--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You and I are not getting out of this…" description: "\"“You and I are not getting out of this alive. An exception will not be made in our case so that we’ll live forever. So what are you going to do with th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/tom-roston-68415_art_you-and-i-are-not-getting-out-of-this-al_583299.jpg" --- # You and I are not getting out of this alive. An exception… ![“You and I are not getting out of this alive. An exception will not be made in our case so that we’ll live forever. So what are you going to do with that? Are you going to curl up into a fetal position? Sure. It’s a reasonable existential response to that reality. Or what do you do? You make art…” quote by Tom Roston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/tom-roston-68415_art_you-and-i-are-not-getting-out-of-this-al_583299.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/tom-roston-68415_art_you-and-i-are-not-getting-out-of-this-al_583299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/tom-roston-68415_art_you-and-i-are-not-getting-out-of-this-al_583299.jpg) > ““You and I are not getting out of this alive. An exception will not be made in our case so that we’ll live forever. So what are you going to do with that? Are you going to curl up into a fetal position? Sure. It’s a reasonable existential response to that reality. Or what do you do? You make art, you make music, you have ideas, you come to people, you talk, you make films, you write, whatever it is. You know what it’s like to be at a party and to be talking to someone and looking beyond them. You’re not present. We’re human beings, not human doings. And I think that is the great challenge. That we’re not getting out of this alive.”” Tom Roston ## 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 finite; rather than fearing death, we should create art and connect with others, embracing our humanity over mere activity. **In simple terms:** Create art and connect before death. Key Takeaway Make meaningful connections now. Themes mortality creativity humanity Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Art projects - community events - personal storytelling Key Concepts Existentialism artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How do you express your humanity? - What legacy will you leave? A Different Perspective Art may not resolve existential dread for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Live forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-forever/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ## Related quotes > [“None of us are getting out of here alive".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/none-of-us-are-getting-out-of-here-alive/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [“Never take life too seriously, you're never getting out of it alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chaplin/never-take-life-too-seriously-you-re-never-getting-out-of-it-alive/) John Chaplin > [Don't take life too seriously. After all none of us are getting out alive anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/don-t-take-life-too-seriously-after-all-none-of-us-are-getting-out/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [We're all terminal; none of us are getting out of this alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/we-re-all-terminal-none-of-us-are-getting-out-of-this-alive/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [“There’s no getting out alive, but you hope to avoid a deadline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-pizzolatto/there-s-no-getting-out-alive-but-you-hope-to-avoid-a-deadline/) [Nic Pizzolatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-pizzolatto/) > [You create your response to reality, and that response, for all practical purposes, is your reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-create-your-response-to-reality-and-that-response-for-all/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/it-is-sometimes-an-appropriate-response-to-reality-to-go-insane/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Astonishment is the proper response to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/astonishment-is-the-proper-response-to-reality/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“... the appropriate response to reality is to go insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-appropriate-response-to-reality-is-to-go-insane/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Whether art is defined as a representation of or response to reality, it demands an intense engagement with things we haven't managed to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/whether-art-is-defined-as-a-representation-of-or-response-to-reality/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“What he did not know then is that it is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-he-did-not-know-then-is-that-it-is-sometimes-an-appropriate/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [This is what it is to be human: to see the essential existential futility of all action, all striving -- and to act, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/this-is-what-it-is-to-be-human-to-see-the-essential-existential/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) ## More by Tom Roston > [“The arrogance of the present is that we think we know more than the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-roston/the-arrogance-of-the-present-is-that-we-think-we-know-more-than-the/) Tom Roston > [“This is not a feel-good thing. This is about “Shit happens, and we are obligated to find a way out.” It’s optimistic in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-roston/this-is-not-a-feel-good-thing-this-is-about-shit-happens-and-we-are/) Tom Roston > [“The worst film of a good director is better than the best film of a bad director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-roston/the-worst-film-of-a-good-director-is-better-than-the-best-film-of-a/) Tom Roston Explore all 4 Tom Roston quotes ## 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": "“You and I are not getting out of this alive. 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