--- 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.\" — Rollo May" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_1218748.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.” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_1218748.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_1218748.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/rollo-may-1295_existence_a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-sen_1218748.jpg) > “A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence.” [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 find order in chaos, providing narratives that give life significance. **In simple terms:** Myths create meaning in a chaotic world. Key Takeaway Use stories to frame experiences meaningfully. Themes mythology meaning existentialism narrative Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - counseling - creative writing - cultural analysis Key Concepts symbolism collective unconscious purpose Questions to Reflect On - How do personal myths shape your choices? - When might a myth become limiting? A Different Perspective Relying on myths can oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [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. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. Whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/a-myth-is-a-way-of-making-sense-in-a-senseless-world-myths-are-2/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“A myth... is a metaphor for a mystery beyond human comprehension... A myth, in this way of thinking, is not an untruth but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-godawa/a-myth-is-a-metaphor-for-a-mystery-beyond-human-comprehension-a-myth/) [Brian Godawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-godawa/) > [Facing the kitsch aesthetic is the unfathomable world of myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-friedlander/facing-the-kitsch-aesthetic-is-the-unfathomable-world-of-myths/) Saul Friedlander > [As I continue to mature and navigate the world, there are so many myths that are dispelled for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/as-i-continue-to-mature-and-navigate-the-world-there-are-so-many/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [A myth... is a metaphor for a mystery beyond human comprehension. It is a comparison that helps us understand, by analogy, some aspect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-vogler/a-myth-is-a-metaphor-for-a-mystery-beyond-human-comprehension-it-is-a/) [Christopher Vogler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-vogler/) > [Myths are stories for our search through the ages for truth, for meaning, for significance. We all need to tell our story and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/myths-are-stories-for-our-search-through-the-ages-for-truth-for/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Our powerful hunger for myth is a hunger for community. The person without a myth is a person without a home...To be a member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/our-powerful-hunger-for-myth-is-a-hunger-for-community-the-person/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [It is interesting to note how many of the great scientific discoveries begin as myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/it-is-interesting-to-note-how-many-of-the-great-scientific/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artistic symbols and myths speak out of the primordial, preconscious realm of the mind which is powerful and chaotic. Both symbol and myth are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artistic-symbols-and-myths-speak-out-of-the-primordial-preconscious/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Only when we have seen and foreseen what we dread shall we be rewarded by that dazzling, unforeseen wing-footed wanderer. We could not find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/only-when-we-have-seen-and-foreseen-what-we-dread-shall-we-be/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Indeed, compulsive and rigid moralism arises in given persons precisely as the result of a lack of sense of being. Rigid moralism is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/indeed-compulsive-and-rigid-moralism-arises-in-given-persons/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [When we are dealing with human beings, no truth has reality by itself; it is always dependent upon the reality of the immediate relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/when-we-are-dealing-with-human-beings-no-truth-has-reality-by-itself/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Everyone has a need for significance; and if we can't make that possible, or even probable, in our society, then it will be obtained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/everyone-has-a-need-for-significance-and-if-we-can-t-make-that/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) ## 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. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or-those-who-cling-most/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-do-not/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [By the creative act, we are able to reach beyond our own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/by-the-creative-act-we-are-able-to-reach-beyond-our-own-death/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-zest-that-you-get-out-of-using-your-talents-your/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. 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. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. 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