--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, it is as though at every moment…" description: "\"For me, it is as though at every moment the actual world had completely lost its actuality. As though there was nothing there; asthough there were no f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_actuality_for-me-it-is-as-though-at-every-moment-t_1370738.jpg" --- # For me, it is as though at every moment the actual world… ![“For me, it is as though at every moment the actual world had completely lost its actuality. As though there was nothing there; asthough there were no foundations for anything or as though it escaped us. Only one thing, however, is vividly present: the constant tearing of the veil of appearances…” quote by Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_actuality_for-me-it-is-as-though-at-every-moment-t_1370738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_actuality_for-me-it-is-as-though-at-every-moment-t_1370738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_actuality_for-me-it-is-as-though-at-every-moment-t_1370738.jpg) > “For me, it is as though at every moment the actual world had completely lost its actuality. As though there was nothing there; asthough there were no foundations for anything or as though it escaped us. Only one thing, however, is vividly present: the constant tearing of the veil of appearances; the constant destruction of everything in construction. Nothing holds together, everything falls apart.” [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The world feels unreal, lacking foundations, as appearances constantly collapse, revealing chaos. **In simple terms:** World feels unstable and chaotic. Key Takeaway Seek stability amid uncertainty. Themes existential chaos illusion Mood melancholic thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary reflective When to use this quote - art criticism - personal crisis - philosophical debate - creative writing Key Concepts Absurdism philosophical nihilism ontological doubt Questions to Reflect On - What anchors you when reality feels fragmented? - How can you find meaning in chaos? A Different Perspective May lead to despair if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actuality/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Everything falls apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything-falls-apart/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [You have to write fiction that mirrors the actual world, which has people of all sorts in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/you-have-to-write-fiction-that-mirrors-the-actual-world-which-has/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [The true Poet is all-knowing; he is an actual world in miniature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/the-true-poet-is-all-knowing-he-is-an-actual-world-in-miniature/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [“I have my books. I don't live in the actual world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/i-have-my-books-i-don-t-live-in-the-actual-world/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [I came to the idea of how fine it would be to think of an encyclopedia of an actual world, and then of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-came-to-the-idea-of-how-fine-it-would-be-to-think-of-an/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The actual world, not some fantastic structure that has nothing to do with reality, must provide the material for modern poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/the-actual-world-not-some-fantastic-structure-that-has-nothing-to-do/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [My characters always start well in movies. Almost every movie I've done starts with a happy marriage, it's all beautiful, wealthy, whatever... and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-bouquet/my-characters-always-start-well-in-movies-almost-every-movie-i-ve/) [Carole Bouquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-bouquet/) > [Everyone wants someone they can hold and love. Someone who will be there to help pick up the pieces when everything falls apart. (Acheron)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/everyone-wants-someone-they-can-hold-and-love-someone-who-will-be/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/sometimes-good-things-fall-apart-so-better-things-could-fall-together/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [I believe that everything happens for a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/i-believe-that-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [You spend so much time, so much effort, trying to hold yourself together. And then everything falls apart anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-spend-so-much-time-so-much-effort-trying-to-hold-yourself-2/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [I've always wanted to make a big apocalypse movie. I love 28 Weeks Later, I think it's great but Cell is totally different. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-wanted-to-make-a-big-apocalypse-movie-i-love-28-weeks/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [When everything falls apart, only one thing sustains our hope: God loves us, he loves everyone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/when-everything-falls-apart-only-one-thing-sustains-our-hope-god/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Before something great happens, everything falls apart. Just hold on long enough to get through the smoke screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-sweat/before-something-great-happens-everything-falls-apart-just-hold-on/) [Keith Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-sweat/) > [I've always said winning's the great deodorant, and conversely, when you have a bad record, everything stinks, and everything starts to unravel, and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-madden/i-ve-always-said-winning-s-the-great-deodorant-and-conversely-when/) [John Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-madden/) ## More by Eugene Ionesco > [I am, it seems, an avant-garde dramatist. It would even seem obvious since I am present here at discussions on the avant-garde theatre. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-am-it-seems-an-avant-garde-dramatist-it-would-even-seem-obvious/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [ “My boy! It's really true, you really love hashed brown potatoes? You make me so happy. JACK \[without conviction\]: Yes, I like them, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/my-boy-it-s-really-true-you-really-love-hashed-brown-potatoes-you/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Everything that has been will be, everything that will be is, everything that will be has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/everything-that-has-been-will-be-everything-that-will-be-is/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“Rhinoceros The Leader The Future is in Eggs or It Takes all Sorts to Make a World”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/rhinoceros-the-leader-the-future-is-in-eggs-or-it-takes-all-sorts-to/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Every message of despair is the statement of a situation from which everybody must freely try to find a way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/every-message-of-despair-is-the-statement-of-a-situation-from-which/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I've always been suspicious of collective truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ve-always-been-suspicious-of-collective-truths/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Shakespeare was the great one before us. His place was between God and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/shakespeare-was-the-great-one-before-us-his-place-was-between-god-and/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I'll never waste my dreams by falling asleep. Never again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ll-never-waste-my-dreams-by-falling-asleep-never-again/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“All doctors are quacks. And all patients too. Only the Royal Navy is honest in England.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/all-doctors-are-quacks-and-all-patients-too-only-the-royal-navy-is/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [That's how we stay young these days: murder and suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/that-s-how-we-stay-young-these-days-murder-and-suicide/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“I read a page of Plato's great work. I can no longer understand anything, because behind the words on the page, which have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-read-a-page-of-plato-s-great-work-i-can-no-longer-understand/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“MRS. SMITH: Well, this is how it was. It is difficult for me to speak openly to you, but a fireman is also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mrs-smith-well-this-is-how-it-was-it-is-difficult-for-me-to-speak/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Childhood is over the moment things are no longer astonishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/childhood-is-over-the-moment-things-are-no-longer-astonishing/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Realism falls short of reality. It shrinks it, attenuates it, falsifies it; it does not take into account our basic truths and our fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/realism-falls-short-of-reality-it-shrinks-it-attenuates-it-falsifies/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [A nose that can see is worth two that sniff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/a-nose-that-can-see-is-worth-two-that-sniff/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) [Explore all 169 Eugene Ionesco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) ## More Actuality quotes > [When indeed shall we learn that we are all related one to the other, that we are all members of one body? Until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/when-indeed-shall-we-learn-that-we-are-all-related-one-to-the-other/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [If the theme is simple, you can include a hundred details that create the illusion of actuality better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satyajit-ray/if-the-theme-is-simple-you-can-include-a-hundred-details-that-create/) [Satyajit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satyajit-ray/) > [The superhero shows and movies are always having the spotlight on the superheroes themselves. It's never about the people who are living in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-hudgens/the-superhero-shows-and-movies-are-always-having-the-spotlight-on-the/) [Vanessa Hudgens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-hudgens/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [It may look as though two chess players are sitting at the board peacefully calculating possibilities, but in actuality they are seething with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankarananda/it-may-look-as-though-two-chess-players-are-sitting-at-the-board/) Shankarananda > [The question of historicity and actuality with regard to gods and unicorns is a relatively trifling matter which may be left to antiquarians and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odell-shepard/the-question-of-historicity-and-actuality-with-regard-to-gods-and/) [Odell Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odell-shepard/) > [Each mental act opens up a new dimension of actuality. In a manner of speaking, your slightest thought gives birth to worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/each-mental-act-opens-up-a-new-dimension-of-actuality-in-a-manner-of/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) > [Behavior must also be adequately assessed under appropriate circumstances. Ill-defined global measures of perceived self-efficacy or defective assessments of performance will yield discordances. Disparities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bandura/behavior-must-also-be-adequately-assessed-under-appropriate/) [Albert Bandura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bandura/) > [I don't want to manipulate actuality; I want to record it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/i-don-t-want-to-manipulate-actuality-i-want-to-record-it/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [During the reign of Rameses III (the Twentieth Dynasty) Egypt saw a flowering of its civilization and the harp became the royal instrument of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-heline/during-the-reign-of-rameses-iii-the-twentieth-dynasty-egypt-saw-a/) [Corinne Heline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-heline/) > [The problems of philosophy and the systems designed to solve them are formulated in terms which tend to refer, not to the realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-problems-of-philosophy-and-the-systems-designed-to-solve-them-are/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I am not especially good at remembering the actualities of the world I inhabit, but I have pretty strong associative memories of how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-am-not-especially-good-at-remembering-the-actualities-of-the-world/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [If only the sense of actuality can be lulled-and it sleeps for ever in most historians-there is no passion that cannot be gratified in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/if-only-the-sense-of-actuality-can-be-lulled-and-it-sleeps-for-ever/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [I recognise a distinction between dream life and real life, between appearances and actualities. I confess to an over-powering desire to know whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/i-recognise-a-distinction-between-dream-life-and-real-life-between/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [If tone is granted to be subjected to control, why not line also, which has equal emotional significance? And if line, why not shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mortensen/if-tone-is-granted-to-be-subjected-to-control-why-not-line-also-which/) [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) [Browse all 142 Actuality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actuality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For me, it is as though at every moment the actual world had completely lost its actuality. 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