--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A myth is something that never was but…" description: "\"A myth is something that never was but that is always happening.\" — Jean Houston" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/jean-houston-7414_happening_a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-t_894567.png" --- # A myth is something that never was but that is always… ![“A myth is something that never was but that is always happening.” quote by Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/jean-houston-7414_happening_a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-t_894567.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/jean-houston-7414_happening_a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-t_894567.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/jean-houston-7414_happening_a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-t_894567.png) > “A myth is something that never was but that is always happening.” [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas that feel fictional can be constantly present in lived experience, shaping perception and behavior. **In simple terms:** Fictional ideas can be real in life. Key Takeaway Recognize recurring patterns. Themes myth perception reality Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - cultural analysis Key Concepts psychology symbolism narrative Questions to Reflect On - How do you see this idea manifesting today? - What recurring patterns influence you? A Different Perspective Myths may be misinterpreted as mere stories, limiting their practical impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happening/) [Happenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happenings/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth Happening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-happening-1181329/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [Cause I swear that I'm dying, slowly but its happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/cause-i-swear-that-i-m-dying-slowly-but-its-happening/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I think I was going through a lot of change at 27, but I didn't know it was happening until it was over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-baumbach/i-think-i-was-going-through-a-lot-of-change-at-27-but-i-didn-t-know/) [Noah Baumbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-baumbach/) > [Facebook: What's on your mind? ..Twitter: What's happening? Myspace: Where did everybody go?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/facebook-what-s-on-your-mind-twitter-what-s-happening-myspace-where/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [Actually, something is always happening. People who don't love the moment are always trying to achieve something, but when one is on the way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-selver/actually-something-is-always-happening-people-who-don-t-love-the/) [Charlotte Selver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-selver/) > [Be a calm beholder of what is happening around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/be-a-calm-beholder-of-what-is-happening-around-you/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I'm not going to look back. 'Don't look back, something might be gaining on you.' I don't have anything specific in mind. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cotovsky/i-m-not-going-to-look-back-don-t-look-back-something-might-be-gaining/) [Richard Cotovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cotovsky/) > [Grace isn't enough. You've got to intend to be there when it's happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-weir/grace-isn-t-enough-you-ve-got-to-intend-to-be-there-when-it-s/) [Bob Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-weir/) > [Whatever is going to happen is already happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-berrigan/whatever-is-going-to-happen-is-already-happening/) [Ted Berrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-berrigan/) > [... music is an immediate art; it's always happening right now ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-andrew/music-is-an-immediate-art-it-s-always-happening-right-now/) [Sam Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-andrew/) > [If you take a deep breath and look around, 'Look what's happening to me!' can become 'Look what's happening!' And what's happening? The incredible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-boorstein/if-you-take-a-deep-breath-and-look-around-look-what-s-happening-to-me/) [Sylvia Boorstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-boorstein/) > [Auditioning is a horrible experience because you know you are being absolutely scrutinized and judged. There are days where you can do it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-reilly/auditioning-is-a-horrible-experience-because-you-know-you-are-being/) [Kelly Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-reilly/) > [I think a lot of the romantic comedies need to catch up with what's actually kind of happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-meriwether/i-think-a-lot-of-the-romantic-comedies-need-to-catch-up-with-what-s/) [Elizabeth Meriwether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-meriwether/) > [Yes, we were amazed when that happened. It was a real joke to us. Konrad Lueg and I did a Happening, and we used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/yes-we-were-amazed-when-that-happened-it-was-a-real-joke-to-us-konrad/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Today, something is happening to the whole structure of human consciousness. A fresh kind of life is starting. Driven by the forces of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/today-something-is-happening-to-the-whole-structure-of-human/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/whatever-is-happening-is-the-path-to-enlightenment/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) ## More by Jean Houston > [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [As you allow the beloved to grow within you, you will discover a steadfastness to the spiritual journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/as-you-allow-the-beloved-to-grow-within-you-you-will-discover-a/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [If you travel as much as I do - 165,000 miles last year - you exist nowhere. You're always between heaven and earth, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/if-you-travel-as-much-as-i-do-165-000-miles-last-year-you-exist/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [Change the story and you change perception; change perception and you change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/change-the-story-and-you-change-perception-change-perception-and-you/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [Time has driven out sex and money as the central issues. Now if it could only drive out the issue of power we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/time-has-driven-out-sex-and-money-as-the-central-issues-now-if-it/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [We needed a "psychenaut" program to be the opposite of the astronaut program in order to explore the enormous domains and dimensions of inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/we-needed-a-psychenaut-program-to-be-the-opposite-of-the-astronaut/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [When we are calling forth the depth and genius of the other, then we grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/when-we-are-calling-forth-the-depth-and-genius-of-the-other-then-we/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [Certainly one is brought to the brink of one's sense of who one is, what one has to do, why me, why now, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/certainly-one-is-brought-to-the-brink-of-one-s-sense-of-who-one-is/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [I often wonder if you wrote your memoir today, if your life story would be lived on the edge of possibility, if you held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/i-often-wonder-if-you-wrote-your-memoir-today-if-your-life-story/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [The ecological crisis is doing what no other crisis in history has ever done - challenging us to a realization of a new humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/the-ecological-crisis-is-doing-what-no-other-crisis-in-history-has/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [“G.U.R.U - Gee, you are you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/g-u-r-u-gee-you-are-you/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [What I often do in my work is to take a great story, such as the Odyssey, the search for the Grail, the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/what-i-often-do-in-my-work-is-to-take-a-great-story-such-as-the/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [Each person is a really a great treasure house of capacities, possibilities, energies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/each-person-is-a-really-a-great-treasure-house-of-capacities/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [The more you love, the more loving you become. That's just the way it works. It is a generosity of spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/the-more-you-love-the-more-loving-you-become-that-s-just-the-way-it/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [Vulnerable is a catch-all word like "love" and "schizophrenia."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/vulnerable-is-a-catch-all-word-like-love-and-schizophrenia/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) [Explore all 91 Jean Houston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) ## More Happening quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [To see classic rock, you had to go to an arena. But punk was happening everywhere, even in little towns in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/to-see-classic-rock-you-had-to-go-to-an-arena-but-punk-was-happening/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I've certainly seen a lot of my cartoonist friends embrace 'Little Lulu' in a much deeper way because their kids love it so much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/i-ve-certainly-seen-a-lot-of-my-cartoonist-friends-embrace-little/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [New York is so serious about the creation of work. Everything is happening so fast, it feels like there's another studio, another session on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diplo/new-york-is-so-serious-about-the-creation-of-work-everything-is/) [Diplo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diplo/) > [“Everything changes, sweetheart. The universe loves to happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-olsen/everything-changes-sweetheart-the-universe-loves-to-happen/) [Lance Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-olsen/) > [the truth about forever is that it is happening right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-truth-about-forever-is-that-it-is-happening-right-now/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“I can recognize shame when it’s happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-can-recognize-shame-when-it-s-happening/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I love to fish. You can go hours without anything happening, and all of a sudden a big blue marlin comes into the spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-strait/i-love-to-fish-you-can-go-hours-without-anything-happening-and-all-of/) [George Strait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-strait/) > [Cause I swear that I'm dying, slowly but its happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/cause-i-swear-that-i-m-dying-slowly-but-its-happening/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [A good story will keep you wondering about what's happening, what's going on, where does this go? Now it's going to go that way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fede-alvarez/a-good-story-will-keep-you-wondering-about-what-s-happening-what-s/) [Fede Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fede-alvarez/) > [It's all happening too fast. I've got to put the brakes on or I'll smack into something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/it-s-all-happening-too-fast-i-ve-got-to-put-the-brakes-on-or-i-ll/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [Today, something is happening to the whole structure of human consciousness. A fresh kind of life is starting. Driven by the forces of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/today-something-is-happening-to-the-whole-structure-of-human/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“They happen only when you are distant,aloof. They happen, they cannot be brought. They happen you cannot force them to happen. They are spontaneous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/they-happen-only-when-you-are-distant-aloof-they-happen-they-cannot/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-think-one-of-the-saddest-things-that-s-happening-to-literature-is/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [It's interesting how sleepwalking in a certain way becomes an accumulation of your outside stimuli that's actually there and what's happening in your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/it-s-interesting-how-sleepwalking-in-a-certain-way-becomes-an/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) [Browse all 827 Happening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A myth is something that never was but that is always happening.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean Houston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-that-is-always-happening/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happening" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-that-is-always-happening/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/jean-houston-7414_happening_a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-t_894567.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/jean-houston-7414_happening_a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-t_894567.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/jean-houston-7414_happening_a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-t_894567.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A myth is something that never was but that is always happening.” — Jean Houston", "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": "Jean Houston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A myth is something that never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-that-is-always-happening/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/a-myth-is-something-that-never-was-but-that-is-always-happening/#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 } } ] } ```