--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When one has nothing left make ceremonies…" description: "\"When one has nothing left make ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.\" — Cormac McCarthy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/cormac-mccarthy-181_air_when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonie_147262.jpg" --- # When one has nothing left make ceremonies out of the air… ![“When one has nothing left make ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/cormac-mccarthy-181_air_when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonie_147262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/cormac-mccarthy-181_air_when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonie_147262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/cormac-mccarthy-181_air_when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonie_147262.jpg) > “When one has nothing left make ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When depleted, create symbolic rituals to give meaning to emptiness. **In simple terms:** Make rituals from nothing to find meaning. Key Takeaway Use symbolic acts to cope. Themes ritual meaning emptiness creativity spirituality Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal loss - meditation - artistic expression Key Concepts existential coping symbolic practice Questions to Reflect On - What simple ritual could you start? - How do symbols aid healing? A Different Perspective Rituals may feel forced without intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ceremonies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceremonies/) [Ceremony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceremony/) ## Related quotes > [“Where you've nothing else, construct ceremonies out of the air, and breathe upon them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/where-you-ve-nothing-else-construct-ceremonies-out-of-the-air-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When you've nothing else construct ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-you-ve-nothing-else-construct-ceremonies-out-of-the-air-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“All of this like some ancient anointing. So be it. Evoke the forms. Where you've nothing else construct ceremonies out of the air and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/all-of-this-like-some-ancient-anointing-so-be-it-evoke-the-forms/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops, and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-granholm/ceremonies-are-important-but-our-gratitude-has-to-be-more-than-visits/) [Jennifer Granholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-granholm/) > [For most of my life the only ceremonies I've been to at which women were the stars were weddings. So I like weddings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/for-most-of-my-life-the-only-ceremonies-i-ve-been-to-at-which-women/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I have taken part in ceremonies with North American and Mexican shamans, as well as Brazilian ceremonies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/i-have-taken-part-in-ceremonies-with-north-american-and-mexican/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [Ceremony assists people to adjust to change (a marriage ceremony does this for families), to recognize achievement (a classic example is a graduation ceremony),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dally-messenger/ceremony-assists-people-to-adjust-to-change-a-marriage-ceremony-does/) Dally Messenger > [The first time I thought about attempting a body suspension was after watching a documentary on rites-of-passage ceremonies from other cultures. I was completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-angel/the-first-time-i-thought-about-attempting-a-body-suspension-was-after/) [Criss Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-angel/) > [I don't want to participate in traditional Indian religious ceremonies - dance in a sun dance or pray in a sweat lodge or go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-frazier/i-don-t-want-to-participate-in-traditional-indian-religious/) [Ian Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-frazier/) > [I order that my funeral ceremonies be extremely modest, and that they take place at dawn or at the evening Ave Maria, without song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-verdi/i-order-that-my-funeral-ceremonies-be-extremely-modest-and-that-they/) [Giuseppe Verdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-verdi/) > [Ceremonies are the first thing to be attended to in the practice of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/ceremonies-are-the-first-thing-to-be-attended-to-in-the-practice-of/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ceremonies are the outworks of manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/ceremonies-are-the-outworks-of-manners/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [All ceremonies are in themselves very silly things; but yet, a man of the world should know them. They are the outworks of Mannersand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/all-ceremonies-are-in-themselves-very-silly-things-but-yet-a-man-of/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [ We're trying to learn from \[Olympic\] Beijing, which could be very intimidating. We've learned to expect it's power, it majesty and that it completes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/we-re-trying-to-learn-from-olympic-beijing-which-could-be-very/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [I like to dress up and look nice. I'm not quite at the stage yet financially to do that too often, but it's nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-bird/i-like-to-dress-up-and-look-nice-i-m-not-quite-at-the-stage-yet/) [Simon Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-bird/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When one has nothing left make ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cormac McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonies-out-of-the-air-and-breathe/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonies-out-of-the-air-and-breathe/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/cormac-mccarthy-181_air_when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonie_147262.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/cormac-mccarthy-181_air_when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonie_147262.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/cormac-mccarthy-181_air_when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonie_147262.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When one has nothing left make ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.” — Cormac McCarthy", "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": "Cormac McCarthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When one has nothing left make...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonies-out-of-the-air-and-breathe/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-one-has-nothing-left-make-ceremonies-out-of-the-air-and-breathe/#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 } } ] } ```