50 Tom Robbins Quotes to Inspire and Challenge Your Thinking

Tom Robbins is an American author known for his imaginative, witty, and thought-provoking writing. His books are filled with insights on life, love, art, and the human experience. Here are unique quotes by Tom Robbins that will inspire you and challenge your thinking.

The Wisdom of Tom Robbins

Tom Robbins’ work is celebrated for its unique blend of humor, philosophy, and keen observation of human nature. Here’s why his quotes resonate with so many:

• Imagination: Robbins’ quotes encourage us to think outside the box.
• Wisdom: His words often contain deep philosophical insights wrapped in wit.
• Inspiration: Robbins inspires readers to live creatively and authentically.

Insightful Tom Robbins Quotes

Quotes on Life and Living

1. "It’s never too late to have a happy childhood."
2. "Human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself from one place to another."
3. "We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love."
4. "Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature."
5. "There are only two mantras, yum and yuck, mine is yum."

Quotes on Imagination and Creativity

6. "Our similarities bring us to a common ground; our differences allow us to be fascinated by each other."
7. "The function of the artist is to provide what life does not."
8. "In the end, perhaps we should simply imagine a joke; a joke played by God, or by the universe on itself."
9. "If you take any activity, any art, any discipline, any skill—take it and push it as far as it will go, push it to the wildest edge of edges, then you force it into the realm of magic."
10. "You should never hesitate to trade your cow for a handful of magic beans."

Quotes on Love and Relationships

11. "We’re our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves."
12. "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 its accomplice."
13. "When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders."
14. "Love easily confuses itself with pity. How easy it is to mistake pity for love."
15. "Love is not a doctrine, Peace is not an international agreement. Love and Peace are beings who live as possibilities within us."

Quotes on Art and Beauty

16. "The only way to deal with the future is to function efficiently in the now."
17. "Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
18. "To achieve the impossible; it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought."
19. "When you’re happy you can’t be afraid."
20. "There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who are smart enough to know better."

Quotes on Individuality and Self-Expression

21. "It’s never too late to have a happy childhood, and age only matters if you’re a cheese."
22. "The highest function of love is that it makes the loved one a unique and irreplaceable being."
23. "Who knows how to make love stay? Tell love you are going to Juniors Deli on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to pick up a cheesecake, and if love stays, it can have half."
24. "We are our own gods and our own devils, and we must answer only to ourselves."
25. "The purpose of art is to provide what life does not."

Quotes on Wisdom and Philosophy

26. "The most important thing in life is style. That is, the style of one’s existence—the characteristic mode of one’s actions—is basically more important than the content of those actions."
27. "If little else, the brain is an educational toy."
28. "There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, and nothing worth killing for."
29. "Reality is subjective, and there’s an unenlightened tendency in this culture to regard something as ‘important’ only if it’s sober and severe."
30. "There are people in the world who would rather starve than work."

Quotes on the Nature of Reality

31. "The sky is the same color as chaos."
32. "To live fully, one must be free, but to be free one must give up security. Therefore, to live one must be ready to die."
33. "The world is not the way it is. It's the way we are."
34. "The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast."
35. "The trouble with the fast lane is that all the movement is horizontal. And I like to go vertical sometimes."

Quotes on Humor and Wit

36. "There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who are smart enough to know better."
37. "Don’t confuse symmetry with balance."
38. "If you take any activity, any art, any discipline, any skill—take it and push it as far as it will go, push it to the wildest edge of edges, then you force it into the realm of magic."
39. "To specialize is to brush one tooth."
40. "There’s no such thing as a weird human being, It’s just that some people require more understanding than others."

Quotes on Existence and Being

41. "There is no such thing as a weird human being, it’s just that some people require more understanding than others."
42. "You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you ever risked disapproval? Have you ever risked a belief?"
43. "One has not only an ability to perceive the world but an ability to alter one’s perception of it; more simply, one can change things by the manner in which one looks at them."
44. "The function of the imagination is not to make strange things settled, so much as to make settled things strange."
45. "Curiosity, especially intellectual inquisitiveness, is what separates the truly alive from those who are merely going through the motions."

Quotes on Freedom and the Human Spirit

46. "There is no safety. Only varying degrees of risk."
47. "Ideas are more difficult to kill than people, but they can be killed, in the end."
48. "People have a tendency to become the things they pretend to be."
49. "The problem with old age is not that one is old, but that one is young."
50. "Human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself from one place to another."

Conclusion

Tom Robbins’ words are a treasure trove of wit, wisdom, and insight. His powerful quotes challenge us to see the world differently, embrace our individuality, and live with creativity and passion. Share your favorite Tom Robbins quote with someone who might appreciate his unique perspective, and reflect on how these ideas can inspire your journey through life.

If these quotes resonated with you, share them with friends and family and let us know your favorite Tom Robbins quote in the comments below. Embrace the wisdom and let these quotes inspire your journey of self-discovery and creativity!