--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not that which is inspires the creation…" description: "\"Not that which is inspires the creation, but that which may be; not the actual, but the possible.\" — Rudolf Steiner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/rudolf-steiner-2619_creation_not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation_432540.jpg" --- # Not that which is inspires the creation, but that which… ![“Not that which is inspires the creation, but that which may be; not the actual, but the possible.” quote by Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/rudolf-steiner-2619_creation_not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation_432540.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/rudolf-steiner-2619_creation_not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation_432540.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/rudolf-steiner-2619_creation_not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation_432540.jpg) > “Not that which is inspires the creation, but that which may be; not the actual, but the possible.” [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote emphasizes valuing potential and possibilities over concrete realities in creative inspiration. **In simple terms:** Focus on what could be, not just what is. Key Takeaway Seek inspiration in possibilities. Themes creativity potential philosophy Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic creation - innovation - problem solving Key Concepts possibility thinking inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn possibilities into actionable ideas? - What limits your imagination? A Different Perspective Possibility may be vague and hard to act on. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) ## Related quotes > [Everything actual must also first have been possible, before having actual existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/everything-actual-must-also-first-have-been-possible-before-having/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [Is it possible Hanukkah doesn't inspire folksy songs? Plot lines may be a part. The Christmas story has a lot of material to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/is-it-possible-hanukkah-doesn-t-inspire-folksy-songs-plot-lines-may/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [Nothing that has ever been thought and said with a clear mind and pure ethical strength is totally in vain; even if it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/nothing-that-has-ever-been-thought-and-said-with-a-clear-mind-and/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [So many people are passive participants in their very short time of having a consciousness, and those who aren't inspire me. Like Malala Yousafzai…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-gelulla/so-many-people-are-passive-participants-in-their-very-short-time-of/) Dylan Gelulla > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-can-t-love-yourself-how-in-the-hell-you-gonna-love-somebody/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [There are really only two ways to teach. You can inspire the student to voluntarily and enthusiastically choose to do the hard work necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-demille/there-are-really-only-two-ways-to-teach-you-can-inspire-the-student/) [Oliver DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-demille/) > [I like to motivate and inspire people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-allen/i-like-to-motivate-and-inspire-people/) [George Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-allen/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I've never been motivated by money. My peers and colleagues inspire me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-chase/i-ve-never-been-motivated-by-money-my-peers-and-colleagues-inspire-me/) [Robin Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-chase/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [If I look at the performance of another friend Sting, whenever I hear him take over a stage and share his art with millions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/if-i-look-at-the-performance-of-another-friend-sting-whenever-i-hear/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Rudolf Steiner > [Each individual is a species unto him/herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/each-individual-is-a-species-unto-him-herself/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [The science of the future will be based on sympathetic vibrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-science-of-the-future-will-be-based-on-sympathetic-vibrations/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/anthroposophy-is-a-path-of-knowledge-to-guide-the-spiritual-in-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Just as an age was ready to receive the Copernican theory of the universe, so is our own age ready for the ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/just-as-an-age-was-ready-to-receive-the-copernican-theory-of-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [The history of our spiritual life is a continuing search for the unity between ourselves and the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-history-of-our-spiritual-life-is-a-continuing-search-for-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Anthroposophie is not a religion but a tool for understanding of religions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/anthroposophie-is-not-a-religion-but-a-tool-for-understanding-of/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [“I beg you to see this in the right light, and to combine it with the feeling about what happened through the Mystery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/i-beg-you-to-see-this-in-the-right-light-and-to-combine-it-with-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Most naughtiness arises because the children are bored and lack a relationship with the teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/most-naughtiness-arises-because-the-children-are-bored-and-lack-a/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Receive the children in reverence, educate them in love, and send them forth in freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/receive-the-children-in-reverence-educate-them-in-love-and-send-them/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [Live through deeds of love, and let others live with tolerance for their unique intentions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/live-through-deeds-of-love-and-let-others-live-with-tolerance-for/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [I look at the bird in the cage and see the air, not only the air that is around the bird when it flies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/i-look-at-the-bird-in-the-cage-and-see-the-air-not-only-the-air-that/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [For every one step that you take in the pursuit of higher knowledge, take three steps in the perfection of your own character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/for-every-one-step-that-you-take-in-the-pursuit-of-higher-knowledge/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [We find the instrument for the Knowledge of God in ourselves But we find God everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/we-find-the-instrument-for-the-knowledge-of-god-in-ourselves-but-we/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [In so far as we think, we are the all-one being that pervades everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/in-so-far-as-we-think-we-are-the-all-one-being-that-pervades/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [All of nature begins to whisper its secrets to us through its sounds. Sounds that were previously incomprehensible to our soul now become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/all-of-nature-begins-to-whisper-its-secrets-to-us-through-its-sounds/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) [Explore all 157 Rudolf Steiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) ## More Creation quotes > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [I believe if there is a creator it will basically ask me two questions, how well did you enjoy my creation and what did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-believe-if-there-is-a-creator-it-will-basically-ask-me-two/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [With no other choices open to us, we'd turned our gaze seaward. The oceans were our America: they reached farther than any prairie, untamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/with-no-other-choices-open-to-us-we-d-turned-our-gaze-seaward-the/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. I'll take that over a goddess any day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/to-be-part-of-the-creation-i-must-act-humbly-i-ll-take-that-over-a/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) [Browse all 5,225 Creation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not that which is inspires the creation, but that which may be; not the actual, but the possible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rudolf Steiner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation-but-that-which-may-be-not-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation-but-that-which-may-be-not-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/rudolf-steiner-2619_creation_not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation_432540.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/rudolf-steiner-2619_creation_not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation_432540.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/rudolf-steiner-2619_creation_not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation_432540.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not that which is inspires the creation, but that which may be; not the actual, but the possible.” — Rudolf Steiner", "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": "Rudolf Steiner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Not that which is inspires the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation-but-that-which-may-be-not-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/not-that-which-is-inspires-the-creation-but-that-which-may-be-not-the/#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 } } ] } ```