--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's only a game if there is an absence…" description: "\"It's only a game if there is an absence of meaning. And we've already gone too far for that.\" — David Levithan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/david-levithan-67_absence_it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence_946780.jpg" --- # It's only a game if there is an absence of meaning. And… ![“It's only a game if there is an absence of meaning. And we've already gone too far for that.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/david-levithan-67_absence_it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence_946780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/david-levithan-67_absence_it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence_946780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/david-levithan-67_absence_it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence_946780.jpg) > “It's only a game if there is an absence of meaning. And we've already gone too far for that.” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Meaning is derived from purpose; without it, activities become empty play. **In simple terms:** Purpose gives meaning; without it, it's just a game. Key Takeaway Seek purpose in what you do. Themes meaning purpose existential games absurdity Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career - relationships - creative projects - daily routines Key Concepts Existentialism nihilism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What gives your daily actions meaning? - How do you differentiate play from purpose? A Different Perspective Even with purpose, meaning can be elusive and subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [“It's only a game if there is an absence of meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn-david-levithan/it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence-of-meaning/) [Rachel Cohn David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn-david-levithan/) > [All experience is great providing you live through it. If it kills you, you've gone too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-neel/all-experience-is-great-providing-you-live-through-it-if-it-kills-you/) [Alice Neel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-neel/) > [The world had somehow gone too far, and spontaneous kindness could never be so easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-world-had-somehow-gone-too-far-and-spontaneous-kindness-could/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [The skinnification of America's jeanscape has gone too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-skinnification-of-america-s-jeanscape-has-gone-too-far/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think I was ever...trying to kill myself but I knew that if I'd ever gone too far...I wouldn't care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-trying-to-kill-myself-but-i-knew-that-if-i-d/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [I think we have gone too far into the PC culture, but there's a limit to how far we can take that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/i-think-we-have-gone-too-far-into-the-pc-culture-but-there-s-a-limit/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [Shame tells you when you've gone too far. Then you try if it's okay to go too far. And it might be so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/shame-tells-you-when-you-ve-gone-too-far-then-you-try-if-it-s-okay-to/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [Shakespeare would never have gone far in today's politically correct world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/shakespeare-would-never-have-gone-far-in-today-s-politically-correct/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) > [I am slightly shocked to have gone as far as I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-slightly-shocked-to-have-gone-as-far-as-i-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drake with dyslexia, I have gone so far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/childish-gambino/drake-with-dyslexia-i-have-gone-so-far/) [Childish Gambino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/childish-gambino/) > [My mind's never gone very far away from what I wanted to accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gable/my-mind-s-never-gone-very-far-away-from-what-i-wanted-to-accomplish/) [Dan Gable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gable/) > [We send cruise missiles and then we think everything's all right or we try to bring them to trial. My friends, this time they've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/we-send-cruise-missiles-and-then-we-think-everything-s-all-right-or/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“Like dipping me under the spring, she did what she thought she needed to do. But this time she’d gone too far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-paige/like-dipping-me-under-the-spring-she-did-what-she-thought-she-needed/) [Danielle Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-paige/) > [“Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on far too long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/progress-might-have-been-all-right-once-but-it-has-gone-on-far-too/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Your mockers will only celebrate with you when you have gone far beyound them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osunsakin-adewale/your-mockers-will-only-celebrate-with-you-when-you-have-gone-far/) [Osunsakin Adewale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osunsakin-adewale/) ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's only a game if there is an absence of meaning. And we've already gone too far for that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Levithan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence-of-meaning-and-we-ve-already/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence-of-meaning-and-we-ve-already/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/david-levithan-67_absence_it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence_946780.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/david-levithan-67_absence_it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence_946780.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/david-levithan-67_absence_it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence_946780.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's only a game if there is an absence of meaning. And we've already gone too far for that.” — David Levithan", "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": "David Levithan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's only a game if there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence-of-meaning-and-we-ve-already/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-only-a-game-if-there-is-an-absence-of-meaning-and-we-ve-already/#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 } } ] } ```