--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live only to dance. If living were not…" description: "\"We live only to dance. If living were not an essential prerequisite, we would abstain.\" — Toni Bentley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/toni-bentley-37728_abstain_we-live-only-to-dance-if-living-were-not_403213.png" --- # We live only to dance. If living were not an essential… ![“We live only to dance. If living were not an essential prerequisite, we would abstain.” quote by Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/toni-bentley-37728_abstain_we-live-only-to-dance-if-living-were-not_403213.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/toni-bentley-37728_abstain_we-live-only-to-dance-if-living-were-not_403213.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/toni-bentley-37728_abstain_we-live-only-to-dance-if-living-were-not_403213.png) > “We live only to dance. If living were not an essential prerequisite, we would abstain.” [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) ## 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 meaningful only when we engage in activities we love; without purpose, we might avoid existence. **In simple terms:** Live to dance; purpose matters. Key Takeaway Find and pursue your true passion. Themes purpose joy existence activity Mood enthusiastic reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - personal fulfillment - creative pursuits - social gatherings Key Concepts existentialism hedonism Questions to Reflect On - What activity makes you feel truly alive? - How can you integrate joy into daily life? A Different Perspective If you lack a purpose, dancing may feel forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [The essential quality of life is living' the essential quality of living is change; change is evolution; and we are part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-essential-quality-of-life-is-living-the-essential-quality-of-2/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“To where," added Leroy, "resides the answer to your question: why are we living? what is essential in life?" He looked hard at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/to-where-added-leroy-resides-the-answer-to-your-question-why-are-we/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [If I'm not writing, I'm not fully living. It has become the essential element that defines who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-trussoni/if-i-m-not-writing-i-m-not-fully-living-it-has-become-the-essential/) [Danielle Trussoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-trussoni/) > [“The essential quality of life is living; the essential quality of living is change; change is evolution: and we are part of it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-essential-quality-of-life-is-living-the-essential-quality-of/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [Holy living is essential preparation for prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/holy-living-is-essential-preparation-for-prayer/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [It's more than just dance - it's about a living a healthier, happier life, surrounded by inspiring people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentin-chmerkovskiy/it-s-more-than-just-dance-it-s-about-a-living-a-healthier-happier/) [Valentin Chmerkovskiy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valentin-chmerkovskiy/) > [Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but the living room in your fortified compound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/dance-even-if-you-have-nowhere-to-do-it-but-the-living-room-in-your/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I dance for a living. At the early bird special you can find me—doing the worm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-dance-for-a-living-at-the-early-bird-special-you-can-find-me-doing/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Wish I had someone to slow dance with in my living room while I listen to my country music at 4am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-munn/wish-i-had-someone-to-slow-dance-with-in-my-living-room-while-i/) [Olivia Munn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-munn/) > [Gene Kelly has meant so much to me through the years. I used to dance in my living room in socks and a tee-shirt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-rodriguez-iii/gene-kelly-has-meant-so-much-to-me-through-the-years-i-used-to-dance/) [Vincent Rodriguez III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-rodriguez-iii/) > [It's not my thing to dance in my living room on a livestream, so I'm really having to figure out ways to elevate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-chachki/it-s-not-my-thing-to-dance-in-my-living-room-on-a-livestream-so-i-m/) [Violet Chachki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-chachki/) > [Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/dance-even-if-you-have-nowhere-to-do-it-but-your-living-room/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [When you are near I abstain myself,but when you are away I badly miss you sweetheart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pappi-reddy/when-you-are-near-i-abstain-myself-but-when-you-are-away-i-badly-miss/) [Pappi Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pappi-reddy/) > [We ought to observe that practice which is the hardest of all-especially for young physicians-we ought to throw in no medicine at all-to abstain-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-randolph-of-roanoke/we-ought-to-observe-that-practice-which-is-the-hardest-of-all/) John Randolph of Roanoke ## More by Toni Bentley > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [“A man must have confidence in himself and his cock, to fuck a woman in the ass. If he does not have this control,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/a-man-must-have-confidence-in-himself-and-his-cock-to-fuck-a-woman-in/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [“Women are taught that size doesn't matter, that it's the motion in the ocean. But this is a theory propagated by those bright guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/women-are-taught-that-size-doesn-t-matter-that-it-s-the-motion-in-the/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [To live and to laugh require a reason. But dancing is so close to one's guts that it has no reason and yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/to-live-and-to-laugh-require-a-reason-but-dancing-is-so-close-to-one/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [I recognized it immediately the first time it happened - the cackle of the crone. It is the sound of a woman who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/i-recognized-it-immediately-the-first-time-it-happened-the-cackle-of/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [“It's my hurt, my pain, and who are you to take it from me? I don't need rescuing, I don't need pity, I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/it-s-my-hurt-my-pain-and-who-are-you-to-take-it-from-me-i-don-t-need/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [A brand-new pair of toe shoes presents itself to us as an enemy with a will of its own that must be tamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/a-brand-new-pair-of-toe-shoes-presents-itself-to-us-as-an-enemy-with/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [If a man can possess a woman sexually -really possess- he won't need to control her ideas, her opinions, her clothes, her friends, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/if-a-man-can-possess-a-woman-sexually-really-possess-he-won-t-need-to/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [Dancing may not be the perfect substitute for love, human love, but it certainly requires all the time and thought and energy that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/dancing-may-not-be-the-perfect-substitute-for-love-human-love-but-it/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [A toe shoe is as eccentric as the ballerina who wears it: their marriage is a commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/a-toe-shoe-is-as-eccentric-as-the-ballerina-who-wears-it-their/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) [Explore all 12 Toni Bentley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) ## More Abstain quotes > [We ought to observe that practice which is the hardest of all-especially for young physicians-we ought to throw in no medicine at all-to abstain-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-randolph-of-roanoke/we-ought-to-observe-that-practice-which-is-the-hardest-of-all/) John Randolph of Roanoke > [When you are near I abstain myself,but when you are away I badly miss you sweetheart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pappi-reddy/when-you-are-near-i-abstain-myself-but-when-you-are-away-i-badly-miss/) [Pappi Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pappi-reddy/) > [“THAT you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves, from these you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/that-you-abstain-from-things-offered-to-idols-from-blood-from-things/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Make no mistake: Deciding to abstain from the Pledge of Allegiance does communicate something, and therefore, it is a form of speech. It's also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/make-no-mistake-deciding-to-abstain-from-the-pledge-of-allegiance/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [In doubt if an action is just, abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoroaster/in-doubt-if-an-action-is-just-abstain/) [Zoroaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoroaster/) > [I find it easier to abstain than do a little bit of anything. I'm not a 'little bit' kind of dame. I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-find-it-easier-to-abstain-than-do-a-little-bit-of-anything-i-m-not/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [When I am giving the relation of a thing, remember to abstain from altering either in the matter or manner of speaking, so much,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/when-i-am-giving-the-relation-of-a-thing-remember-to-abstain-from/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [When we are in doubt whether an action is good or bad, abstain from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoroaster/when-we-are-in-doubt-whether-an-action-is-good-or-bad-abstain-from-it/) [Zoroaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoroaster/) > [The Christian must abstain from sin. It is as simple and direct as that. You have no right to say, 'I am weak, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn/the-christian-must-abstain-from-sin-it-is-as-simple-and-direct-as/) [Martyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn/) > [When you are in doubt abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoroaster/when-you-are-in-doubt-abstain/) [Zoroaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoroaster/) > [Every man who has ever been earnest to preserve his higher or poetic faculties in the best condition, has been particularly inclined to abstain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/every-man-who-has-ever-been-earnest-to-preserve-his-higher-or-poetic/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [To abstain from sin when one can no longer sin is to be forsaken by sin, not to forsake it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-abstain-from-sin-when-one-can-no-longer-sin-is-to-be-forsaken-by/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Abstain from all sinful, unwholesome actions, perform only pious wholesome ones, purify the mind; this is the teaching of enlightened ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/abstain-from-all-sinful-unwholesome-actions-perform-only-pious/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I believe that every man who has ever been earnest to preserve his higher or poetic faculties in the best condition has been particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-believe-that-every-man-who-has-ever-been-earnest-to-preserve-his/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) Browse all 61 Abstain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We live only to dance. 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