--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think life is absurd. I think we…" description: "\"I don't think life is absurd. I think we are all here for a huge purpose. I think we shrink from the immensity of the purpose we are here for.\" — Norma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/norman-mailer-839_absurd_i-don-t-think-life-is-absurd-i-think-we_2014666.png" --- # I don't think life is absurd. I think we are all here for… ![“I don't think life is absurd. I think we are all here for a huge purpose. I think we shrink from the immensity of the purpose we are here for.” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/norman-mailer-839_absurd_i-don-t-think-life-is-absurd-i-think-we_2014666.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/norman-mailer-839_absurd_i-don-t-think-life-is-absurd-i-think-we_2014666.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/norman-mailer-839_absurd_i-don-t-think-life-is-absurd-i-think-we_2014666.png) > “I don't think life is absurd. I think we are all here for a huge purpose. I think we shrink from the immensity of the purpose we are here for.” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels purposeful, yet its vastness can intimidate, causing people to shrink from their grand destiny. **In simple terms:** Purpose feels huge and intimidating. Key Takeaway Face the enormity of purpose boldly. Themes purpose existence intimidation destiny Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - spiritual quests - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront existential awe? - What small steps affirm purpose? A Different Perspective Purpose can feel overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Absurd Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd-think-1243843/) [Immensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immensity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-absurd-947465/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-think-331125/) [Think Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-life/) ## Related quotes > [life is a story and god is author.life is absurd.I think so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-a-story-and-god-is-author-life-is-absurd-i-think-so/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [But we live in a modern world, you know, and, and also it does seem to me that if you - that whatever talents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-curry/but-we-live-in-a-modern-world-you-know-and-and-also-it-does-seem-to/) [Tim Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-curry/) > [It is absurd to think that a man can believe in Christ, with his heart, and it not have a radical affect on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/it-is-absurd-to-think-that-a-man-can-believe-in-christ-with-his-heart/) [Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/) > [This is my life now. Absurd, but unpredictable. Not absurd because unpredictable but unpredictable because absurd. If I have lost the meaning of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/this-is-my-life-now-absurd-but-unpredictable-not-absurd-because/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Fame is a silly thing that makes your life absurd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baddiel/fame-is-a-silly-thing-that-makes-your-life-absurd/) [David Baddiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baddiel/) > [The realization that life is absurd cannot be an end, but only a beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-realization-that-life-is-absurd-cannot-be-an-end-but-only-a/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Favorinus began with an interesting statement that it was “completely foolish and absurd” to think that just because “the tides of the ocean correspond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-scribner/favorinus-began-with-an-interesting-statement-that-it-was-completely/) [Alan Scribner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-scribner/) > [It is absurd to think that the general public can ever make money out of market forecasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/it-is-absurd-to-think-that-the-general-public-can-ever-make-money-out/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [“Don't be absurd. Do you think I'm going to remain here in Widdershins while you go haring off? One or both of you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-l-hawk/don-t-be-absurd-do-you-think-i-m-going-to-remain-here-in-widdershins/) [Jordan L. Hawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-l-hawk/) > [“Even if it's absurd to think you can change things, it's even more absurd to believe that it is foolish and unimportant to try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-if-it-s-absurd-to-think-you-can-change-things-it-s-even-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone's got a purpose and wants to be loved. I think I found my purpose, I think I found love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james/everyone-s-got-a-purpose-and-wants-to-be-loved-i-think-i-found-my/) [James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james/) > [September 11 impressed upon us that life is a precious gift. Every life has a purpose. And I think we all have a duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-frist/september-11-impressed-upon-us-that-life-is-a-precious-gift-every/) [Bill Frist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-frist/) > [“Think of a new day and think of a new purpose. Think of a new reason out of the reasons of yesterday. Think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/think-of-a-new-day-and-think-of-a-new-purpose-think-of-a-new-reason/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“Why do we own so many things when we don’t need them? What is their purpose? I think the answer is quite clear: We’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-sasaki/why-do-we-own-so-many-things-when-we-don-t-need-them-what-is-their/) [Fumio Sasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-sasaki/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think life is absurd. I think we are all here for a huge purpose. 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