--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Existence— well, what does it matter?…" description: "\"“Existence— well, what does it matter? I've existed for the best use i can The past is now part of my future The present is well out of hand.”\" — Ian C..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/ian-curtis-23678_existence_existence-well-what-does-it-matter-i-ve_2363386.jpg" --- # Existence— well, what does it matter? I've existed for the… ![“Existence— well, what does it matter? I've existed for the best use i can The past is now part of my future The present is well out of hand.” quote by Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/ian-curtis-23678_existence_existence-well-what-does-it-matter-i-ve_2363386.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/ian-curtis-23678_existence_existence-well-what-does-it-matter-i-ve_2363386.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/ian-curtis-23678_existence_existence-well-what-does-it-matter-i-ve_2363386.jpg) > ““Existence— well, what does it matter? I've existed for the best use i can The past is now part of my future The present is well out of hand.”” [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existence feels meaningless, yet past shapes future and present feels chaotic. **In simple terms:** Life may seem pointless, but past influences future. Key Takeaway Find meaning despite chaos. Themes existence meaning time Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - mental health coping Key Concepts philosophical nihilism temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life purpose? - How do you reconcile past and present? A Different Perspective Existence can feel overwhelming and unclear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Existence is.. well.. what does it matter? I exist on the best terms I can. The past is now part of my future. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/existence-is-well-what-does-it-matter-i-exist-on-the-best-terms-i-can/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [Let each of us examine his thoughts; he will find them wholly concerned with the past or the future. We almost never think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-each-of-us-examine-his-thoughts-he-will-find-them-wholly/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“The past and the future, are in the present”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-past-and-the-future-are-in-the-present/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [I think of the past and the future as well as the present to determine where I am, and I move on while thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/i-think-of-the-past-and-the-future-as-well-as-the-present-to/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [How can the past and future be, when the past no longer is, and the future is not yet? As for the present, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-can-the-past-and-future-be-when-the-past-no-longer-is-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think about the future. I don't think about the past. I just think of what comes into my head at the time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/i-don-t-think-about-the-future-i-don-t-think-about-the-past-i-just/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [There is neither Past nor Future. There is only the Present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-neither-past-nor-future-there-is-only-the-present/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [I write with my past, about the future, for the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eyedea/i-write-with-my-past-about-the-future-for-the-present/) [Eyedea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eyedea/) > [“the present moment contains both past and future. The only material that the future is made of is the present. If you know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/the-present-moment-contains-both-past-and-future-the-only-material/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [There is neither past nor future. There is only the present. Yesterday was the present to you when you experienced it, and tomorrow will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-neither-past-nor-future-there-is-only-the-present-yesterday/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The future is foretold from the past and the future is only possible because of the past. Without past and future, the present is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-future-is-foretold-from-the-past-and-the-future-is-only-possible/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“We never keep to the present. We recall the past; we anticipate the future as if we found it too slow in coming and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-never-keep-to-the-present-we-recall-the-past-we-anticipate-the/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [If you have no past or no future, which, after all, is all that the present is made of, why then you may as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-you-have-no-past-or-no-future-which-after-all-is-all-that-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“There is the past, and there is the future. The present is never more than the single second dividing one from the other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/there-is-the-past-and-there-is-the-future-the-present-is-never-more/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) ## More by Ian Curtis > [We're changing our ways, taking different roads, and love will tear us apart again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/we-re-changing-our-ways-taking-different-roads-and-love-will-tear-us/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [“I can now see everything falling to pieces before my eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/i-can-now-see-everything-falling-to-pieces-before-my-eyes/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [I know someone who works in a record shop where I live and I'll go in there and he'll play me "Have you heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/i-know-someone-who-works-in-a-record-shop-where-i-live-and-i-ll-go-in/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [We play the music we want to play and we play the places we want to play. I'd hate to be on the usual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/we-play-the-music-we-want-to-play-and-we-play-the-places-we-want-to/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [I used to work in a factory and I was really happy because I could daydream all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/i-used-to-work-in-a-factory-and-i-was-really-happy-because-i-could/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [Nothing seems real anymore. Even the flames from the fire seem to beckon to me, drawing me into some great past life buried somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/nothing-seems-real-anymore-even-the-flames-from-the-fire-seem-to/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [“Why must we be put down when we try to get away? Why must we all grow up when we could just play and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/why-must-we-be-put-down-when-we-try-to-get-away-why-must-we-all-grow/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [“Two ways to choose, which way to go Decide for me, please let me know Pictures all around, of how a good life should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/two-ways-to-choose-which-way-to-go-decide-for-me-please-let-me-know/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [All my lyrics are open to interpretation by the individual and imply many different meanings, therefore their relevance is purely subjective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/all-my-lyrics-are-open-to-interpretation-by-the-individual-and-imply/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [I struggle between what I know is right in my own mind, and some warped truthfulness as seen through other people's eyes who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/i-struggle-between-what-i-know-is-right-in-my-own-mind-and-some/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [Reality is only a dream, based on values and well worn principles, whereas the dream goes on forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/reality-is-only-a-dream-based-on-values-and-well-worn-principles/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [When routine bites hard, and ambitions are low. When resentment rides high, but emotion won't grow...and we're changing our ways, taking different roads. Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/when-routine-bites-hard-and-ambitions-are-low-when-resentment-rides/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [Existence is.. well.. what does it matter? I exist on the best terms I can. The past is now part of my future. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/existence-is-well-what-does-it-matter-i-exist-on-the-best-terms-i-can/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [I like the groups on Factory, A Certain Ratio and Section 25. I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/i-like-the-groups-on-factory-a-certain-ratio-and-section-25-i/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) > [Love, love will tear us apart, again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-curtis/love-love-will-tear-us-apart-again/) [Ian Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) [Explore all 25 Ian Curtis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-curtis/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [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/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Existence— well, what does it matter? 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