--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But human beings fall easily into…" description: "\"But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us to place our lives in a larger setting, that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/karen-armstrong-1053_chaotic_but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despai_1994739.jpg" --- # But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the… ![“But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us to place our lives in a larger setting, that revealed an underlying pattern, and gave us a sense that, against all the depressing and chaotic evidence to the contrary, life had meaning and…” quote by Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/karen-armstrong-1053_chaotic_but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despai_1994739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/karen-armstrong-1053_chaotic_but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despai_1994739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/karen-armstrong-1053_chaotic_but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despai_1994739.jpg) > “But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us to place our lives in a larger setting, that revealed an underlying pattern, and gave us a sense that, against all the depressing and chaotic evidence to the contrary, life had meaning and value.” [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans create stories to place themselves in a larger context, giving life meaning despite chaotic evidence. **In simple terms:** Stories give life meaning amid chaos. Key Takeaway Use narratives to find purpose. Themes meaning storytelling existence Mood inspirational hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal crises - cultural rituals - education Key Concepts mythmaking psychology Questions to Reflect On - What story gives your life meaning? - How can you reshape narratives during hardship? A Different Perspective Stories can become limiting if taken as absolute truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-invented-3478166/) [Chaotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaotic/) [Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-beginning-3478167/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Invented Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-stories-1398994/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-meaning/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [“The vigor I lacked for physical activities became incandescent when, pen in hand, I filled those pages with invented stories. Sometimes they were intimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-vigor-i-lacked-for-physical-activities-became-incandescent-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Reasons were invented, and stories were reasons that allowed us to connect ourselves to the world, to compose ourselves in ways that others could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-tanweer/reasons-were-invented-and-stories-were-reasons-that-allowed-us-to/) [Bilal Tanweer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-tanweer/) > [I have no right to call myself one who knows. I was one who seeks, and I still am, but I no longer seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-have-no-right-to-call-myself-one-who-knows-i-was-one-who-seeks-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Many stories are invented about me - too many stories; almost everyone uses me, and I'd say about 0.01 percent of the gossip is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-balotelli/many-stories-are-invented-about-me-too-many-stories-almost-everyone/) [Mario Balotelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-balotelli/) > [“My story isn't sweet and harmonious, like invented stories. It tastes of folly and bewilderment, of madness and dream, like the life of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/my-story-isn-t-sweet-and-harmonious-like-invented-stories-it-tastes/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [ \[M\]yths are not invented as stories are. Myths are inspired-they really are. They come from the same realm that dream comes from. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/m-yths-are-not-invented-as-stories-are-myths-are-inspired-they-really/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“He invented stories so fantastic she had to believe. Of cours, she was only a child, still removing the dust from her first death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/he-invented-stories-so-fantastic-she-had-to-believe-of-cours-she-was/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [As children, we did not have toys. We invented characters and animals; we invented stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/as-children-we-did-not-have-toys-we-invented-characters-and-animals/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [“We are meaning-seeking creatures. Dogs, as far as we know, do not agonise about the canine condition, worry about the plight of dogs in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/we-are-meaning-seeking-creatures-dogs-as-far-as-we-know-do-not/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all of your experiences - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-key-to-happiness-is-taking-ultimate/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) ## More by Karen Armstrong > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [A gentleman is not born but crafted. He had to work on himself in the same way as a sculptor shaped a rough stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/a-gentleman-is-not-born-but-crafted-he-had-to-work-on-himself-in-the/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I was a lousy nun. I couldn't do it. I couldn't find God. It wasn't suitable for me. It is suitable for very few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-was-a-lousy-nun-i-couldn-t-do-it-i-couldn-t-find-god-it-wasn-t/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [In the past some of the most influential Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians, such as Maimonides, Aquinas and Ibn Sina, made it clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/in-the-past-some-of-the-most-influential-jewish-christian-and-muslim/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [The great task of our time is to build a global society, where people can live together in peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/the-great-task-of-our-time-is-to-build-a-global-society-where-people/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [We want to create, never mind the leaders or the bishops or chief rabbis or imams, or Popes. We want to create a grassroots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/we-want-to-create-never-mind-the-leaders-or-the-bishops-or-chief/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [If we don't manage to implement the Golden Rule globally, so that we treat all peoples, wherever and whoever they may be, as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-we-don-t-manage-to-implement-the-golden-rule-globally-so-that-we/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [After I left the convent, for 15 years I was worn out with religion, I wanted nothing whatever to do with it. I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/after-i-left-the-convent-for-15-years-i-was-worn-out-with-religion-i/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“As we have seen, so many of the things we once took for granted have proved unreliable that we may have to “forget” old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/as-we-have-seen-so-many-of-the-things-we-once-took-for-granted-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet a personal God can become a grave liability. He can be a mere idol carved in our own image, a projection of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/yet-a-personal-god-can-become-a-grave-liability-he-can-be-a-mere-idol/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-discovered-that-i-felt-at-home-and-alive-in-the-silence-which/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Each of the world religions has its own particular genius, its own special insight into the nature and requirements of compassion, and has something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/each-of-the-world-religions-has-its-own-particular-genius-its-own/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“all rightly guided religion that submitted wholly to God, refused to worship man-made deities and preached that justice and equality came from the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/all-rightly-guided-religion-that-submitted-wholly-to-god-refused-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“advocates of evolutionary theory since Thomas H. Huxley (1825–95) have found altruism problematic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/advocates-of-evolutionary-theory-since-thomas-h-huxley-1825-95-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) [Explore all 296 Karen Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## More Chaotic quotes > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all of your experiences - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-key-to-happiness-is-taking-ultimate/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [“Observe ... for there's always a pattern even to the seemingly most chaotic matter of all”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-m-alusi/observe-for-there-s-always-a-pattern-even-to-the-seemingly-most/) [A.M.M Alusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-m-alusi/) > [We are searching for the same thing,” Stripey said. “How do you know?” Janco asked. “I read his mind.” The Sitian pointed to Ari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/we-are-searching-for-the-same-thing-stripey-said-how-do-you-know/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [I'm always looking to find order within the chaos. And sometimes when my life gets fairly chaotic, I'll take a walk outside. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/i-m-always-looking-to-find-order-within-the-chaos-and-sometimes-when/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [Science does not enter a chaotic society to put order into it anymore, to simplify its composition, and to put an end to controversies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-latour/science-does-not-enter-a-chaotic-society-to-put-order-into-it-anymore/) [Bruno Latour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-latour/) > [“Our world is increasingly complex, often chaotic, and always fast-flowing. This makes forecasting something between tremendously difficult and actually impossible, with a strong shift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mcafee/our-world-is-increasingly-complex-often-chaotic-and-always-fast/) [Andrew McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mcafee/) > [“Chaotic Of Echoes The Lands Darkest Hours Of Lions Architect the Garlots of War The Precognitions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-ballantine/chaotic-of-echoes-the-lands-darkest-hours-of-lions-architect-the/) [Philippa Ballantine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-ballantine/) > [There is a big lesson in experiencing uncertainty and calamity with a sober focus - the most chaotic moments are the ones from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/there-is-a-big-lesson-in-experiencing-uncertainty-and-calamity-with-a/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) > [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Malcolm X broke with the N.O.I. in March 1964, and in that last 11 chaotic months, he spent most of the time outside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/malcolm-x-broke-with-the-n-o-i-in-march-1964-and-in-that-last-11/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) [Browse all 450 Chaotic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaotic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us to place our lives in a larger setting, that revealed an underlying pattern, and gave us a sense that, against all the depressing and chaotic evidence to the contrary, life had meaning and value.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen Armstrong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despair-and-from-the-very-beginning/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chaotic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despair-and-from-the-very-beginning/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/karen-armstrong-1053_chaotic_but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despai_1994739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/karen-armstrong-1053_chaotic_but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despai_1994739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/karen-armstrong-1053_chaotic_but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despai_1994739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us…” — Karen Armstrong", "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": "Karen Armstrong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But human beings fall easily into...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despair-and-from-the-very-beginning/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/but-human-beings-fall-easily-into-despair-and-from-the-very-beginning/#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 } } ] } ```