--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is there an existence that is only mine?" description: "\"Is there an existence that is only mine?\" — Russell Hoban" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/russell-hoban-7835_conformity_is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine_3189548.png" --- # Is there an existence that is only mine? ![“Is there an existence that is only mine?” quote by Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/russell-hoban-7835_conformity_is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine_3189548.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/russell-hoban-7835_conformity_is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine_3189548.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/russell-hoban-7835_conformity_is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine_3189548.png) > “Is there an existence that is only mine?” [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It questions whether any reality exists solely for the self. **In simple terms:** Is there a private reality? Key Takeaway Explore how personal experience shapes perception. Themes identity existence subjectivity Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - psychology - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy self reality Questions to Reflect On - How do others influence your sense of self? - Can true solitude exist? A Different Perspective Subjectivity may be limited by external factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Non conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-conformity/) ## Related quotes > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/we-must-not-confuse-dissent-with-disloyalty/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [There are a lot of things in this world that are more important than being popular. Being true to yourself is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-landon/there-are-a-lot-of-things-in-this-world-that-are-more-important-than/) [Michael Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-landon/) > [Woe to him inside a non-conformist clique who does not conform to non-conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/woe-to-him-inside-a-non-conformist-clique-who-does-not-conform-to-non/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There is a light seed grain inside. You fill it with yourself, or it dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-light-seed-grain-inside-you-fill-it-with-yourself-or-it/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [To be original, or different, is felt to be "dangerous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/to-be-original-or-different-is-felt-to-be-dangerous/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [One must never forbid oneself anything. One must also be able to go back, one must always be able to change...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-hartung/one-must-never-forbid-oneself-anything-one-must-also-be-able-to-go/) Hans Hartung > [All my work keeps going like a pendulum; it seems to swing back to something I was involved with earlier, or it moves between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/all-my-work-keeps-going-like-a-pendulum-it-seems-to-swing-back-to/) [Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/) > [I like him. I have a weakness for losers. Invalids, foreigners, the fat boy of the class, the ones nobody ever wants to dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/i-like-him-i-have-a-weakness-for-losers-invalids-foreigners-the-fat/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died in other people’s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/had-i-not-created-my-whole-world-i-would-certainly-have-died-in-other/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [... I stare into the fridge. Like a mirrored image of myself. Cold and empty, and the lights come on only when you open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallgr-mur-helgason/i-stare-into-the-fridge-like-a-mirrored-image-of-myself-cold-and/) [Hallgrimur Helgason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallgr-mur-helgason/) > [One day you're there and then all of a sudden, there's less of you. And you wonder where that part went. If it's living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-moss/one-day-you-re-there-and-then-all-of-a-sudden-there-s-less-of-you-and/) [Elisabeth Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-moss/) > [Non-conformity is the only real passion worth being ruled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/non-conformity-is-the-only-real-passion-worth-being-ruled-by/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [The American people...have a stake in non-conformity. For they know that the American genius is non-conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/the-american-people-have-a-stake-in-non-conformity-for-they-know-that/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [All great things must first wear terrifying and monstrous masks, in order to inscribe themselves on the hearts of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-great-things-must-first-wear-terrifying-and-monstrous-masks-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Russell Hoban > [Sometimes there's nothing but Sundays for weeks on end. Why can't they move Sunday to the middle of the week so you could put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/sometimes-there-s-nothing-but-sundays-for-weeks-on-end-why-can-t-they/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Too-lateness, I realized, has nothing to do with age. It’s a relation of self to the moment. Or not, depending on the person and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/too-lateness-i-realized-has-nothing-to-do-with-age-it-s-a-relation-of/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [If the past cannot teach the present and the father cannot teach the son, then history need not have bothered to go on, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/if-the-past-cannot-teach-the-present-and-the-father-cannot-teach-the/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“I had a salad. If I were to say that today's tomatoes were an index of the decline of Western man I should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/i-had-a-salad-if-i-were-to-say-that-today-s-tomatoes-were-an-index-of/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“What do you do when you're wound up?' she asked. 'Do you play that drum?'. 'No,' said the child. 'We used to dance.' 'But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/what-do-you-do-when-you-re-wound-up-she-asked-do-you-play-that-drum/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“He was thinking what a long and wide thing time is, to have so many happenings in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/he-was-thinking-what-a-long-and-wide-thing-time-is-to-have-so-many/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Who is Alice?" asked mother. "Alice is somebody that nobody can see," said Frances. "And that is why she does not have a birthday.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/who-is-alice-asked-mother-alice-is-somebody-that-nobody-can-see-said/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Mark you that and noat you wel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/mark-you-that-and-noat-you-wel/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Seed of the little Seed of the wyld Seed of the berning is Hart of the chyld . . . Out goes the candl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/seed-of-the-little-seed-of-the-wyld-seed-of-the-berning-is-hart-of/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Nothing to be done really about animals. Anything you do looks foolish. The answer isn't in us. It's almost as if we're put here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/nothing-to-be-done-really-about-animals-anything-you-do-looks-foolish/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [Sometimes I think that the biggest difference between men and women is that more men need to seek out some terrible lurking thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/sometimes-i-think-that-the-biggest-difference-between-men-and-women/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Before the motorcar replaced the horse, and for some years after there were many illustrators who drew horses with the same authority with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/before-the-motorcar-replaced-the-horse-and-for-some-years-after-there/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [When I write a book, I don't have a plan or an outline. The characters move the action, and the action develops the characters.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/when-i-write-a-book-i-don-t-have-a-plan-or-an-outline-the-characters/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [“Sometimes I think that the biggest difference between men and women is that more men need to seek out some terrible lurking thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/sometimes-i-think-that-the-biggest-difference-between-men-and-women-2/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) > [If reality had a stage door I'd hang around there to see what comes out after the show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/if-reality-had-a-stage-door-i-d-hang-around-there-to-see-what-comes/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) [Explore all 86 Russell Hoban quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) ## More Conformity quotes > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/) Paul Yingling > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 937 Conformity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Is there an existence that is only mine?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Hoban" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/russell-hoban-7835_conformity_is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine_3189548.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/russell-hoban-7835_conformity_is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine_3189548.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/russell-hoban-7835_conformity_is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine_3189548.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is there an existence that is only mine?” — Russell Hoban", "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": "Russell Hoban", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Is there an existence that is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/is-there-an-existence-that-is-only-mine/#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 } } ] } ```