--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am continually trying to find meaning…" description: "\"I am continually trying to find meaning in the world. If we cannot find some ultimate significance or value in our lives, we fall very easily into desp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/karen-armstrong-1053_despair_i-am-continually-trying-to-find-meaning_2268318.jpg" --- # I am continually trying to find meaning in the world. If… ![“I am continually trying to find meaning in the world. If we cannot find some ultimate significance or value in our lives, we fall very easily into despair.” quote by Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/karen-armstrong-1053_despair_i-am-continually-trying-to-find-meaning_2268318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/karen-armstrong-1053_despair_i-am-continually-trying-to-find-meaning_2268318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/karen-armstrong-1053_despair_i-am-continually-trying-to-find-meaning_2268318.jpg) > “I am continually trying to find meaning in the world. If we cannot find some ultimate significance or value in our lives, we fall very easily into despair.” [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. Without a sense of ultimate purpose, humans can slip into hopelessness and existential dread. **In simple terms:** Lack of meaning leads to despair. Key Takeaway Seek personal values and purpose. Themes existentialism meaning despair Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career counseling - therapy - personal journaling - volunteer work Key Concepts philosophy psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How can you create purpose in daily life? A Different Perspective Meaning is subjective and may change over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Continually Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continually-trying-288404/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Easily Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easily-despair-2706106/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Find me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find-me/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-meaning-4614277/) [Ultimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate/) [Ultimate Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate-significance-2422495/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Our neocortex has made us meaning-seeking creatures, acutely aware of the perplexity and tragedy of our predicament, and if we do not discover some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/our-neocortex-has-made-us-meaning-seeking-creatures-acutely-aware-of/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“Unless we find some significance in our lives, we mortal men and women fall very easily into despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/unless-we-find-some-significance-in-our-lives-we-mortal-men-and-women/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“All the while, I was trying to find meaning in a metal world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-cedeno/all-the-while-i-was-trying-to-find-meaning-in-a-metal-world/) [Alfred Cedeno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-cedeno/) > [I wish you did return my regard," he said. "More than I have ever wished anything in my life! Perhaps you may yet learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/i-wish-you-did-return-my-regard-he-said-more-than-i-have-ever-wished/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [The game is the ultimate significance to me because it is so important to a lot of people. It has left a mark on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-sanders/the-game-is-the-ultimate-significance-to-me-because-it-is-so/) [Barry Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-sanders/) > [If there is no God, then man and the universe are doomed. Like prisoners condemned to death, we await our unavoidable execution. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/if-there-is-no-god-then-man-and-the-universe-are-doomed-like/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [It is the nature of being the general manager of a baseball team that you have to remain on familiar terms with people you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/it-is-the-nature-of-being-the-general-manager-of-a-baseball-team-that/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [The search for some ultimate significance in the universe, and in our little transient role in it, the compulsion to learn, to know, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-rex-coman/the-search-for-some-ultimate-significance-in-the-universe-and-in-our/) [Dale Rex Coman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-rex-coman/) > [What a splendid perspective contact with a profoundly different civilization might provide! In a cosmic setting vast and old beyond ordinary human understanding we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/what-a-splendid-perspective-contact-with-a-profoundly-different/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I'm continually trying to make choices that put me against my own comfort zone. As long as you're uncomfortable, it means you're growing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/i-m-continually-trying-to-make-choices-that-put-me-against-my-own/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [The government and its prosecutors are continually trying to block my efforts to win my freedom and expose their judicial wrong doings; they systematically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-peltier/the-government-and-its-prosecutors-are-continually-trying-to-block-my/) [Leonard Peltier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-peltier/) > [I try to think of myself as a struggling competitor or specialist at my craft, much like a singer, dancer, comedian, or actor. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-greene/i-try-to-think-of-myself-as-a-struggling-competitor-or-specialist-at/) [Kai Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-greene/) > [Within the realm of wrestling, it's been the same every year - just continually trying to improve and evolve as a wrestler, putting myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-burroughs/within-the-realm-of-wrestling-it-s-been-the-same-every-year-just/) [Jordan Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-burroughs/) > [If your child dies, or you witness a terrible natural disaster, yes, you certainly want a scientific explanation as to what's happened. But science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-your-child-dies-or-you-witness-a-terrible-natural-disaster-yes-you/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [You usually find me writing what I like to think of as intelligent summer action and genre films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-landis/you-usually-find-me-writing-what-i-like-to-think-of-as-intelligent/) [Max Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-landis/) ## 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 Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am continually trying to find meaning in the world. 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