--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am, as it were, the created creating—a…" description: "\"“I am, as it were, the created creating—a paradox, for all its rhetorical trappings, at the beating heart of our shared human journey, and one I invite..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/sol-luckman-4953_autobiography_i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-p_3146839.jpg" --- # I am, as it were, the created creating—a paradox, for all… ![“I am, as it were, the created creating—a paradox, for all its rhetorical trappings, at the beating heart of our shared human journey, and one I invite you to struggle with just as I have while, day in and day out, word by word and line by line, constructing a fictitious autobiography for myself in…” quote by Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/sol-luckman-4953_autobiography_i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-p_3146839.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/sol-luckman-4953_autobiography_i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-p_3146839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/sol-luckman-4953_autobiography_i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-p_3146839.jpg) > ““I am, as it were, the created creating—a paradox, for all its rhetorical trappings, at the beating heart of our shared human journey, and one I invite you to struggle with just as I have while, day in and day out, word by word and line by line, constructing a fictitious autobiography for myself in these pages.”” [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer describes creating a personal narrative, confronting paradoxes of self‑construction through continual effort. **In simple terms:** Writing a life story is a paradoxical, ongoing process. Key Takeaway Embrace the paradox of self‑creation. Themes identity creativity paradox self‑construction Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal essays - creative therapy Key Concepts autobiography self‑reflection literary art Questions to Reflect On - How does writing shape your sense of self? - What paradoxes arise in your personal narrative? A Different Perspective Self‑construction can feel inauthentic if forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Beating Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beating-heart/) [Created Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/created-creating-1377890/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Creating Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating-paradox-5632109/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator/) [Fictitious Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictitious-autobiography-5632111/) [Imaginal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginal-89214/) [Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Paradox Rhetorical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox-rhetorical-5632110/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“What we focus on, what we believe, has a direct effect on the unfolding of actual events—small ones, yes, but large ones as well.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/what-we-focus-on-what-we-believe-has-a-direct-effect-on-the-unfolding/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Finally, we entered Chetaube County, my imaginary birthplace, where the names of the little winding roads and minuscule mountain communities never failed to inspire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/finally-we-entered-chetaube-county-my-imaginary-birthplace-where-the/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Imagination can be concentrated by attention to build positive outcomes—harmonious structures, communities, technologies, even worlds—but it can just as easily be harnessed to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/imagination-can-be-concentrated-by-attention-to-build-positive/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“A critical piece of holistic self-becoming involves the deeply felt realization that our thoughts, beliefs and intentions aren’t merely mental or ‘just imaginary’ events.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/a-critical-piece-of-holistic-self-becoming-involves-the-deeply-felt/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Contrary to the dogma downloaded from our many cult-like institutions of higher (actually lower) learning, we’re not in any way separate from the quantum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/contrary-to-the-dogma-downloaded-from-our-many-cult-like-institutions/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The conscious energy of attention can be used to do literally anything because it’s a focalization of the imagination, the binding life force that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-conscious-energy-of-attention-can-be-used-to-do-literally/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [It feels much better to me to think that an artist is working to show his appreciation of what already has been created than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-hughes/it-feels-much-better-to-me-to-think-that-an-artist-is-working-to-show/) [E. J. Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-hughes/) > [We are always in a perpetual state of being created and creating ourselves. (p. 221)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/we-are-always-in-a-perpetual-state-of-being-created-and-creating/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [Wealth is created from creating value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-gage/wealth-is-created-from-creating-value/) [Randy Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-gage/) > [“What we love teaches us how to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-coleman/what-we-love-teaches-us-how-to-love/) [Renee Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-coleman/) > [“Why should anything exist at all, you might ask? Existence didn't just spring out of nothing whatsoever. Even if there was a time of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-de-l-amour/why-should-anything-exist-at-all-you-might-ask-existence-didn-t-just/) [Etienne de L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-de-l-amour/) > [“Sunday morning came – next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sunday-morning-came-next-day-the-battalions-would-leave-for-the-front/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [How can love be so silent when it speaks in the beating of your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-can-love-be-so-silent-when-it-speaks-in-the-beating-of-your-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) ## More by Sol Luckman > [“Recognize that your attention is the most valuable thing you can ever own, and you alone have the ultimate power to choose where to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/recognize-that-your-attention-is-the-most-valuable-thing-you-can-ever/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The fight for freedom, relatively and ultimately speaking, begins and ends with our attention: where we place it and how we use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-fight-for-freedom-relatively-and-ultimately-speaking-begins-and/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The evidence never seemed to matter to those in power, who had already made up their minds and did what people typically do when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-evidence-never-seemed-to-matter-to-those-in-power-who-had-already/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The Matrix can feel like a pretty hopeless place. I get that. Nobody in his or her right mind (a tiny minority, admittedly) wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-matrix-can-feel-like-a-pretty-hopeless-place-i-get-that-nobody-in/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The scene sucker-punched Max. He never saw it coming. It encapsulated in one poignant instant the tragic beauty of his family history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-scene-sucker-punched-max-he-never-saw-it-coming-it-encapsulated/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“So it was a crossroads summer, when the universe seemed to stand perilously still like an egg wobbling on a precipice, a regular rite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/so-it-was-a-crossroads-summer-when-the-universe-seemed-to-stand/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The possibility of waking up from (or even in) the dream offers a glimmer of hope, a sense that there’s more to existence than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-possibility-of-waking-up-from-or-even-in-the-dream-offers-a/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“By any reasonable definition of the term, the Archons are crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/by-any-reasonable-definition-of-the-term-the-archons-are-crazy/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The creational scale—in tandem with sacred vowels—was used to fashion the universe and all life herein. The world, you might say, was literally spoken—or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-creational-scale-in-tandem-with-sacred-vowels-was-used-to-fashion/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Bill of Rights: (n.) official tally of how much our rights cost to keep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/bill-of-rights-n-official-tally-of-how-much-our-rights-cost-to-keep/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Objectivity is a subjective fantasy implanted in us by an external will seeking to curtail our creativity by limiting our minds to our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/objectivity-is-a-subjective-fantasy-implanted-in-us-by-an-external/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“I’m a nonviolent guy, but the next time some brainwashed Duracell trapped in the Matrix tells you that by curtailing our liberties the authorities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/i-m-a-nonviolent-guy-but-the-next-time-some-brainwashed-duracell/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“When it rains it pours and when it shines you get melanoma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/when-it-rains-it-pours-and-when-it-shines-you-get-melanoma/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Every thought we think is like a brush stroke on the canvas of our lives. Let’s choose our thoughts, then, as a great artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/every-thought-we-think-is-like-a-brush-stroke-on-the-canvas-of-our/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) [Explore all 104 Sol Luckman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) ## More Autobiography quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/) [David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/) > [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/) [Craig Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-briggs/) > [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) [Linda Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-simon/) > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/) [Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/) > [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am, as it were, the created creating—a paradox, for all its rhetorical trappings, at the beating heart of our shared human journey, and one I invite you to struggle with just as I have while, day in and day out, word by word and line by line, constructing a fictitious autobiography for myself in these pages.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sol Luckman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-paradox-for-all-its-rhetorical/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autobiography" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-paradox-for-all-its-rhetorical/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/sol-luckman-4953_autobiography_i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-p_3146839.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/sol-luckman-4953_autobiography_i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-p_3146839.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/sol-luckman-4953_autobiography_i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-p_3146839.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am, as it were, the created creating—a paradox, for all its rhetorical trappings, at the beating heart of…” — Sol Luckman", "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": "Sol Luckman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I am, as it were, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-paradox-for-all-its-rhetorical/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/i-am-as-it-were-the-created-creating-a-paradox-for-all-its-rhetorical/#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 } } ] } ```