--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The universe is indifferent to our fates…" description: "\"“The universe is indifferent to our fates. This was the crushing burden that the character took with him as he struggled through the surf toward surviv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/dan-simmons-968_burden_the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates_388190.jpg" --- # The universe is indifferent to our fates. This was the… ![“The universe is indifferent to our fates. This was the crushing burden that the character took with him as he struggled through the surf toward survival or extinction. The universe just does not give a shit.” quote by Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/dan-simmons-968_burden_the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates_388190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/dan-simmons-968_burden_the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates_388190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/dan-simmons-968_burden_the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates_388190.jpg) > ““The universe is indifferent to our fates. This was the crushing burden that the character took with him as he struggled through the surf toward survival or extinction. The universe just does not give a shit.”” [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The cosmos is uncaring, and that indifference becomes a heavy weight for those fighting for survival. **In simple terms:** The universe doesn’t care, making struggle feel heavier. Key Takeaway Accept the indifferent universe and focus on personal agency. Themes existentialism survival indifference burden Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - space exploration - personal crisis - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts cosmic nihilism human agency psychological weight Questions to Reflect On - How do you find purpose when faced with cosmic indifference? - What personal values sustain you against existential dread? A Different Perspective Even in an indifferent universe, meaning can be self‑created. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) ## Related quotes > [It is indeed possible to change your view of the universe from indifferent to friendly. I have helped thousands of persons make this transition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srikumar-rao/it-is-indeed-possible-to-change-your-view-of-the-universe-from/) [Srikumar Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/srikumar-rao/) > [The universe is not indifferent to our existence - it depends on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-universe-is-not-indifferent-to-our-existence-it-depends-on-it/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [And yet, even so, there is a way to find happiness. That is to be curious about all of the interlocking events that add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/and-yet-even-so-there-is-a-way-to-find-happiness-that-is-to-be/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“Man, in this view, is incapable of looking around him and acknowledging without wincing or worse, without falling down in despair, that he doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/man-in-this-view-is-incapable-of-looking-around-him-and-acknowledging/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it. Love thy neighbor as yourself, but choose your neighborhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-lester/the-universe-is-not-indifferent-to-intelligence-it-is-actively/) Louise Lester > [Though the youth at last grows indifferent, the laws of the universe are not indifferent, but are forever on the side of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/though-the-youth-at-last-grows-indifferent-the-laws-of-the-universe/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I believe that an orderly universe, one indifferent to human preoccupations, in which everything has an explanation even if we still have a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-believe-that-an-orderly-universe-one-indifferent-to-human/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“He thinks of all he has seen and learned: that the universe is indifferent to our human endeavors, that what gives our lives meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-davenport/he-thinks-of-all-he-has-seen-and-learned-that-the-universe-is/) [Kiana Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-davenport/) > [“The universe is not indifferent. It is actively hostile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-universe-is-not-indifferent-it-is-actively-hostile/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [We want to free our citizens from the burden of excessive paper documents in every office. We want paperless transactions. We will set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-want-to-free-our-citizens-from-the-burden-of-excessive-paper/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Trump's enduring appeal is a resource to be harnessed by the Republican Party, not a burden to be jettisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/trump-s-enduring-appeal-is-a-resource-to-be-harnessed-by-the/) [Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) Simone Abou Samra > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) ## More by Dan Simmons > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“The Song of Kali is with us. It has been with us for a very long time. Its chorus grows and grows and grows.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-song-of-kali-is-with-us-it-has-been-with-us-for-a-very-long-time/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In the end, thought Sol, past logic and hope, it is dreams and the love of those dearest to us that form Abraham’s answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/in-the-end-thought-sol-past-logic-and-hope-it-is-dreams-and-the-love/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“After seven centuries of existence and at least four centuries where few citizens existed without it, the datasphere – including the All Thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/after-seven-centuries-of-existence-and-at-least-four-centuries-where/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Context is to data what water is to a dolphin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/context-is-to-data-what-water-is-to-a-dolphin/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Pain is an interesting and off-putting thing. Few if any things in life concentrate our attention so completely and terribly, and few things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/pain-is-an-interesting-and-off-putting-thing-few-if-any-things-in/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Luckily, even as a young man not yet become himself, John Bridgens had two things besides indecision that kept him from self-destruction - books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/luckily-even-as-a-young-man-not-yet-become-himself-john-bridgens-had/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“To be a poet, I realized, a true poet, was to become the Avatar of humanity incarnate; to accept the mantle of poet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/to-be-a-poet-i-realized-a-true-poet-was-to-become-the-avatar-of/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Those who ignore history's lessons in the ultimate folly of war are forced to do more than relive them ... they may be forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/those-who-ignore-history-s-lessons-in-the-ultimate-folly-of-war-are/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“The day before the Queen's Ball, Father had a visitor--a very young girl with literary aspirations, someone Lord Lytton had recommended visit Father and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-day-before-the-queen-s-ball-father-had-a-visitor-a-very-young/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [You've probably heard about the theory of steam-engine time - that even after the steam engine had been invented, it had to wait until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/you-ve-probably-heard-about-the-theory-of-steam-engine-time-that-even/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER MISUSE OF THIS CHANNEL. YOU ARE DISTURBING OTHERS WHO ARE USING IT TO SERIOUS PURPOSE. ACCESS WILL BE RESTORED…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/there-will-be-no-further-misuse-of-this-channel-you-are-disturbing/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“I know the fucking Bible, and there ain't no fucking Book of Leviathan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-know-the-fucking-bible-and-there-ain-t-no-fucking-book-of-leviathan/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [ “Men who read a lot have a more sensitive disposition, added Fowler. \[...\] I did not know what to say to this. Maybe reading… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/men-who-read-a-lot-have-a-more-sensitive-disposition-added-fowler-i/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) [Explore all 307 Dan Simmons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) ## More Burden quotes > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) Simone Abou Samra > [Trump's enduring appeal is a resource to be harnessed by the Republican Party, not a burden to be jettisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/trump-s-enduring-appeal-is-a-resource-to-be-harnessed-by-the/) [Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/) > [We want to free our citizens from the burden of excessive paper documents in every office. We want paperless transactions. We will set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-want-to-free-our-citizens-from-the-burden-of-excessive-paper/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [“What a burden it must be to know all the terrible things you've done and support it with arms unfit to carry it all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-weikel/what-a-burden-it-must-be-to-know-all-the-terrible-things-you-ve-done/) [K. Weikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-weikel/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [It's a burden trying to keep a secret. It's hard. It probably takes more out of you trying to hold it and keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/it-s-a-burden-trying-to-keep-a-secret-it-s-hard-it-probably-takes/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blaine/i-ve-always-liked-artists-like-chris-burden-who-would-take/) [David Blaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blaine/) > [Our office...subjects us to great burdens and labors, dangers and temptations, with little reward or gratitude from the world. But Christ himself will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-office-subjects-us-to-great-burdens-and-labors-dangers-and/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The debt immense of endless gratitude, So burthensome, still paying, still to owe; Forgetful what from him I still receivd, And understood not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-debt-immense-of-endless-gratitude-so-burthensome-still-paying/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) [Browse all 2,567 Burden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The universe is indifferent to our fates. This was the crushing burden that the character took with him as he struggled through the surf toward survival or extinction. The universe just does not give a shit.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Simmons" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates-this-was-the-crushing-burden/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Burden" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates-this-was-the-crushing-burden/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/dan-simmons-968_burden_the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates_388190.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/dan-simmons-968_burden_the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates_388190.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/dan-simmons-968_burden_the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates_388190.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The universe is indifferent to our fates. This was the crushing burden that the character took with him as…” — Dan Simmons", "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": "Dan Simmons", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The universe is indifferent to our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates-this-was-the-crushing-burden/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-universe-is-indifferent-to-our-fates-this-was-the-crushing-burden/#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 } } ] } ```