--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could do what I want with my eyes…" description: "\"If I could do what I want with my eyes alone, I would be happy.\" — Richard Avedon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/richard-avedon-10149_eye_if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-a_1159392.jpg" --- # If I could do what I want with my eyes alone, I would be… ![“If I could do what I want with my eyes alone, I would be happy.” quote by Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/richard-avedon-10149_eye_if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-a_1159392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/richard-avedon-10149_eye_if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-a_1159392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/richard-avedon-10149_eye_if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-a_1159392.jpg) > “If I could do what I want with my eyes alone, I would be happy.” [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic vision can be fulfilled through imagination alone; inner perception creates happiness. **In simple terms:** Imagination fuels happiness. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner vision. Themes creativity perception happiness Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - photography - visual arts - meditation - creative problem solving Key Concepts Aesthetic philosophy mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you nurture inner satisfaction? - What role does imagination play in your daily life? A Different Perspective External validation may still be desired. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [“Look at me. I want to see your eyes when you come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/look-at-me-i-want-to-see-your-eyes-when-you-come/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [“The sun never shown as bright as your lovely eyes When you are happy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-maxon/the-sun-never-shown-as-bright-as-your-lovely-eyes-when-you-are-happy/) [Ken Maxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-maxon/) > [“I am happy, I tried to tell him with my eyes. I'm happy with Annie; she and my work are all I'll ever need;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-garden/i-am-happy-i-tried-to-tell-him-with-my-eyes-i-m-happy-with-annie-she/) [Nancy Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-garden/) > [“He flipped it open, gently tugged out the oft-touched photo and looked into a pair of familiar golden eyes. "She's happy, Andie," he whispered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/he-flipped-it-open-gently-tugged-out-the-oft-touched-photo-and-looked/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [I feel that energy up there on stage. The band, the crew and our road family - the look in their eyes - they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-chesney/i-feel-that-energy-up-there-on-stage-the-band-the-crew-and-our-road/) [Kenny Chesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-chesney/) > [For example, if ears are back on a horse, it's obviously not very happy. And the eyes show that it's not happy. Now, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/for-example-if-ears-are-back-on-a-horse-it-s-obviously-not-very-happy/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [“Is the sky cloudy? Can’t you see the shining stars? Take a look at the eyes of a happy child, you will see all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/is-the-sky-cloudy-can-t-you-see-the-shining-stars-take-a-look-at-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I want his eyes to stop looking at me like that, and at the same time, I have always wanted to be looked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-b-doe/i-want-his-eyes-to-stop-looking-at-me-like-that-and-at-the-same-time/) [Anna B. Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-b-doe/) > [“I want to watch you while I take you. I want to see those eyes of yours turn hazy with desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/i-want-to-watch-you-while-i-take-you-i-want-to-see-those-eyes-of/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“Don’t look away.  I still want your eyes on me after I’ve made you come,” he ground out.  “I want to see your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-look-away-i-still-want-your-eyes-on-me-after-i-ve-made-you-come/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You ask what I want from you?” His eyes move to my lips, then my eyes. “I want you, Tru. I just want you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-towle/you-ask-what-i-want-from-you-his-eyes-move-to-my-lips-then-my-eyes-i/) [Samantha Towle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-towle/) > [I have no way and therefore want no eyes I stumbled when I saw. Full oft 'tis seen our means secure us, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-no-way-and-therefore-want-no-eyes-i-stumbled-when-i-saw-full/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“I want to see with my own eyes the hind lie down with the lion and the victim rise up and embrace his murderer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-want-to-see-with-my-own-eyes-the-hind-lie-down-with-the-lion-and/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I want to make a world more magical than my own. I don't care if it makes sense, I don't care if it's ridiculed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/i-want-to-make-a-world-more-magical-than-my-own-i-don-t-care-if-it/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [There are many who stumble in the noon-day, not for want of light, but for want of eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/there-are-many-who-stumble-in-the-noon-day-not-for-want-of-light-but/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) ## More by Richard Avedon > [A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he is being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/a-photographic-portrait-is-a-picture-of-someone-who-knows-he-is-being/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [Snapshots that have been taken of me working show something I was not aware of at all, that over and over again I'm holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/snapshots-that-have-been-taken-of-me-working-show-something-i-was-not/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [Sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/sometimes-i-think-all-my-pictures-are-just-pictures-of-me/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [There's always been a separation between fashion and what I call my deeper work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/there-s-always-been-a-separation-between-fashion-and-what-i-call-my/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I can see myself as a very old man in a terrific wheelchair. Only, I won't be photographing the tree outside my window, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-can-see-myself-as-a-very-old-man-in-a-terrific-wheelchair-only-i/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-am-and-forever-will-be-devastated-by-the-gift-of-audrey-hepburn/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I've photographed just about everyone in the world. But what I hope to do is photograph people of accomplishment, not celebrity, and help define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-ve-photographed-just-about-everyone-in-the-world-but-what-i-hope-to/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [If each photograph steals a bit of the soul, isn't it possible that I give up pieces of mine every time I take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/if-each-photograph-steals-a-bit-of-the-soul-isn-t-it-possible-that-i/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [Marilyn Monroe gave more to the still camera than any actress, any woman I've ever photographed; infinitely more patient, more demanding of herself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/marilyn-monroe-gave-more-to-the-still-camera-than-any-actress-any/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [ It's in trying to direct the traffic between Artiface \[sic\] and Candor, without being run over, that I'm confronted with the questions about photography… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/it-s-in-trying-to-direct-the-traffic-between-artiface-sic-and-candor/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/a-portrait-is-not-a-likeness-the-moment-an-emotion-or-fact-is/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/the-moment-an-emotion-or-fact-is-transformed-into-a-photograph-it-is/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [When I was a boy, my family took great care with our snapshots. We really planned them. We made compositions. We posed in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/when-i-was-a-boy-my-family-took-great-care-with-our-snapshots-we/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I don't really remember the day when I stood behind my camera with Henry Kissinger on the other side. I am sure he doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-don-t-really-remember-the-day-when-i-stood-behind-my-camera-with/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/and-if-a-day-goes-by-without-my-doing-something-related-to/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) [Explore all 67 Richard Avedon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) ## More Eye quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [Clearly, when we baptize, our eyes should gaze beyond the baptismal font to the holy temple. The great garner into which the sheaves should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/clearly-when-we-baptize-our-eyes-should-gaze-beyond-the-baptismal/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) Browse all 16,237 Eye quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I could do what I want with my eyes alone, I would be happy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Avedon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-alone-i-would-be-happy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-alone-i-would-be-happy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/richard-avedon-10149_eye_if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-a_1159392.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/richard-avedon-10149_eye_if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-a_1159392.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/richard-avedon-10149_eye_if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-a_1159392.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I could do what I want with my eyes alone, I would be happy.” — Richard Avedon", "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": "Richard Avedon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I could do what I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-alone-i-would-be-happy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/if-i-could-do-what-i-want-with-my-eyes-alone-i-would-be-happy/#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 } } ] } ```