Actuality Quote by Saul Bellow
“Everyone tries to create a world he can live in, and what he can't use he often can't see. But the real world is already created, and if your fabrication doesn't correspond, then even if you feel noble and insist on there being something better than what people call reality, that better something needn't try to exceed what, in its actuality, since we know it so little, may be very surprising. If a happy state of things, surprising; if miserable or tragic, no worse than what we invent.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Henderson the Rain, Saul Bellow, 1959
We tend to imagine a perfect world and dismiss the actual one, but reality is already formed and can be unexpected, whether good or bad.
In simple terms: People imagine ideal worlds, but reality is already made and can surprise.
Key Takeaway
Accept reality as it is and stay open to its surprises.
Themes
perception
reality
expectations
humility
surprise
Mood
contemplative
curious
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- personal decision
- political policy
- artistic creation
- scientific research
Key Concepts
existentialism
psychology
philosophy
Questions to Reflect On
- How does your ideal affect your view of the present?
- What surprises have you found in reality?
A Different Perspective
Idealizing can blind us to real possibilities and lead to disappointment.
![“The most surprising thing to me is what an incredibly intense effort it's been to create a world from the ground up. I had run a show that had already existed and had been created by the show-runner, Meredith [Stiehm]. It's a very different experience to come in at ground zero and meet people and…” quote by Veena Sud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/930/veena-sud-27264_casts_the-most-surprising-thing-to-me-is-what_262618.jpg)
