--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if things are as bad as they could…" description: "\"Even if things are as bad as they could possible be, and as meaningless, then matters of truth are themselves indifferent; we may as well please our se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg" --- # Even if things are as bad as they could possible be, and… ![“Even if things are as bad as they could possible be, and as meaningless, then matters of truth are themselves indifferent; we may as well please our sensibilities and, with as much spirit as we can muster, go out with a buck and a wing.” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg) > “Even if things are as bad as they could possible be, and as meaningless, then matters of truth are themselves indifferent; we may as well please our sensibilities and, with as much spirit as we can muster, go out with a buck and a wing.” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in the worst, most meaningless circumstances, truth remains indifferent; we should still pursue it with spirit and humor. **In simple terms:** Truth is indifferent; pursue it with spirit. Key Takeaway Embrace truth despite absurdity. Themes existentialism meaninglessness truth humor resilience Mood reflective wry thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - philosophical reflection - creative writing - daily life - seeking meaning Key Concepts nihilism absurdism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you find purpose when truth seems indifferent? - Can humor help confront meaninglessness? A Different Perspective Truth may feel abstract and hard to act on in chaotic times. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [To try to convey literally what the Garden of Eden was like is meaningless. What matters is its symbolic function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/to-try-to-convey-literally-what-the-garden-of-eden-was-like-is/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [“Thereby men do not flee from being deceived as much as from being damaged by deception: what they hate at this stage is basically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/thereby-men-do-not-flee-from-being-deceived-as-much-as-from-being/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In a mathematical proposition, for example, the objectivity is given, but therefore its truth is also an indifferent truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-a-mathematical-proposition-for-example-the-objectivity-is-given/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“I am pursuing Truth, and am indifferent whither I am led, if she is my only leader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/i-am-pursuing-truth-and-am-indifferent-whither-i-am-led-if-she-is-my/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [I have been allowed to inhabit different shades of human nature and different colours of truth indifferent circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-have-been-allowed-to-inhabit-different-shades-of-human-nature-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [There was a period... when I used to say, with as much ferocity as I could muster, 'I hate Henry James, and I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/there-was-a-period-when-i-used-to-say-with-as-much-ferocity-as-i/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [For the Holy Ghost blesses us with optimism and wisdom at times of challenge that we simply cannot muster on our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/for-the-holy-ghost-blesses-us-with-optimism-and-wisdom-at-times-of/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [I could never muster the courage to speak to girls in my college in Pune. Most of them were Parsis and spoke English. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/i-could-never-muster-the-courage-to-speak-to-girls-in-my-college-in/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [No man can hope to accomplish anything great in this world until he throws his whole soul, flings the force of his whole life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/no-man-can-hope-to-accomplish-anything-great-in-this-world-until-he/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [I have noticed that no sooner do people embark on a course of action which they do not find wholly satisfactory than they muster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morice/i-have-noticed-that-no-sooner-do-people-embark-on-a-course-of-action/) Anne Morice > [Movies are one of the bad habits that have corrupted our century. They have slipped into the American mind more misinformation in one evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hecht/movies-are-one-of-the-bad-habits-that-have-corrupted-our-century-they/) [Ben Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hecht/) > [Will you keep going when you don't know why? When you can't get any answers that would make the pain go away, will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/will-you-keep-going-when-you-don-t-know-why-when-you-can-t-get-any/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [I use all my skills that I can muster up, but the fun thing is that I find some untapped skills every once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-use-all-my-skills-that-i-can-muster-up-but-the-fun-thing-is-that-i/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Bucks quotes > [As a kid I had buck teeth and braces and acne. I hated what I saw. I'm still not comfortable, but that's why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/as-a-kid-i-had-buck-teeth-and-braces-and-acne-i-hated-what-i-saw-i-m/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [I'm just a little old cartoonist, tryin' to make a buck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lantz/i-m-just-a-little-old-cartoonist-tryin-to-make-a-buck/) Walter Lantz > [I bet a guy at a bar 50 bucks that I was more dysfunctional than he was. He raped me. So I tipped him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-a-guy-at-a-bar-50-bucks-that-i-was-more-dysfunctional-than-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I give money to Unicef because I like the 'bang for your buck' aspect. Here's $10, go and save 1,000 kids from blindness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-give-money-to-unicef-because-i-like-the-bang-for-your-buck-aspect/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [The biggest thing is getting the kid in a kart - they have to buy it and that's the biggest thing. You can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubba-wallace/the-biggest-thing-is-getting-the-kid-in-a-kart-they-have-to-buy-it/) [Bubba Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubba-wallace/) > [If I had a picture of two handcuffed criminals being booked, I would cut the picture in half and get five bucks for each.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weegee/if-i-had-a-picture-of-two-handcuffed-criminals-being-booked-i-would/) [Weegee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weegee/) > [Don't ever rob a bank. Enjoy life. Have fun. Choose to be happy now; don't wait until you're 'successful,' because honestly, I was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-farrelly/don-t-ever-rob-a-bank-enjoy-life-have-fun-choose-to-be-happy-now-don/) [Peter Farrelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-farrelly/) > [It's not like being a professional basketball player where you're in a big house. Maybe three, four or five guys make a couple million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-grillo/it-s-not-like-being-a-professional-basketball-player-where-you-re-in/) [Frank Grillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-grillo/) > [Sometimes you need a little courage too just to buck popular opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/sometimes-you-need-a-little-courage-too-just-to-buck-popular-opinion/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [I understood more what Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan, what they were coming from. Kind of the horrors of their childhoods that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-understood-more-what-nancy-reagan-and-ronald-reagan-what-they-were/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-now-suspect-that-just-as-a-deer-herd-lives-in-mortal-fear-of-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An idea has no worth at all without believable characters to implement it; a plot without characters is like a tennis court without players.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/an-idea-has-no-worth-at-all-without-believable-characters-to/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Television is just one more facet of that considerable segment of our society that never had any standard but the soft buck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-is-just-one-more-facet-of-that-considerable-segment-of-our/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Look at the insane things the Jews believe. The Jews believe that Barbra Streisand is worth $1,000 bucks a ticket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-giraldo/look-at-the-insane-things-the-jews-believe-the-jews-believe-that/) [Greg Giraldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-giraldo/) Browse all 425 Bucks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even if things are as bad as they could possible be, and as meaningless, then matters of truth are themselves indifferent; we may as well please our sensibilities and, with as much spirit as we can muster, go out with a buck and a wing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could-possible-be-and-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bucks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could-possible-be-and-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even if things are as bad as they could possible be, and as meaningless, then matters of truth are…” — Annie Dillard", "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": "Annie Dillard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even if things are as bad...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could-possible-be-and-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could-possible-be-and-as/#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 } } ] } ```