--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And so I have to live. Because we live…" description: "\"And so I have to live. Because we live for more than just ourselves, Most of the time we live for others, keep putting one foot before the other, left ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/thrity-umrigar-18261_breathing_and-so-i-have-to-live-because-we-live-fo_3175400.png" --- # And so I have to live. Because we live for more than just… ![“And so I have to live. Because we live for more than just ourselves, Most of the time we live for others, keep putting one foot before the other, left and right, left and right, so that walking becomes a habit, just like breathing. Ina n out, left and right.” quote by Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/thrity-umrigar-18261_breathing_and-so-i-have-to-live-because-we-live-fo_3175400.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/thrity-umrigar-18261_breathing_and-so-i-have-to-live-because-we-live-fo_3175400.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/thrity-umrigar-18261_breathing_and-so-i-have-to-live-because-we-live-fo_3175400.png) > “And so I have to live. Because we live for more than just ourselves, Most of the time we live for others, keep putting one foot before the other, left and right, left and right, so that walking becomes a habit, just like breathing. Ina n out, left and right.” [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is portrayed as a series of repetitive, habit‑like actions that serve others, suggesting purpose beyond self. **In simple terms:** Living for others becomes a habit like breathing. Key Takeaway Cultivate purposeful habits of service. Themes service habit purpose selflessness Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily routines - volunteering - family care Key Concepts altruism routine meaningfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you keep your service intentional? - What habits reflect your deeper purpose? A Different Perspective Habitual service can become mindless if not reflected upon. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Foot Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foot-left-1112769/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habit Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit-just-574820/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Left and right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-and-right/) [Live for others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-for-others/) [Right Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-walking-4123779/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) [Walking Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking-habit-5686507/) ## Related quotes > [“Walking was a habit he'd been unwilling to give up. He couldn't see the point in shutting himself up in a vehivle any more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-wilks/walking-was-a-habit-he-d-been-unwilling-to-give-up-he-couldn-t-see/) [Eileen Wilks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-wilks/) > [You have to do what is right for you. No one else is walking in your shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-to-do-what-is-right-for-you-no-one-else-is-walking-in-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have to do what is right for you. Nobody else is walking in your shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-to-do-what-is-right-for-you-nobody-else-is-walking-in-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When real people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep walking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-real-people-fall-down-in-life-they-get-right-back-up-and-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have to do what is right for yourself, nobody else is walking in your shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-to-do-what-is-right-for-yourself-nobody-else-is-walking-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every single Act either weakeneth or improveth our Credit with other Men ; and as an habit of being just to our Word will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-savile/every-single-act-either-weakeneth-or-improveth-our-credit-with-other/) [Jimmy Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-savile/) > [Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/moral-excellence-comes-about-as-a-result-of-habit-we-become-just-by/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Healthy thinking is a habit, just like neurotic thinking is a habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/healthy-thinking-is-a-habit-just-like-neurotic-thinking-is-a-habit/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [I play every day. It's like a habit for me now. I just, if I don't play, I kind of miss - something's off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-alpert/i-play-every-day-it-s-like-a-habit-for-me-now-i-just-if-i-don-t-play/) [Herb Alpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-alpert/) > [For me, habit is just a synonym for death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-binoche/for-me-habit-is-just-a-synonym-for-death/) [Juliette Binoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-binoche/) > [What is a habit? It’s just a shackle for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/what-is-a-habit-it-s-just-a-shackle-for-ourselves/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [You have to break through the structure of your own stonework habit just to make yourself listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/you-have-to-break-through-the-structure-of-your-own-stonework-habit/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“It's a habit, and I'm just as uncomfortable if I don't read as if I don't smoke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-s-a-habit-and-i-m-just-as-uncomfortable-if-i-don-t-read-as-if-i/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Right foot, left foot, hemorrhage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/right-foot-left-foot-hemorrhage/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [“I liked it when our feet were aligned, left with left, and struck the ground at the same time, leaving footprints on the shore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-liked-it-when-our-feet-were-aligned-left-with-left-and-struck-the/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More by Thrity Umrigar > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“Four years into her marriage, Sera had woken up one morning to feel something hot and sticky in the back of her throat. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/four-years-into-her-marriage-sera-had-woken-up-one-morning-to-feel/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [This is love-not what we say to each other but what we not say. Sometime it just one look exchange. Sometime one word. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/this-is-love-not-what-we-say-to-each-other-but-what-we-not-say/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“He had been in the legal profession long enough to know that human behavior was complicated and unpredictable and that justice always had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/he-had-been-in-the-legal-profession-long-enough-to-know-that-human/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“She wanted to explain everything to him—how certain notes of the Moonlight Sonata shredded her heart like wind inside a paper bag; how her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/she-wanted-to-explain-everything-to-him-how-certain-notes-of-the/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [I intend to give my eighty-two-year-old dad a copy of God Never Blinks. I will also buy one for a sixteen-year-old friend. This wise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/i-intend-to-give-my-eighty-two-year-old-dad-a-copy-of-god-never/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“So perhaps there are no phantom pains after all; perhaps all pain is real; perhaps each long-ago blow lives on into eternity in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/so-perhaps-there-are-no-phantom-pains-after-all-perhaps-all-pain-is/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“Or perhaps it is that time doesn’t heal wounds at all, perhaps that is the biggest lie of them all, and instead what happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/or-perhaps-it-is-that-time-doesn-t-heal-wounds-at-all-perhaps-that-is/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [She always imagined that evil played out on a large canvas- wars, concentration camps, gas chambers, the partitioning of nations. Now she realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/she-always-imagined-that-evil-played-out-on-a-large-canvas-wars/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [Life happened. In all its banality, brutality, cruelty, unfairness. But also in its beauty, pleasures and delights. Life happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/life-happened-in-all-its-banality-brutality-cruelty-unfairness-but/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“This solidarity business I used to talk about ain't just--what do you youngsters call it?--theoretical. It means putting your body, your physical self, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/this-solidarity-business-i-used-to-talk-about-ain-t-just-what-do-you/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“When the God enter into your house, he not enter looking like the God. He enter looking like human being. God enter my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/when-the-god-enter-into-your-house-he-not-enter-looking-like-the-god/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“but her mind feels feverish as it races through the crowded hallways of the past”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/but-her-mind-feels-feverish-as-it-races-through-the-crowded-hallways/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“We all begin with a story of ourselves that we believe to be true. But perhaps true personal change, even healing, can only happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/we-all-begin-with-a-story-of-ourselves-that-we-believe-to-be-true-but/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“It was strange how she found out, One moment she didn't know; the next minute she did. One moment her mind was as blank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/it-was-strange-how-she-found-out-one-moment-she-didn-t-know-the-next/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) [Explore all 35 Thrity Umrigar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) ## More Breathing quotes > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [People don't think much about breathing. Of all the things we take for granted, breathing has to be number one - even though it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/people-don-t-think-much-about-breathing-of-all-the-things-we-take-for/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [I wish," Jared began, and stopped, breathing in. "Do you remember how you used to believe I wasn't real? Sometimes I wish that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-wish-jared-began-and-stopped-breathing-in-do-you-remember-how-you/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Breathing is give(carbon dioxide) and take(oxygen), such is life, find balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-williams/breathing-is-give-carbon-dioxide-and-take-oxygen-such-is-life-find/) [Marcel Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-williams/) > [I'll probably be writing as long as I'm breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-ll-probably-be-writing-as-long-as-i-m-breathing/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I’m in, Cat. I’d never leave you. Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [He’d moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one breathing heavily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/he-d-moved-toward-me-again-his-hands-released-mine-and-moved-to-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/my-worry-is-that-opera-will-become-an-historic-art-form-as-opposed-to/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [I’m exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us — comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-m-exactly-right-for-you-bella-it-would-have-been-effortless-for-us/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) [Browse all 1,666 Breathing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And so I have to live. Because we live for more than just ourselves, Most of the time we live for others, keep putting one foot before the other, left and right, left and right, so that walking becomes a habit, just like breathing. 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