--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your life is nothing, just a little…" description: "\"“Your life is nothing, just a little makeshift that you play with for a while, a machine that you put to use. And if something cracks it, then it's cra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/howard-fast-20492_computers_your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makes_144527.jpg" --- # Your life is nothing, just a little makeshift that you… ![“Your life is nothing, just a little makeshift that you play with for a while, a machine that you put to use. And if something cracks it, then it's cracked, that's all.” quote by Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/howard-fast-20492_computers_your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makes_144527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/howard-fast-20492_computers_your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makes_144527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/howard-fast-20492_computers_your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makes_144527.jpg) > ““Your life is nothing, just a little makeshift that you play with for a while, a machine that you put to use. And if something cracks it, then it's cracked, that's all.”” [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a temporary construct we manipulate, and when it breaks, it is simply broken. **In simple terms:** Life is fleeting and fragile. Key Takeaway Embrace impermanence, act wisely. Themes existence fragility impermanence Mood reflective philosophical Type literary existential When to use this quote - personal decisions - relationships - creative projects Key Concepts philosophy human condition temporality Questions to Reflect On - What does “cracked” signify to you? - How do you find meaning amid impermanence? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Cracked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cracked/) [Cracks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cracks/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-just-262375/) [Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine/) [Makeshift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makeshift-116421/) ## Related quotes > [Fascism was an emergency makeshift. To view it as something more would be a fatal error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/fascism-was-an-emergency-makeshift-to-view-it-as-something-more-would/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“Study, along the lines which the theologies have mapped, will never lead us to discovery of the fundamental facts of our existence. That goal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/study-along-the-lines-which-the-theologies-have-mapped-will-never/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [“Makeshift, adj. I had always thought there were two types of people: the helpless and the fixers. Since I'd always been in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/makeshift-adj-i-had-always-thought-there-were-two-types-of-people-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The day we decide to drop the flimsy makeshift scenarios in our cluttered mind and eschew the ‘alleluias’ of self-importance, life can become genuine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/the-day-we-decide-to-drop-the-flimsy-makeshift-scenarios-in-our/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [A man walked into a shop and asked, "How much are your eggs?" He said "£1.40 a dozen". He then asked: "How much are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-carson/a-man-walked-into-a-shop-and-asked-how-much-are-your-eggs-he-said-1/) [Frank Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-carson/) > [I start to see that I surround myself with broken people; more broken than me. Ah, yes, let me count your cracks. Let's see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-gregory/i-start-to-see-that-i-surround-myself-with-broken-people-more-broken/) [Julie Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-gregory/) > [Cristiano Ronaldo is sensational, a very good professional, an incredible goalscoring machine for many years, but Messi is the most complete player I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joachim-low/cristiano-ronaldo-is-sensational-a-very-good-professional-an/) [Joachim Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joachim-low/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Since, however, it is immaterial whether the work is done by assistants or a machine, I decided to build a machine equivalent to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-however-it-is-immaterial-whether-the-work-is-done-by-assistants/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A house is not a machine! It's something else for living - but not a machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/a-house-is-not-a-machine-it-s-something-else-for-living-but-not-a/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/there-s-a-time-when-the-operation-of-the-machine-becomes-so-odious/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) > [Once upon a time we were just plain people. But that was before we began having relationships with mechanical systems. Get involved with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/once-upon-a-time-we-were-just-plain-people-but-that-was-before-we/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [That's right, you are not machine keep working all the time, but I am working here as a single machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/that-s-right-you-are-not-machine-keep-working-all-the-time-but-i-am/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [In the Machine Age, the company itself became a machine - a machine for making money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/in-the-machine-age-the-company-itself-became-a-machine-a-machine-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [One machine can do the work of hundred ordinary men but no machine can do the work of one extra ordinary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smartmuslimanas/one-machine-can-do-the-work-of-hundred-ordinary-men-but-no-machine/) [SmartMuslimAnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smartmuslimanas/) ## More by Howard Fast > [“The easiest way to hide a relationship is not to attempt to hide it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/the-easiest-way-to-hide-a-relationship-is-not-to-attempt-to-hide-it/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“He found himself grinning at her. His nervousness had disappeared, and suddenly he had a sense of his own size, his physical strength, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/he-found-himself-grinning-at-her-his-nervousness-had-disappeared-and/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [ “Geronimo \[is\]...an example of our practice of destroying those who oppose us and then honoring them.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/geronimo-is-an-example-of-our-practice-of-destroying-those-who-oppose/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [A mountain still in the distance can appear as a molehill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/a-mountain-still-in-the-distance-can-appear-as-a-molehill/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“Let us say that kindness costs me so little and rewards me well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/let-us-say-that-kindness-costs-me-so-little-and-rewards-me-well/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“I suppose I have cause you grief and misery at times, but I have never intentionally caused you embarrassment and discomfort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/i-suppose-i-have-cause-you-grief-and-misery-at-times-but-i-have-never/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [I am a man of peace \[so he told Mother, but it always appeared to me that he was the most belligerent man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/i-am-a-man-of-peace-so-he-told-mother-but-it-always-appeared-to-me/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“When I kissed her, I felt that my heart would tear through my chest for excitement and wonder, and then I felt a good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/when-i-kissed-her-i-felt-that-my-heart-would-tear-through-my-chest/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“It wasn't that they were unpleasant people; indeed, they were the sweetest things ever; they just enjoyed melancholy and seemed to take heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/it-wasn-t-that-they-were-unpleasant-people-indeed-they-were-the/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“There is nothing more important than being a man, just a plain, ordinary, human man. I know you think Spartacus is something more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/there-is-nothing-more-important-than-being-a-man-just-a-plain/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“Will you keep this?" he asked, holding up the pendant. "Please. Don't show it to your folks. But keep it, please. I'm not asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/will-you-keep-this-he-asked-holding-up-the-pendant-please-don-t-show/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“Politics, as he occasionally said, required three unchanging talents and no virtues. More politicians, he claimed, had been destroyed by virtue than by any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/politics-as-he-occasionally-said-required-three-unchanging-talents/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [And finally, be assured that Zen asks nothing even as it promises nothing. One can be a Protestant Zen Buddhist, a Catholic Zen Buddhist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/and-finally-be-assured-that-zen-asks-nothing-even-as-it-promises/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“The first rule is never to split your forces unless it is necessary to survival. The second rule is to attack if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/the-first-rule-is-never-to-split-your-forces-unless-it-is-necessary/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [“He found himself smiling and talking politely to people who desired to show their respect and admiration for his uniform-instead of ignoring them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/he-found-himself-smiling-and-talking-politely-to-people-who-desired/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) [Explore all 28 Howard Fast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) ## More Computers quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/) [Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/) > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) [William Henry Pickering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-pickering/) > [“Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a computer is intelligent if you can't tell it from a human when you talk with it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) > [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/) [Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) [Cruce Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cruce-stark/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) [Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Your life is nothing, just a little makeshift that you play with for a while, a machine that you put to use. And if something cracks it, then it's cracked, that's all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Fast" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makeshift-that-you-play-with-for-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makeshift-that-you-play-with-for-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/howard-fast-20492_computers_your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makes_144527.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/howard-fast-20492_computers_your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makes_144527.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/howard-fast-20492_computers_your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makes_144527.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Your life is nothing, just a little makeshift that you play with for a while, a machine that you put to use…” — Howard Fast", "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": "Howard Fast", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Your life is nothing, just a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makeshift-that-you-play-with-for-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/your-life-is-nothing-just-a-little-makeshift-that-you-play-with-for-a/#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 } } ] } ```