put-my-paintings-on-their-walls-are-putting-their-values/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The real beauty created by man never competes with the beauty of nature; but it only perfectly completes it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-real-beauty-created-by-man-never-competes-with-the-beauty-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The beauty of nature has been one of the great inspirations in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-henson/the-beauty-of-nature-has-been-one-of-the-great-inspirations-in-my-life/) [Jim Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-henson/) ## 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. 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