--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A myth is a way of making sense in a…" description: "\"A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. Whether the meaning of exis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_2953231.jpg" --- # A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world… ![“A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. Whether the meaning of existence is only what we put into life by our own individual fortitude, as Sartre would hold, or whether there is a meaning we need to discover, as…” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_2953231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_2953231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b54/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_2953231.jpg) > “A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. Whether the meaning of existence is only what we put into life by our own individual fortitude, as Sartre would hold, or whether there is a meaning we need to discover, as Kierkegaard would state, the result is the same: myths are our way of finding this meaning and significance.” [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Myths help humans impose order and purpose on an otherwise chaotic existence. **In simple terms:** Myths give meaning to chaos. Key Takeaway Recognize and examine the stories you live by. Themes meaning purpose mythology existentialism Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Personal crisis - cultural analysis - creative work - spiritual seeking Key Concepts Narrative symbolism existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - What personal myth guides your life? - How do you test the validity of a myth? A Different Perspective Myths can oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Fortitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortitude/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. 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Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“The meaning of existence was to preserve untarnished, undisturbed and undistorted the image of eternity which each person is born with - as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-meaning-of-existence-was-to-preserve-untarnished-undisturbed-and/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“The meaning of my existence is that life has addressed a question to me. Or, conversely, I myself am a question which is addressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-reid/the-meaning-of-my-existence-is-that-life-has-addressed-a-question-to/) [Iain Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-reid/) > [It seems that it is impossible to live without discovering the purpose of your life. And the first thing which a person should do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-seems-that-it-is-impossible-to-live-without-discovering-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [A sense of a wider meaning to one's existence is what raises a man beyond mere getting and spending. If he lacks this sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/a-sense-of-a-wider-meaning-to-one-s-existence-is-what-raises-a-man/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Rollo May > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the effect which comes when we use our powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-effect-which-comes-when-we-use-our-powers/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. 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His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/evil-in-this-system-of-ethics-is-that-which-tears-apart-shuts-out-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [We receive love — from our children as well as others — not in proportion to our demands or sacrifices or needs, but roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-receive-love-from-our-children-as-well-as-others-not-in-proportion/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-opposite-of-courage-in-our-society-is-not-cowardice-it-is/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Explore all 259 Rollo May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. 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