--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone tries to create a world he can…" description: "\"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 fabricati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/saul-bellow-558_actuality_everyone-tries-to-create-a-world-he-can_673199.png" --- # Everyone tries to create a world he can live in, and what… ![“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…” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/saul-bellow-558_actuality_everyone-tries-to-create-a-world-he-can_673199.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/saul-bellow-558_actuality_everyone-tries-to-create-a-world-he-can_673199.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/saul-bellow-558_actuality_everyone-tries-to-create-a-world-he-can_673199.png) > “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.” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actuality/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something-better/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Now, to take that which has caused us to create the world, and include it within the world we have created, is clearly impossible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/now-to-take-that-which-has-caused-us-to-create-the-world-and-include/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [There is no easy way to create a world where men and women can live together... But if such a world is created in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/there-is-no-easy-way-to-create-a-world-where-men-and-women-can-live/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veena-sud/the-most-surprising-thing-to-me-is-what-an-incredibly-intense-effort/) [Veena Sud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veena-sud/) > [“And this is what mere humanity always does. It's made up of these inventors or artists, millions and millions of them, each in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/and-this-is-what-mere-humanity-always-does-it-s-made-up-of-these/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [You know your inlove when you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams ..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merleaneever/you-know-your-inlove-when-you-can-t-fall-asleep-because-reality-is/) MerLEAneEver > [A dream is a reality in a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cee-montenegro/a-dream-is-a-reality-in-a-better-place/) Cee Montenegro > [The lives we live are a bit of a straight-hair vs. curly-hair thing. We often want what we don't have. In reality, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/the-lives-we-live-are-a-bit-of-a-straight-hair-vs-curly-hair-thing-we/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [Sometimes reality is better than dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/sometimes-reality-is-better-than-dreams/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [Wake me up when reality becomes better than dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayjee-grogan/wake-me-up-when-reality-becomes-better-than-dreaming/) [Ayjee Grogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayjee-grogan/) > [It is hard to sleep when you are inlove because the reality is much better than when you dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/it-is-hard-to-sleep-when-you-are-inlove-because-the-reality-is-much/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [If we restructure things to see that the hero's journey is a degree in astrophysics rather than a journey to star in a reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/if-we-restructure-things-to-see-that-the-hero-s-journey-is-a-degree/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [When your in love, you dont sleep. because reality is better than your dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-your-in-love-you-dont-sleep-because-reality-is-better-than-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think, to me, reality is better than being fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/i-think-to-me-reality-is-better-than-being-fake/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [Sometimes I don't want to go to sleep because for once reality is better than my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-don-t-want-to-go-to-sleep-because-for-once-reality-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know your in LOVE,because,for once.. You know reality is better than your DREAMS..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-your-in-love-because-for-once-you-know-reality-is-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Actuality quotes > [When indeed shall we learn that we are all related one to the other, that we are all members of one body? Until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/when-indeed-shall-we-learn-that-we-are-all-related-one-to-the-other/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [If the theme is simple, you can include a hundred details that create the illusion of actuality better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satyajit-ray/if-the-theme-is-simple-you-can-include-a-hundred-details-that-create/) [Satyajit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satyajit-ray/) > [The superhero shows and movies are always having the spotlight on the superheroes themselves. It's never about the people who are living in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-hudgens/the-superhero-shows-and-movies-are-always-having-the-spotlight-on-the/) [Vanessa Hudgens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-hudgens/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [It may look as though two chess players are sitting at the board peacefully calculating possibilities, but in actuality they are seething with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankarananda/it-may-look-as-though-two-chess-players-are-sitting-at-the-board/) Shankarananda > [The question of historicity and actuality with regard to gods and unicorns is a relatively trifling matter which may be left to antiquarians and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odell-shepard/the-question-of-historicity-and-actuality-with-regard-to-gods-and/) [Odell Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odell-shepard/) > [Each mental act opens up a new dimension of actuality. In a manner of speaking, your slightest thought gives birth to worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/each-mental-act-opens-up-a-new-dimension-of-actuality-in-a-manner-of/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) > [Behavior must also be adequately assessed under appropriate circumstances. Ill-defined global measures of perceived self-efficacy or defective assessments of performance will yield discordances. Disparities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bandura/behavior-must-also-be-adequately-assessed-under-appropriate/) [Albert Bandura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bandura/) > [I don't want to manipulate actuality; I want to record it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/i-don-t-want-to-manipulate-actuality-i-want-to-record-it/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [During the reign of Rameses III (the Twentieth Dynasty) Egypt saw a flowering of its civilization and the harp became the royal instrument of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-heline/during-the-reign-of-rameses-iii-the-twentieth-dynasty-egypt-saw-a/) [Corinne Heline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-heline/) > [The problems of philosophy and the systems designed to solve them are formulated in terms which tend to refer, not to the realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-problems-of-philosophy-and-the-systems-designed-to-solve-them-are/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I am not especially good at remembering the actualities of the world I inhabit, but I have pretty strong associative memories of how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-am-not-especially-good-at-remembering-the-actualities-of-the-world/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [If only the sense of actuality can be lulled-and it sleeps for ever in most historians-there is no passion that cannot be gratified in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/if-only-the-sense-of-actuality-can-be-lulled-and-it-sleeps-for-ever/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [I recognise a distinction between dream life and real life, between appearances and actualities. I confess to an over-powering desire to know whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/i-recognise-a-distinction-between-dream-life-and-real-life-between/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [If tone is granted to be subjected to control, why not line also, which has equal emotional significance? And if line, why not shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mortensen/if-tone-is-granted-to-be-subjected-to-control-why-not-line-also-which/) [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) [Browse all 142 Actuality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actuality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everyone tries to create a world he can live in, and what he can't use he often can't see. 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