--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What would I do without the absurd and…" description: "\"What would I do without the absurd and the ephemeral?\" — Frida Kahlo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/frida-kahlo-7157_absurd_what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-t_2782109.jpg" --- # What would I do without the absurd and the ephemeral? ![“What would I do without the absurd and the ephemeral?” quote by Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/frida-kahlo-7157_absurd_what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-t_2782109.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/frida-kahlo-7157_absurd_what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-t_2782109.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/frida-kahlo-7157_absurd_what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-t_2782109.jpg) > “What would I do without the absurd and the ephemeral?” [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She reflects on how absurdity and fleeting moments give life meaning and color. **In simple terms:** Absurdity and ephemerality give life depth. Key Takeaway Embrace the fleeting and strange. Themes creativity existentialism artistic expression Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - personal reflection - artistic process - daily life - overcoming stagnation Key Concepts absurdism ephemerality meaning-making Questions to Reflect On - How do you find value in the temporary? - What role does absurdity play in your creativity? A Different Perspective Absurdity may be dismissed as frivolous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Absurd Ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd-ephemeral-3317573/) [Ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ephemeral/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) ## Related quotes > [“Fate will allow the world Only to glimpse him, then rob it of him quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/fate-will-allow-the-world-only-to-glimpse-him-then-rob-it-of-him/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Setting up absurd worlds with rules to violate - it's one of the things I hope to achieve with my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimenez-lai/setting-up-absurd-worlds-with-rules-to-violate-it-s-one-of-the-things/) [Jimenez Lai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimenez-lai/) > [A man who has become conscious of the absurd is for ever bound to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/a-man-who-has-become-conscious-of-the-absurd-is-for-ever-bound-to-it/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There's no end to the absurd things people will do trying to make life mean something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wharton/there-s-no-end-to-the-absurd-things-people-will-do-trying-to-make/) [William Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wharton/) > [“The irrational, the human nostalgia, and the absurd that is born of their encounter - these are the three characters in the drama that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-irrational-the-human-nostalgia-and-the-absurd-that-is-born-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I am an absurd idealist. But I believe that all that must come true. For, unless it comes true, the world will be laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-charteris/i-am-an-absurd-idealist-but-i-believe-that-all-that-must-come-true/) [Leslie Charteris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-charteris/) > [The world in which we were called to exist was an absurd world, and there was no other in which we could take refuge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-world-in-which-we-were-called-to-exist-was-an-absurd-world-and/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The absurd man will not commit suicide; he wants to live, without relinquishing any of his certainty, without a future, without hope, without illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-absurd-man-will-not-commit-suicide-he-wants-to-live-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The feeling of absurdity does not spring from the mere scrutiny of a fact or an impression, but that it bursts from the comparison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-feeling-of-absurdity-does-not-spring-from-the-mere-scrutiny-of-a/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There is nothing so absurd that some philosopher has not already said it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/there-is-nothing-so-absurd-that-some-philosopher-has-not-already-said/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Only man can be absurd: for only man can be dignified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-man-can-be-absurd-for-only-man-can-be-dignified/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/absurdity-is-what-i-like-most-in-life-and-there-s-humor-in-struggling/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [“We call love what binds us to certain creatures only by reference to a collective way of seeing for which books and legends are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-call-love-what-binds-us-to-certain-creatures-only-by-reference-to/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [When people conclude that all is futile, then the absurd becomes the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/when-people-conclude-that-all-is-futile-then-the-absurd-becomes-the/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) ## More by Frida Kahlo > [Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/nothing-is-absolute-everything-changes-everything-moves-everything/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [“Que todo termina en un instante Planatera doloroso”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/que-todo-termina-en-un-instante-planatera-doloroso/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/tragedy-is-the-most-ridiculous-thing/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [Surrealism is the magical surprise of finding a lion in a wardrobe, where you were 'sure' of finding shirts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/surrealism-is-the-magical-surprise-of-finding-a-lion-in-a-wardrobe/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [To trap one's self-suffering is to risk being devoured from the inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/to-trap-one-s-self-suffering-is-to-risk-being-devoured-from-the-inside/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I love you more than my own skin and even though you don’t love me the same way, you love me anyways, don’t you?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-love-you-more-than-my-own-skin-and-even-though-you-don-t-love-me/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/nothing-is-worth-more-than-laughter-it-is-strength-to-laugh-and-to/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [People in general are scared to death of the war and all the exhibition have been a failure, because the rich - don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/people-in-general-are-scared-to-death-of-the-war-and-all-the/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-tried-to-drown-my-sorrows-but-the-bastards-learned-how-to-swim-and/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [“I have not forgotten you — the nights are long and difficult. You too know that all my eyes see, all touch with myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-have-not-forgotten-you-the-nights-are-long-and-difficult-you-too/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [Mankind owns its destiny, and its destiny is the earth. We are destroying it until we have no destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/mankind-owns-its-destiny-and-its-destiny-is-the-earth-we-are/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/take-a-lover-who-looks-at-you-like-maybe-you-are-a-bourbon-biscuit/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I paint flowers so they will not die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-paint-flowers-so-they-will-not-die/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/feet-what-do-i-need-you-for-when-i-have-wings-to-fly/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-leave-you-my-portrait-so-that-you-will-have-my-presence-all-the/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) [Explore all 83 Frida Kahlo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What would I do without the absurd and the ephemeral?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frida Kahlo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-the-ephemeral/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-the-ephemeral/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/frida-kahlo-7157_absurd_what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-t_2782109.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/frida-kahlo-7157_absurd_what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-t_2782109.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/frida-kahlo-7157_absurd_what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-t_2782109.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What would I do without the absurd and the ephemeral?” — Frida Kahlo", "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": "Frida Kahlo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What would I do without the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-the-ephemeral/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/what-would-i-do-without-the-absurd-and-the-ephemeral/#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 } } ] } ```