--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never been able, really, to figure…" description: "\"I have never been able, really, to figure out where my life begins and where it ends. I have never, never been able to figure it all out, what it's all..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/jonas-mekas-12648_able_i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure_1361857.png" --- # I have never been able, really, to figure out where my… ![“I have never been able, really, to figure out where my life begins and where it ends. I have never, never been able to figure it all out, what it's all about, what it all means.” quote by Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/jonas-mekas-12648_able_i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure_1361857.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/jonas-mekas-12648_able_i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure_1361857.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/jonas-mekas-12648_able_i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure_1361857.png) > “I have never been able, really, to figure out where my life begins and where it ends. I have never, never been able to figure it all out, what it's all about, what it all means.” [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s boundaries are unclear; we constantly seek meaning without fully grasping our start or end. **In simple terms:** We often don’t know where life begins or ends, nor its purpose. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and explore meaning. Themes existence search for meaning uncertainty self‑inquiry Mood curious melancholic thoughtful Type existential reflective When to use this quote - journaling - artistic creation - mindful walking - therapy - discussion groups Key Concepts philosophy existentialism creative introspection Questions to Reflect On - What defines your personal beginning? - How do you find purpose amid ambiguity? A Different Perspective The quest for meaning can become paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins/) [Begins Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins-ends-638338/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Figure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-begins/) [Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means/) [My life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-life/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) ## Related quotes > [“there are those who say it does not matter how a man begins, but only how he ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/there-are-those-who-say-it-does-not-matter-how-a-man-begins-but-only/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“It begins and ends with Mackenzie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-keith/it-begins-and-ends-with-mackenzie/) [Megan Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-keith/) > [Whatever begins, also ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/whatever-begins-also-ends/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Everything begins and ends with the writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-pickles/everything-begins-and-ends-with-the-writing/) [Christina Pickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-pickles/) > [“Every dream I've ever had begins and ends with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/every-dream-i-ve-ever-had-begins-and-ends-with-you/) [Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/) > [Everything begins and ends with pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-lucci/everything-begins-and-ends-with-pride/) [Madeline Lucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-lucci/) > [“Everything begins and ends. Every day and night, every concerto, every relationship, every life. Everything ends eventually.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-genova/everything-begins-and-ends-every-day-and-night-every-concerto-every/) [Lisa Genova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-genova/) > [Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mourdock/even-when-life-begins-in-that-horrible-situation-of-rape-that-is/) [Richard Mourdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mourdock/) > [Life begins now - right now - not tomorrow or the next day or the next. It means you can have the new beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-begins-now-right-now-not-tomorrow-or-the-next-day-or-the-next-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Life begins at the end of our comfort zone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/life-begins-at-the-end-of-our-comfort-zone/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Life begins like a dream, becomes a little real, and ends like a dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/life-begins-like-a-dream-becomes-a-little-real-and-ends-like-a-dream/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I am still a Catholic. I still believe life begins at conception. That is consistent with my Catholic beliefs. And I believe we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baumgartner/i-am-still-a-catholic-i-still-believe-life-begins-at-conception-that/) [Michael Baumgartner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baumgartner/) > [I have to certainly stand for life. I know that there are some who disagree, and I respect their point of view. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mourdock/i-have-to-certainly-stand-for-life-i-know-that-there-are-some-who/) [Richard Mourdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mourdock/) > [Life begins when a person first realizes how soon it will end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelene-cox/life-begins-when-a-person-first-realizes-how-soon-it-will-end/) [Marcelene Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelene-cox/) > [Whether one is twenty, forty, or sixty; whether one has succeeded, failed or just muddled along; whether yesterday was full of sun or storm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-mitchell-hodges/whether-one-is-twenty-forty-or-sixty-whether-one-has-succeeded-failed/) [Leigh Mitchell Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-mitchell-hodges/) ## More by Jonas Mekas > [I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. I make home movies, therefore I live. I live, therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-film-therefore-i-live-life/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [“pasidaryt mažesniam reikia daug laiko.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/pasidaryt-ma-esniam-reikia-daug-laiko/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [To me, cinema is cinema. Cinema is one big tree with many branches. The same as literature. In literature, you don't just say, 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/to-me-cinema-is-cinema-cinema-is-one-big-tree-with-many-branches-the/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on the present. Since I have always been a diarist filmmaker, not one who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/the-nature-of-the-video-camera-really-makes-you-focus-on-the-present/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [In narrative cinema, a certain terminology has already been established: 'film noir,' 'Western,' even 'Spaghetti Western.' When we say 'film noir' we know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/in-narrative-cinema-a-certain-terminology-has-already-been/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [An adventurer can always return home; an exile cannot. So I decided that my home would be culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/an-adventurer-can-always-return-home-an-exile-cannot-so-i-decided/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [Just as in writing, there are novelistic and sort of pedestrian ways of telling a story, to write a postcard with your little pocket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/just-as-in-writing-there-are-novelistic-and-sort-of-pedestrian-ways/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I myself saw the great works of Western civilization for the first time in my high school in Lithuania in bad black-and-white reproductions on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-myself-saw-the-great-works-of-western-civilization-for-the-first/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [Once you change the technology - from a film camera to a video camera, or from an 8-mm camera to 16 mm - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/once-you-change-the-technology-from-a-film-camera-to-a-video-camera/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm working in a form of cinema that can be described, and has been described, as a diaristic form of cinema. In other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-working-in-a-form-of-cinema-that-can-be-described-and-has-been/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm a filmmaker, but my working procedures are different. All my basic structuring is done during the filming. You know, how long I keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-a-filmmaker-but-my-working-procedures-are-different-all-my-basic/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [When I came to New York in 1949, there was already an entire fresh avant-garde film movement blooming in New York and California. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/when-i-came-to-new-york-in-1949-there-was-already-an-entire-fresh/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I make home movies-therefore I live. I live-therefore I make home movies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-make-home-movies-therefore-i-live-i-live-therefore-i-make-home/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [“The hygienic slickness of our contemporary films, be they from Hollywood, Paris, or Sweden, is a contagious sickness that seems to be catching through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/the-hygienic-slickness-of-our-contemporary-films-be-they-from/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) [Explore all 46 Jonas Mekas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never been able, really, to figure out where my life begins and where it ends. I have never, never been able to figure it all out, what it's all about, what it all means.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonas Mekas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure-out-where-my-life-begins-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure-out-where-my-life-begins-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/jonas-mekas-12648_able_i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure_1361857.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/jonas-mekas-12648_able_i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure_1361857.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/jonas-mekas-12648_able_i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure_1361857.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never been able, really, to figure out where my life begins and where it ends. I have never, never…” — Jonas Mekas", "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": "Jonas Mekas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have never been able, really,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure-out-where-my-life-begins-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-have-never-been-able-really-to-figure-out-where-my-life-begins-and/#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 } } ] } ```