--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How pointless life could be, what a…" description: "\"How pointless life could be, what a foolish business of inventing things to love, just so you could dread losing them.\" — Barbara Kingsolver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/barbara-kingsolver-200_dread_how-pointless-life-could-be-what-a-fooli_2525046.png" --- # How pointless life could be, what a foolish business of… ![“How pointless life could be, what a foolish business of inventing things to love, just so you could dread losing them.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/barbara-kingsolver-200_dread_how-pointless-life-could-be-what-a-fooli_2525046.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/barbara-kingsolver-200_dread_how-pointless-life-could-be-what-a-fooli_2525046.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/barbara-kingsolver-200_dread_how-pointless-life-could-be-what-a-fooli_2525046.png) > “How pointless life could be, what a foolish business of inventing things to love, just so you could dread losing them.” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s pursuits can feel futile when love leads to inevitable loss. **In simple terms:** Love makes us create things we may later lose. Key Takeaway Accept loss as part of love. Themes love existence impermanence Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - relationships - creative projects - parenthood Key Concepts nihilism attachment Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to things we fear losing? - Can love be worthwhile despite loss? A Different Perspective May foster pessimism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dread/) [Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish/) [Foolish Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish-business-1288780/) [Inventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing/) [Inventing things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing-things/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-foolish-1288779/) [Losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless/) [Pointless Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless-life-843817/) ## Related quotes > [And make no mistake, my friend, your pointless life will end; but before you go, can you look at the truth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-make-no-mistake-my-friend-your-pointless-life-will-end-but-before/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I started inventing things, and then I couldn't stop, like beavers, which I know about. People think they cut down trees so they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-started-inventing-things-and-then-i-couldn-t-stop-like-beavers/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Journalists are still inventing things that never existed about me. Before, it made me cry, but now I laugh about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-adjani/journalists-are-still-inventing-things-that-never-existed-about-me/) [Isabelle Adjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-adjani/) > [In her (nature's) inventions nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/in-her-nature-s-inventions-nothing-is-lacking-and-nothing-is/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“Some people like drama so much that they have to start inventing things because real life isn't interesting enough for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ballantyne/some-people-like-drama-so-much-that-they-have-to-start-inventing/) [Lisa Ballantyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ballantyne/) > [Man keeps inventing things all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-kalashnikov/man-keeps-inventing-things-all-the-time/) [Mikhail Kalashnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-kalashnikov/) > [Most of the really fun books that are doing various dialects are also inventing things themselves - they're not pure pastiche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/most-of-the-really-fun-books-that-are-doing-various-dialects-are-also/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I enjoy inventing things out of fun. After all, life is a game, not a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-gysin/i-enjoy-inventing-things-out-of-fun-after-all-life-is-a-game-not-a/) [Brion Gysin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-gysin/) > [Inventions reached their limit long ago, and I see no hope for further development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frontinus/inventions-reached-their-limit-long-ago-and-i-see-no-hope-for-further/) [Frontinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frontinus/) > [In my own time there have been inventions of this sort, transparent windows tubes for diffusing warmth equally through all parts of a building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/in-my-own-time-there-have-been-inventions-of-this-sort-transparent/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [You know, when I was in love, I was always inventing things. A whole array of tricks, illusions and optical effects to amuse my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathias-malzieu/you-know-when-i-was-in-love-i-was-always-inventing-things-a-whole/) [Mathias Malzieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathias-malzieu/) > [I'd been taking things apart and inventing things since I was a little kid... I still have memories as a child trying to really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cooper/i-d-been-taking-things-apart-and-inventing-things-since-i-was-a/) [Martin Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cooper/) > [I took my son to an exhibition about inventing things, and he was so inspired he started collecting toilet rolls and empty bottles for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-miller/i-took-my-son-to-an-exhibition-about-inventing-things-and-he-was-so/) [Ben Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-miller/) > [Most change in America doesn't come from, politicians. It comes from people inventing things and creating. The telephone, the telegraph, the computer, all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-boaz/most-change-in-america-doesn-t-come-from-politicians-it-comes-from/) [David Boaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-boaz/) > [We're actually making stuff in America now. We're exporting stuff. We're inventing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/we-re-actually-making-stuff-in-america-now-we-re-exporting-stuff-we/) [Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Dread quotes > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Smart people duck when they hear the dread announcement 'I'm going to be perfectly honest with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/smart-people-duck-when-they-hear-the-dread-announcement-i-m-going-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Oh, I'm being eaten By a boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor, And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/oh-i-m-being-eaten-by-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [Present sufferings seem far greater to men than those they merely dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/present-sufferings-seem-far-greater-to-men-than-those-they-merely/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-think-writer-s-block-is-simply-the-dread-that-you-are-going-to/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [I think most amateurs dread playing a 180-plus-yard par 3 even more than a hard par 4. Part of it is psychological: You think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-els/i-think-most-amateurs-dread-playing-a-180-plus-yard-par-3-even-more/) [Ernie Els](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-els/) > [The psychological condition of fear is divorced from any concrete and true immediate danger. It comes in many forms: unease, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-psychological-condition-of-fear-is-divorced-from-any-concrete-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Back to the bad. Makes them mad. Say I won't . But you'll see it when I do. Don't have a clue? Well, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/back-to-the-bad-makes-them-mad-say-i-won-t-but-you-ll-see-it-when-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a certain freedom in giving up all hope. One is no longer bound by the cords of dread or fear; you simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/there-is-a-certain-freedom-in-giving-up-all-hope-one-is-no-longer/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [Why exactly are we so frightened of death that we avoid looking at it altogether? Somewhere, deep down, we know we cannot avoid facing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/why-exactly-are-we-so-frightened-of-death-that-we-avoid-looking-at-it/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [Many live in dread of what is coming. Why should we? The unknown puts adventure into life. ... 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