--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reality, in a sense, was not an objective…" description: "\"“Reality, in a sense, was not an objective place where you were thrust. You had to maintain your hold on it by vigilantly keeping watch over whatever s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a21/rachel-kushner-3631_life_reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective_655705.png" --- # Reality, in a sense, was not an objective place where you… ![“Reality, in a sense, was not an objective place where you were thrust. You had to maintain your hold on it by vigilantly keeping watch over whatever slight and intangible thing gave your life its meaning. Call it a soul, or presence. Whatever it was, a prisoner or guest and you had to trick it or…” quote by Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a21/rachel-kushner-3631_life_reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective_655705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a21/rachel-kushner-3631_life_reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective_655705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a21/rachel-kushner-3631_life_reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective_655705.png) > ““Reality, in a sense, was not an objective place where you were thrust. You had to maintain your hold on it by vigilantly keeping watch over whatever slight and intangible thing gave your life its meaning. Call it a soul, or presence. Whatever it was, a prisoner or guest and you had to trick it or petition it into lingering.”” [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s meaning is a fragile, intangible presence you must actively nurture, like a soul or guest. **In simple terms:** Meaning requires active care. Key Takeaway Cultivate purpose daily. Themes meaning existence mindfulness Mood thoughtful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily meditation - goal setting - creative work Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small practice keeps your sense of purpose alive? - How do you recognize when meaning is slipping? A Different Perspective Maintaining focus can be exhausting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence/) [Presence Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence-prisoner-5234517/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-sense-2164812/) [Soul Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-presence-838339/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [I have possessed that heart, that noble soul, in whose presence I seemed to be more than I really was, because I was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-have-possessed-that-heart-that-noble-soul-in-whose-presence-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“As the incorporation of every moment of its experience, every influence of its contextual heritage and environment, a soul is the presence of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-restall-orr/as-the-incorporation-of-every-moment-of-its-experience-every/) [Emma Restall Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-restall-orr/) > [You are a constant reminder of who I am and where I come from. A clear reflection of my personality and soul. Your presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tshepo-koos-maluleke/you-are-a-constant-reminder-of-who-i-am-and-where-i-come-from-a-clear/) [Tshepo Koos Maluleke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tshepo-koos-maluleke/) > [If there is a sense of reality, there must also be a sense of possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/if-there-is-a-sense-of-reality-there-must-also-be-a-sense-of/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“(Whereas we are inclined to equate the reality and the sense of the reality, these are different things—there can be a reality of God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-goldingay/whereas-we-are-inclined-to-equate-the-reality-and-the-sense-of-the/) [John E. Goldingay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-goldingay/) > [Our approach to reality, our sense of reality, cannot assume that the text of nature, the book of life, is a cryptogram concealing just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-redgrove/our-approach-to-reality-our-sense-of-reality-cannot-assume-that-the/) [Peter Redgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-redgrove/) > [“He always hated when reality made sense and he didn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-marie/he-always-hated-when-reality-made-sense-and-he-didn-t/) [Bernadette Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-marie/) > [“You are the reality. The sense of of worship, love, devotion and loyalty. You are the purpose of life and existence. That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-reality-the-sense-of-of-worship-love-devotion-and-loyalty/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Even in the realest American cinema that I see, there's still not that sense that this is reality. There's still that sense that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-leonard/even-in-the-realest-american-cinema-that-i-see-there-s-still-not-that/) [Joshua Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-leonard/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Our life is what we make it. An insignificant game or a noble trial; a dream or a reality; a play of the senses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/our-life-is-what-we-make-it-an-insignificant-game-or-a-noble-trial-a/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [So many assume the truth is either black or white... It's all evolution or it's totally creation, for example. Reality creates consciousness; consciousness creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shepherd/so-many-assume-the-truth-is-either-black-or-white-it-s-all-evolution/) [Peter Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shepherd/) > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Only through absence can we understand presence, he told me, and I understood that by then. I understood it well. After”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-domet/only-through-absence-can-we-understand-presence-he-told-me-and-i/) [Sarah Domet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-domet/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) ## More by Rachel Kushner > [Leave, with no answer. Move on to the next question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/leave-with-no-answer-move-on-to-the-next-question/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [Motorcycles aren't about gaining agency, I don't think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/motorcycles-aren-t-about-gaining-agency-i-don-t-think/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“Gloria was still talking, something about how shooting people was in a sense safer than making art, in terms of avoiding serious lapses in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/gloria-was-still-talking-something-about-how-shooting-people-was-in-a/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“Because I didn't move here to fall in love. The desire for love is universal but that has never meant it's worthy of respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/because-i-didn-t-move-here-to-fall-in-love-the-desire-for-love-is/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [Authenticity is too big a subject to just toss in with the question about the photographs!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/authenticity-is-too-big-a-subject-to-just-toss-in-with-the-question/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“We were in separate realities, fast and slow. There is no fixed reality, only objects in contrast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/we-were-in-separate-realities-fast-and-slow-there-is-no-fixed-reality/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [It's really a misconception to identify the writer with the main character, given that the author creates all the characters in the book. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/it-s-really-a-misconception-to-identify-the-writer-with-the-main/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [People are complicated. Personally I don't go in for puritanical people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/people-are-complicated-personally-i-don-t-go-in-for-puritanical-people/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [I am a rereader. Quality is variety if you wait long enough. Barthes, Baudelaire, Benjamin, Celine, Duras, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Melville: There is so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/i-am-a-rereader-quality-is-variety-if-you-wait-long-enough-barthes/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“But I had seen, the night I met her, that her beauty was going to leave her like it does all women. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/but-i-had-seen-the-night-i-met-her-that-her-beauty-was-going-to-leave/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [When I see things in the world that leap out at me, I want to make use of them in fiction. Maybe every writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/when-i-see-things-in-the-world-that-leap-out-at-me-i-want-to-make-use/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [While it might be true that our reality would suggest that more writers would address these elemental issues of modern life - work, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/while-it-might-be-true-that-our-reality-would-suggest-that-more/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [And here I arrive at my point. The point is that everyone has a different dream. The point is that it is a grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/and-here-i-arrive-at-my-point-the-point-is-that-everyone-has-a/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [I guess I still feel that way and yet I'm slightly hesitant to insist on that idea, that it "better be fun for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/i-guess-i-still-feel-that-way-and-yet-i-m-slightly-hesitant-to-insist/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [A lot of politics in art is just institutional critique, which, in my opinion, is not all that political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/a-lot-of-politics-in-art-is-just-institutional-critique-which-in-my/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) [Explore all 124 Rachel Kushner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Reality, in a sense, was not an objective place where you were thrust. You had to maintain your hold on it by vigilantly keeping watch over whatever slight and intangible thing gave your life its meaning. Call it a soul, or presence. Whatever it was, a prisoner or guest and you had to trick it or petition it into lingering.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rachel Kushner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective-place-where-you-were-thrust/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective-place-where-you-were-thrust/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a21/rachel-kushner-3631_life_reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective_655705.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a21/rachel-kushner-3631_life_reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective_655705.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a21/rachel-kushner-3631_life_reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective_655705.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reality, in a sense, was not an objective place where you were thrust. You had to maintain your hold on it…” — Rachel Kushner", "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": "Rachel Kushner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Reality, in a sense, was not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective-place-where-you-were-thrust/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/reality-in-a-sense-was-not-an-objective-place-where-you-were-thrust/#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 } } ] } ```