--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who can keep us from recreating our life…" description: "\"Who can keep us from recreating our life as we would like it to be-as it could, and should be? No one but ourselves can keep us from being artists, rat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/surya-das-12161_art_who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life_2998693.jpg" --- # Who can keep us from recreating our life as we would like… ![“Who can keep us from recreating our life as we would like it to be-as it could, and should be? No one but ourselves can keep us from being artists, rather than marching forward like mere consumers, corporate robots, sheep. No one but ourselves can keep us from dancing with life instead of…” quote by Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/surya-das-12161_art_who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life_2998693.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/surya-das-12161_art_who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life_2998693.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/surya-das-12161_art_who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life_2998693.jpg) > “Who can keep us from recreating our life as we would like it to be-as it could, and should be? No one but ourselves can keep us from being artists, rather than marching forward like mere consumers, corporate robots, sheep. No one but ourselves can keep us from dancing with life instead of goose-stepping. In every moment recognizing our own creative imagination, the living picture we paint on the canvas of our lives. Everything is imagination. And imagination is freedom, but it can also be conditioning, bondage.” [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must resist becoming passive consumers and instead embrace our creative freedom, recognizing imagination as both liberation and potential constraint. **In simple terms:** Choosing creativity over conformity, acknowledging imagination’s dual nature. Key Takeaway Cultivate daily creative practice. Themes creativity freedom conformity self‑responsibility Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artistic projects - mindful decision‑making - personal expression Key Concepts imagination autonomy conditioning Questions to Reflect On - What habits keep you from being a passive consumer? - How do you balance imagination with practical reality? A Different Perspective Imagination can become limiting if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Being an artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-an-artist/) [Bondage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bondage/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditioning/) [Consumers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumers/) [Corporate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporate/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-imagination/) [Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Marching forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marching-forward/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) ## Related quotes > [But where only a free play of our presentational powers is to be sustained as in the case of pleasure gardens, room decoration, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/but-where-only-a-free-play-of-our-presentational-powers-is-to-be/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Idealism is the death of the body and the imagination. All but freedom, utter freedom, is death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/idealism-is-the-death-of-the-body-and-the-imagination-all-but-freedom/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. You are always living three, or indeed six, months hence. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/half-the-interest-of-a-garden-is-the-constant-exercise-of-the-2/) [Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/) > [It isn’t a big jump in the imagination to see yourself living alone like Mr Hoppy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-hoffman/it-isn-t-a-big-jump-in-the-imagination-to-see-yourself-living-alone/) [Dustin Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-hoffman/) > [Imagination is the living power and prime agent of all human perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/imagination-is-the-living-power-and-prime-agent-of-all-human/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/there-is-no-life-i-know-to-compare-with-pure-imagination-living-there/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [Sex, creativity, music, art, family, love, beauty, and creative imagination are all part of the spiritual path in the tantric traditions. So I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/sex-creativity-music-art-family-love-beauty-and-creative-imagination/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering-a world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons-a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-ideal-set-up-by-the-party-was-something-huge-terrible-and/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Even as a young man, Sawtooth had a hard time talking to women. Since moving to Out-to-Sea, he's become tight-lipped as an oyster. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/even-as-a-young-man-sawtooth-had-a-hard-time-talking-to-women-since/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [“She knew for a fact that she wasn't going to sit around and wait for some miracle to happen. She wasn't going to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diyar-harraz/she-knew-for-a-fact-that-she-wasn-t-going-to-sit-around-and-wait-for/) [Diyar Harraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diyar-harraz/) > [“The cord that tethers ability to success is both loose and elastic. It is easy to see fine qualities in successful books or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/the-cord-that-tethers-ability-to-success-is-both-loose-and-elastic-it/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Put one foot in front of the other. Keep marching forward, even when doubt, fear, and failure all come knocking at your door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-leto/put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-keep-marching-forward-even-when/) [Jared Leto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-leto/) > [You cannot please everybody. You keep marching forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calipari/you-cannot-please-everybody-you-keep-marching-forward/) [John Calipari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calipari/) > [Today, I see thousands of Mahatma Gandhis, Martin Luther Kings, and Nelson Mandelas marching forward and calling on us. The boys and girls have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-satyarthi/today-i-see-thousands-of-mahatma-gandhis-martin-luther-kings-and/) [Kailash Satyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-satyarthi/) > [Start marching forward, even when into the new and unknown, and don't be deterred by obstacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-koller/start-marching-forward-even-when-into-the-new-and-unknown-and-don-t/) [Daphne Koller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-koller/) ## More by Surya Das > [I think that's what's important, to see how we ourselves can become all that we are and can be. Everybody says they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/i-think-that-s-what-s-important-to-see-how-we-ourselves-can-become/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [I always thought he gave me that name because I have a kind of outgoing or sunny disposition. And in those days I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/i-always-thought-he-gave-me-that-name-because-i-have-a-kind-of/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [So we're all living spirit. It's not about isms and schims or religions. Religions are almost like political institutions, but the heart of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/so-we-re-all-living-spirit-it-s-not-about-isms-and-schims-or/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [But you know the difference between sex and love. And sex can be part of love, but what moves your heart, what's really intimate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/but-you-know-the-difference-between-sex-and-love-and-sex-can-be-part/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [But you know, eventually that does kind of veneer, chemical veneers that you apply, they sink in. For better or for worse, so it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/but-you-know-eventually-that-does-kind-of-veneer-chemical-veneers/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [There's many lanes on the highway of enlightenment, they don't have to be on the razor's edge like the yellow line dotted in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/there-s-many-lanes-on-the-highway-of-enlightenment-they-don-t-have-to/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [Spiritual joy is devotion, it's like a virus you know? It's a benevolent virus, but it spreads. It's infectious. Ram Dass was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/spiritual-joy-is-devotion-it-s-like-a-virus-you-know-it-s-a/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [Spiritually speaking, everything that one wants, aspires to, and needs is ever-present, accessible here and now - for those with eyes to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/spiritually-speaking-everything-that-one-wants-aspires-to-and-needs/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [Contributing to others, not converting others, but for those who are interested, going where invited, speaking when asked, teaching when asked and so on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/contributing-to-others-not-converting-others-but-for-those-who-are/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [Ram Dass, Krishna Dass, we all spoke through interpreters. There were good interpreters there, educated people in India speak English but Maharaji was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/ram-dass-krishna-dass-we-all-spoke-through-interpreters-there-were/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [When the sunset of life arrives, and its twilight shadows fade away; while dreams of the next begin to appear more vividly; may the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/when-the-sunset-of-life-arrives-and-its-twilight-shadows-fade-away/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [I never really wanted to have a Guru, I was more interested in Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and had a psychological background in college,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/i-never-really-wanted-to-have-a-guru-i-was-more-interested-in/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [You have to go through the darkness to truly know the light. This may sound like a cliche, but it's true nonetheless. Often the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/you-have-to-go-through-the-darkness-to-truly-know-the-light-this-may/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [If we accept and internalize the fact of our own mortality, then, by definition, we have to deal with the essential questions of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/if-we-accept-and-internalize-the-fact-of-our-own-mortality-then-by/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [People who spend a great deal of time in their gardens attest to the natural mindfulness that gardening requires. What could be more naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/people-who-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-in-their-gardens-attest-to-the/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) [Explore all 56 Surya Das quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [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/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Who can keep us from recreating our life as we would like it to be-as it could, and should be? No one but ourselves can keep us from being artists, rather than marching forward like mere consumers, corporate robots, sheep. No one but ourselves can keep us from dancing with life instead of goose-stepping. In every moment recognizing our own creative imagination, the living picture we paint on the canvas of our lives. Everything is imagination. And imagination is freedom, but it can also be conditioning, bondage.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Surya Das" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life-as-we-would-like-it-to-be-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life-as-we-would-like-it-to-be-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/surya-das-12161_art_who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life_2998693.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/surya-das-12161_art_who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life_2998693.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/surya-das-12161_art_who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life_2998693.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Who can keep us from recreating our life as we would like it to be-as it could, and should be? No one but…” — Surya Das", "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": "Surya Das", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Who can keep us from recreating...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life-as-we-would-like-it-to-be-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/who-can-keep-us-from-recreating-our-life-as-we-would-like-it-to-be-as/#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 } } ] } ```