--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you start asking how do we make life…" description: "\"If you start asking how do we make life meaningful and life never ends, then you get into sort of these terrible sort of metaphysical quandaries and it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/hanya-yanagihara-4245_bleak_if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life_2925747.jpg" --- # If you start asking how do we make life meaningful and… ![“If you start asking how do we make life meaningful and life never ends, then you get into sort of these terrible sort of metaphysical quandaries and it gets really, really bleak looking.” quote by Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/hanya-yanagihara-4245_bleak_if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life_2925747.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/hanya-yanagihara-4245_bleak_if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life_2925747.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/hanya-yanagihara-4245_bleak_if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life_2925747.jpg) > “If you start asking how do we make life meaningful and life never ends, then you get into sort of these terrible sort of metaphysical quandaries and it gets really, really bleak looking.” [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeking endless meaning can trap us in bleak, unanswerable questions, obscuring everyday purpose. **In simple terms:** Chasing infinite meaning can feel hopeless. Key Takeaway Focus on present, tangible meaning. Themes meaning existential philosophy Mood contemplative philosophical Type inspirational motivational When to use this quote - daily work - creative projects - relationships - health decisions Key Concepts nihilism purpose psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small actions give your life meaning now? - How can you balance big questions with daily joy? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on cosmic purpose may cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaning of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-of-life/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Meaningful life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful-life/) [Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical/) ## Related quotes > [Let is walk ... joyously, dear souls, among the difficulties of this passing life ... 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Love ends when you stop caring. Friendship ends when you stop sharing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyson-gentry/life-ends-when-you-stop-dreaming-love-ends-when-you-stop-caring/) Tyson Gentry > [If an egg is broken by outside force, life ends. If its broken by inside force life begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-an-egg-is-broken-by-outside-force-life-ends-if-its-broken-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life Ends When You Stop Dreaming, Hope Ends When You Stop Believing And Love Ends When You Stop Caring. So Dream Hope And Love..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abiodun-oladipupo/life-ends-when-you-stop-dreaming-hope-ends-when-you-stop-believing/) [Abiodun Oladipupo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abiodun-oladipupo/) > [LIFE ENDS WHEN YOU STOP DREAMING. HOPE ENDS WHEN YOU STOP BELIEVING. LOVE ENDS WHEN YOU STOP CARING AND, FRIENDSHIP ENDS WHEN YOU STOP…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/life-ends-when-you-stop-dreaming-hope-ends-when-you-stop-believing-2/) Vino ## More by Hanya Yanagihara > [“People who don’t love math always accuse mathematicians of trying to make math complicated,” Dr. Li had said. “But anyone who does love math…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/people-who-don-t-love-math-always-accuse-mathematicians-of-trying-to/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [“At night, as beneath him his parents completed their routines, the banging of the old pipes as they washed their faces and the sudden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/at-night-as-beneath-him-his-parents-completed-their-routines-the/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [To be a scientist you have to be willing to live with uncertainty for a long time. Research scientists begin with a question and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/to-be-a-scientist-you-have-to-be-willing-to-live-with-uncertainty-for/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [“Why wasn’t friendship as good as a relationship? Why wasn’t it even better?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/why-wasn-t-friendship-as-good-as-a-relationship-why-wasn-t-it-even/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [“But fairness is not the only, or even the most important, consideration in law: the law is not always fair. 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I don't think that genius goes hand in hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/the-big-characters-who-occupy-science-especially-modern-science-are/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [“Sometimes I would have to take my glasses off simply so the world would smudge and recede for a moment and cease to seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/sometimes-i-would-have-to-take-my-glasses-off-simply-so-the-world/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [I credit my parents for many things that had never seemed remarkable when I was growing up, and one of those things is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/i-credit-my-parents-for-many-things-that-had-never-seemed-remarkable/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [I have one friend to whom I've told more than I've ever told anyone, and yet there are significant territories I have and will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/i-have-one-friend-to-whom-i-ve-told-more-than-i-ve-ever-told-anyone/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [“If you keep trying to find everything, you’ll wind up with nothing. AMY:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/if-you-keep-trying-to-find-everything-you-ll-wind-up-with-nothing-amy/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) [Explore all 94 Hanya Yanagihara quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) ## More Bleak quotes > [Single-sex private schools, especially in the middle of nowhere on a bleak hill in County Durham - I don't think they make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/single-sex-private-schools-especially-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-on-a/) [Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/) > [I wonder whether my bleak-o-meter is set differently from other people's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-arnold/i-wonder-whether-my-bleak-o-meter-is-set-differently-from-other/) [Andrea Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-arnold/) > [I felt cheated by the way grown-ups told me that the future of the world was bleak when I became a teenager in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/i-felt-cheated-by-the-way-grown-ups-told-me-that-the-future-of-the/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [No wonder of it: sheer plod makes plough down sillion Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear, Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/no-wonder-of-it-sheer-plod-makes-plough-down-sillion-shine-and-blue/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The future looks a bit bleak to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/the-future-looks-a-bit-bleak-to-me/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Nothing that's ever happened has taken away the optimist in me. It's always, "Whatever-let's go to Disneyland." Yes, I have my bleak, tortured-artist moments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/nothing-that-s-ever-happened-has-taken-away-the-optimist-in-me-it-s/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [ I think because the show \["Grant MacLaren"\] is essentially a hopeful show. The show says that as bleak as the future is, the one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/i-think-because-the-show-grant-maclaren-is-essentially-a-hopeful-show/) [Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/) > [In his bleak mercy, Death forever strips The soul of light and memory, rendering blind Our vision, lest surmounted deeps appal, As when on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/in-his-bleak-mercy-death-forever-strips-the-soul-of-light-and-memory/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [Gay life in 1970 was very bleak, compartmentalized. You didn't take it to work. You had to really lead a double life. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-kramer/gay-life-in-1970-was-very-bleak-compartmentalized-you-didn-t-take-it/) [Larry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-kramer/) > [“Life, on Hardcore mode, she thought with a twinge of bleak humor. No do-overs. No save files. Harper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-bellet/life-on-hardcore-mode-she-thought-with-a-twinge-of-bleak-humor-no-do/) [Annie Bellet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-bellet/) > [A cold and searching wind drives away all contagion, and nothing can withstand it but what has a virtue in it, and accordingly, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-cold-and-searching-wind-drives-away-all-contagion-and-nothing-can/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Killing the poorest third is good genetics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/killing-the-poorest-third-is-good-genetics/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Wyoming, to Annie, was represented by a blank, bleak space in her imagination. It was a place she could hide. The worst that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-wilson/wyoming-to-annie-was-represented-by-a-blank-bleak-space-in-her/) [Kevin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-wilson/) Browse all 335 Bleak quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you start asking how do we make life meaningful and life never ends, then you get into sort of these terrible sort of metaphysical quandaries and it gets really, really bleak looking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hanya Yanagihara" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life-meaningful-and-life-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bleak" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life-meaningful-and-life-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/hanya-yanagihara-4245_bleak_if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life_2925747.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/hanya-yanagihara-4245_bleak_if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life_2925747.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/hanya-yanagihara-4245_bleak_if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life_2925747.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you start asking how do we make life meaningful and life never ends, then you get into sort of these…” — Hanya Yanagihara", "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": "Hanya Yanagihara", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you start asking how do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life-meaningful-and-life-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/if-you-start-asking-how-do-we-make-life-meaningful-and-life-never/#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 } } ] } ```