--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why do anything-- why wash my hair, why…" description: "\"“Why do anything-- why wash my hair, why read Moby Dick, why fall in love, why sit through six hours of Nicholas Nickleby, why care about American inte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_end-time_why-do-anything-why-wash-my-hair-why-rea_2414304.png" --- # Why do anything-- why wash my hair, why read Moby Dick… ![“Why do anything-- why wash my hair, why read Moby Dick, why fall in love, why sit through six hours of Nicholas Nickleby, why care about American intervention in Central America, why spend time trying to get into the right schools, why dance to the music when all of us are just slouching toward…” quote by Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_end-time_why-do-anything-why-wash-my-hair-why-rea_2414304.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_end-time_why-do-anything-why-wash-my-hair-why-rea_2414304.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_end-time_why-do-anything-why-wash-my-hair-why-rea_2414304.png) > ““Why do anything-- why wash my hair, why read Moby Dick, why fall in love, why sit through six hours of Nicholas Nickleby, why care about American intervention in Central America, why spend time trying to get into the right schools, why dance to the music when all of us are just slouching toward the same inevitable conclusion? The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death.”” [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The fleeting nature of life makes many pursuits feel meaningless, yet that same brevity can motivate us to find purpose despite inevitable mortality. **In simple terms:** Life’s shortness makes things feel pointless, but also urges us to act. Key Takeaway Embrace meaning despite impermanence. Themes existentialism purpose mortality motivation Mood reflective melancholic determined Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - career choices - relationships - reading - political engagement - personal growth Key Concepts nihilism absurdism humanism Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How can you create purpose in mundane tasks? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize; all find meaning in the same way. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conclusion Shortness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion-shortness-6088923/) [End time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-time/) [Fall in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-in-love/) [Life saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-saying/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Moby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moby-dick/) [Pointless Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless-think-1013602/) [Shortness of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortness-of-life/) [Spend time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-time/) [Think Longness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-longness-1533542/) ## Related quotes > [The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death. When I look ahead, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/the-shortness-of-life-i-keep-saying-makes-everything-seem-pointless-2/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/the-shortness-of-life-i-keep-saying-makes-everything-seem-pointless/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [The shortness of life, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/the-shortness-of-life-makes-everything-seem-pointless-when-i-think/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“The shortness of life makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death.” —ELIZABETH WURTZEL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-shortness-of-life-makes-everything-seem-pointless-when-i-think-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If there is no ultimate reality, it's pointless to think about how we might get there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alister-e-mcgrath/if-there-is-no-ultimate-reality-it-s-pointless-to-think-about-how-we/) [Alister E. McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alister-e-mcgrath/) > [“still a part of her future as well as her past. But it was stupid and pointless to think about what might have been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/still-a-part-of-her-future-as-well-as-her-past-but-it-was-stupid-and/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) > [Pointless' - I think it's probably the greatest daytime TV show that has ever existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-widdicombe/pointless-i-think-it-s-probably-the-greatest-daytime-tv-show-that-has/) [Josh Widdicombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-widdicombe/) > [“And when I don’t feel it, it’s pointless. Think about getting up it’s pointless. Think about eating it’s pointless. Think about dressing it’s pointless.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/and-when-i-don-t-feel-it-it-s-pointless-think-about-getting-up-it-s/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“... it's pointless to think in moral terms when everything is permissible. We have become the people we detest. We have lost the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-gamalinda/it-s-pointless-to-think-in-moral-terms-when-everything-is-permissible/) [Eric Gamalinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-gamalinda/) > [I'm not a loud, extravagant person; I'm never going to be that and, to be honest, I don't want to be like that. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leona-lewis/i-m-not-a-loud-extravagant-person-i-m-never-going-to-be-that-and-to-2/) [Leona Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leona-lewis/) > [As to the gods, I have no means of knowing either that they exist or do not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/protagoras/as-to-the-gods-i-have-no-means-of-knowing-either-that-they-exist-or/) [Protagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/protagoras/) > [When we realize the shortness of life, we begin to see the importance of making every moment count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/when-we-realize-the-shortness-of-life-we-begin-to-see-the-importance/) [Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/) > [“But mortification - literally, "making death" - is what life is all about, a slow discovery of the mortality of all that is created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/but-mortification-literally-making-death-is-what-life-is-all-about-a/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Whether you feel that your soul is pleased by the conception or contemplation of harmonies, or that your mind is stimulated by the aspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosettabooks/whether-you-feel-that-your-soul-is-pleased-by-the-conception-or/) [RosettaBooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosettabooks/) > [“Nature has granted man no better gift than the shortness of life. The senses grow dull, the limbs are numb, sight, bearing, gait, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/nature-has-granted-man-no-better-gift-than-the-shortness-of-life-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) ## More by Elizabeth Wurtzel > [Belief is a good thing in principle, but an annoying thing in human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/belief-is-a-good-thing-in-principle-but-an-annoying-thing-in-human/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I myself am hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-myself-am-hell/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“...if you ask anyone in the throes of depression how he got there, to pin down the turning point, he'll never know. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/if-you-ask-anyone-in-the-throes-of-depression-how-he-got-there-to-pin/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I want to explain how exhausted I am. Even in my dreams. How I wake up tired. How I’m being drowned by some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-want-to-explain-how-exhausted-i-am-even-in-my-dreams-how-i-wake-up/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Its the people you are close to, the ones who love you, the ones who have seen your heart, who have touched your soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/its-the-people-you-are-close-to-the-ones-who-love-you-the-ones-who/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [if only my whole life could be words and music, if only everything else could slip away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/if-only-my-whole-life-could-be-words-and-music-if-only-everything/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [What I would do to be Alice climbing through the looking glass, taking one of those pills that makes you small ... so small.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/what-i-would-do-to-be-alice-climbing-through-the-looking-glass-taking/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Divorce has taught us how to sleep with friends, sleep with enemies, and then act like its all perfectly normal in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/divorce-has-taught-us-how-to-sleep-with-friends-sleep-with-enemies/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Just as our parents quieted us when we were noisy by putting us in front of the television set, maybe we're now learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/just-as-our-parents-quieted-us-when-we-were-noisy-by-putting-us-in/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I am sick of the girl who cries 'wolf' all the time. Even though not one of those cries was ever a false alarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-am-sick-of-the-girl-who-cries-wolf-all-the-time-even-though-not-one/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I'm lost in a loneliness that feels like forever ... like a solitude that never goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-m-lost-in-a-loneliness-that-feels-like-forever-like-a-solitude-that/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [It's the people you are close to, the ones who love you, theo nes who have seen your heart, who have touched your soul-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/it-s-the-people-you-are-close-to-the-ones-who-love-you-theo-nes-who/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“When you do drugs, you count like a chemist: The numbers are wild, the formulas are easy. Then, when you try to get clean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/when-you-do-drugs-you-count-like-a-chemist-the-numbers-are-wild-the/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Everything's plastic, we're all going to die sooner or later, so what does it matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/everything-s-plastic-we-re-all-going-to-die-sooner-or-later-so-what/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) [Explore all 261 Elizabeth Wurtzel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## More End time quotes > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [When somebody comes across as authentic and genuine and sweet, people just want to spend time with that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/when-somebody-comes-across-as-authentic-and-genuine-and-sweet-people/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [I think that if I'm being brutally honest, I fill my cup up by isolating myself and having solitude. Time to just meditate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doechii/i-think-that-if-i-m-being-brutally-honest-i-fill-my-cup-up-by/) [Doechii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doechii/) > [When I am not playing or practising, I like to spend time with the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-lewis/when-i-am-not-playing-or-practising-i-like-to-spend-time-with-the/) [Adrian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-lewis/) > [It's very important for me to spend time with my family and my friends and disconnect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cooper/it-s-very-important-for-me-to-spend-time-with-my-family-and-my/) [Alex Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cooper/) > [“Spend time with people who enrich your mind, nourish your heart, and illuminate your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/spend-time-with-people-who-enrich-your-mind-nourish-your-heart-and/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [There should be a period of time during each practice session when you perform. Invite some friends in to your practice room and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-jacobs/there-should-be-a-period-of-time-during-each-practice-session-when/) [Arnold Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-jacobs/) > [Ireland's always going to be my home, but so much is filmed in L.A., so you have to spend time out here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bolger/ireland-s-always-going-to-be-my-home-but-so-much-is-filmed-in-l-a-so/) [Sarah Bolger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bolger/) > [“Law 5: Upgrade your systems for living. Extraordinary minds consistently spend time discovering, upgrading, and measuring new systems for living applied to life, work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishen-lakhiani/law-5-upgrade-your-systems-for-living-extraordinary-minds/) [Vishen Lakhiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishen-lakhiani/) > [I spend time in the classroom. I think more of them aren't political science than are political science. I particularly like talking to journalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-edgar/i-spend-time-in-the-classroom-i-think-more-of-them-aren-t-political/) [Jim Edgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-edgar/) > [“She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature represented beauty - and refuge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-children-who-do-still-spend-time/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [I've ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I'm going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-allen/i-ve-ultimately-decided-that-i-will-not-play-this-nba-season-i-m/) [Ray Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-allen/) > [“The very best memories of my life happened when I was broke, had nothing, was nobody. 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Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-d-lang/) [Browse all 1,363 End time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why do anything-- why wash my hair, why read Moby Dick, why fall in love, why sit through six hours of Nicholas Nickleby, why care about American intervention in Central America, why spend time trying to get into the right schools, why dance to the music when all of us are just slouching toward the same inevitable conclusion? 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