--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be or not to be isn't the question…" description: "\"To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how to prolong being.\" — Tom Robbins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/tom-robbins-169_quote_to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-th_1570109.jpg" --- # To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how… ![“To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how to prolong being.” quote by Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/tom-robbins-169_quote_to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-th_1570109.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/tom-robbins-169_quote_to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-th_1570109.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/tom-robbins-169_quote_to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-th_1570109.jpg) > “To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how to prolong being.” [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existence isn’t about binary choices; it’s about extending life’s experience. **In simple terms:** Life is about extending experience. Key Takeaway Focus on enriching your existence. Themes existence meaning extension Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career longevity - personal growth - creative pursuits Key Concepts philosophical inquiry lifespan Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance extension with rest? - What does “prolong being” mean to you? A Different Perspective Extending life can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prolong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prolong/) ## Related quotes > [“The question isn't what I would have done. The question is what do you want to do?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/the-question-isn-t-what-i-would-have-done-the-question-is-what-do-you/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [Becoming a man isn't a question of age, but experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cord-jefferson/becoming-a-man-isn-t-a-question-of-age-but-experience/) [Cord Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cord-jefferson/) > [It’s no longer a question of can I do it. It’s a question of: Do I want to do it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-s-no-longer-a-question-of-can-i-do-it-it-s-a-question-of-do-i-want/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [What's dry?' 'Good question. Next question!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/what-s-dry-good-question-next-question/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [“If the answer of your question is the question of your answer be Nacre”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-khan-takkar/if-the-answer-of-your-question-is-the-question-of-your-answer-be-nacre/) Hamza Khan Takkar > [“You can generally count on a philosopher to ask a question about the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-k-das/you-can-generally-count-on-a-philosopher-to-ask-a-question-about-the/) Kunal K. Das > [I think it's not a question of why, more a question of why not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/i-think-it-s-not-a-question-of-why-more-a-question-of-why-not/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [Don't Question me with a Question. It's not even your business, just go by what you see, and not what you hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kourtnee-willams/don-t-question-me-with-a-question-it-s-not-even-your-business-just-go/) [Kourtnee Willams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kourtnee-willams/) > [I just want people to question everything. Question what your congressman is doing, your city council. Question what really happened during the Civil War.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hughes/i-just-want-people-to-question-everything-question-what-your/) [Mike Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hughes/) > [Why do analysts always answer a question with a question?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/why-do-analysts-always-answer-a-question-with-a-question/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Life is just one big question, that’s all it ever is. But what is that question? Ah, that is the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-ryan/life-is-just-one-big-question-that-s-all-it-ever-is-but-what-is-that/) Baron Ryan > [To be or not to be?' That is not the question. What is the question? The question is not one of being, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-g-madsen/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-not-the-question-what-is-the-question-the/) [Truman G. Madsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-g-madsen/) > [The only stupid question is the question that is never asked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-bautista/the-only-stupid-question-is-the-question-that-is-never-asked/) [Ramon Bautista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-bautista/) > [“Are Cady and O'Neill Ever going to get together?" Those amber eyes weighed me heavily, and then he answered my question with a question.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/are-cady-and-o-neill-ever-going-to-get-together-those-amber-eyes/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [A question is a question at the end of the day. It's up to me if I want to answer them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-b/a-question-is-a-question-at-the-end-of-the-day-it-s-up-to-me-if-i/) [Mel B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-b/) ## More by Tom Robbins > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“I believe in everything; nothing is sacred. I believe in nothing; everything is sacred. Ha Ha Ho Ho Hee Hee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-believe-in-everything-nothing-is-sacred-i-believe-in-nothing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/a-sense-of-humor-is-superior-to-any-religion-so-far-devised/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the-2/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“The glue that holds the natural world together appears to be a harmonious balance of opposites: day and night, light and dark, winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-glue-that-holds-the-natural-world-together-appears-to-be-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [She continued weeping until the heat of her tear water, the sheer velocity of its flow, finally obscured the already vague circumstances of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/she-continued-weeping-until-the-heat-of-her-tear-water-the-sheer/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-bottom-line-is-that-a-people-are-never-perfect-but-love-can-be-b/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Virtually every advancement made by our species since civilization first peeked out of its nest of stone has been initiated by lone individuals, mavericks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/virtually-every-advancement-made-by-our-species-since-civilization/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/when-we-accept-small-wonders-we-qualify-ourselves-to-imagine-great/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Explore all 994 Tom Robbins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More Prolong quotes > [When I fire, I just look at them and I say, 'You're fired.' I don't prolong it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-harrison/when-i-fire-i-just-look-at-them-and-i-say-you-re-fired-i-don-t/) [Corey Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-harrison/) > [“There is no way of stopping death, not here. You can prolong it. But at some point, it is bound to catch up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-sobon/there-is-no-way-of-stopping-death-not-here-you-can-prolong-it-but-at/) [Nicole Sobon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-sobon/) > [“Nurses came to his house to work with Morrie's withering legs.. bending them back and forth as if pumping water from a well.. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/nurses-came-to-his-house-to-work-with-morrie-s-withering-legs-bending/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Rebels in Darfur have learned the value of mobilizing western human rights groups to prolong wars, and this lesson is working gloriously for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/rebels-in-darfur-have-learned-the-value-of-mobilizing-western-human/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [But Justice, though her dome she doe prolong, Yet at the last she will her owne cause right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/but-justice-though-her-dome-she-doe-prolong-yet-at-the-last-she-will/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/i-shall-not-waste-my-days-in-trying-to-prolong-them/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [I have no desire to prolong uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-no-desire-to-prolong-uncertainty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She will prolong her life by the length of her story, even though time will wear on inexorably as she tells it, thus depriving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elfriede-jelinek/she-will-prolong-her-life-by-the-length-of-her-story-even-though-time/) [Elfriede Jelinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elfriede-jelinek/) > [Studies show that Avastin can prolong the lives of patients with late-stage breast and lung cancer by several months when the drug is combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/studies-show-that-avastin-can-prolong-the-lives-of-patients-with-late/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [People are scrambling to figure out how they can prolong the life of an album. But as long as the shelf space continues to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-shelton/people-are-scrambling-to-figure-out-how-they-can-prolong-the-life-of/) [Blake Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-shelton/) > [Modern science & doctors can do a great deal to prolong life. The life span is lengthening, but that is merely postponing the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/modern-science-doctors-can-do-a-great-deal-to-prolong-life-the-life/) Pacifiersucker > [The trouble was that I tried to prolong my youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-coogan/the-trouble-was-that-i-tried-to-prolong-my-youth/) [Jackie Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-coogan/) > [But Justice, though her dome doom she doe prolong,Yet at the last she will her owne cause right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/but-justice-though-her-dome-doom-she-doe-prolong-yet-at-the-last-she/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [We'd be better off with a shorter season. It would prolong some careers, mine included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-havlicek/we-d-be-better-off-with-a-shorter-season-it-would-prolong-some/) [John Havlicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-havlicek/) > [“But physicians don’t really save lives, of course, we prolong them;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/but-physicians-don-t-really-save-lives-of-course-we-prolong-them/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) [Browse all 26 Prolong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prolong/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how to prolong being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Robbins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-the-question-is-how-to-prolong/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Prolong" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-the-question-is-how-to-prolong/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/tom-robbins-169_quote_to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-th_1570109.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/tom-robbins-169_quote_to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-th_1570109.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/tom-robbins-169_quote_to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-th_1570109.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how to prolong being.” — Tom Robbins", "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": "Tom Robbins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be or not to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-the-question-is-how-to-prolong/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/to-be-or-not-to-be-isn-t-the-question-the-question-is-how-to-prolong/#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 } } ] } ```