--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life comes from physical survival; but…" description: "\"Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes from what we care about.\" — Rollo May" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/rollo-may-1295_care_life-comes-from-physical-survival-but-th_2455367.jpg" --- # Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes… ![“Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes from what we care about.” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/rollo-may-1295_care_life-comes-from-physical-survival-but-th_2455367.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/rollo-may-1295_care_life-comes-from-physical-survival-but-th_2455367.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/rollo-may-1295_care_life-comes-from-physical-survival-but-th_2455367.jpg) > “Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes from what we care about.” [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. Human fulfillment depends not just on survival but on caring relationships and purpose. **In simple terms:** Caring gives life meaning beyond survival. Key Takeaway Cultivate relationships and purposeful concerns. Themes meaning purpose relationships existentialism Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - community building - volunteering - mental health - career purpose Key Concepts Existential psychology humanistic values Questions to Reflect On - What do you truly care about? - How can you express care daily? A Different Perspective Caring alone cannot guarantee material security. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Good life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-comes/) [Physical Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-survival-604977/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Survival Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival-good-604976/) ## Related quotes > [“Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival—to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-van-edwards/next-to-physical-survival-the-greatest-need-of-a-human-being-is/) [Vanessa Van Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-van-edwards/) > [There are some things more important than physical survival. You gotta be able to look at yourself in the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/there-are-some-things-more-important-than-physical-survival-you-gotta/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [If workers are overworked, or companies hire temps at low wages, this fundamentally comes down to the quality of life for a person. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-turner/if-workers-are-overworked-or-companies-hire-temps-at-low-wages-this/) [Nina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-turner/) > [“What you give away in life always comes back to you in one way or other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudy-harris/what-you-give-away-in-life-always-comes-back-to-you-in-one-way-or/) [Trudy Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudy-harris/) > [The meaning of your life comes through your obligations to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/the-meaning-of-your-life-comes-through-your-obligations-to-others/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [“This life is just a bootcamp, to test and toughen us, to prepare us for the next life of service in some great adventure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/this-life-is-just-a-bootcamp-to-test-and-toughen-us-to-prepare-us-for/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [When life comes at you, come back twice as hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-life-comes-at-you-come-back-twice-as-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The successful people of this world take life as it comes. They just go out and deal with the world as it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stein/the-successful-people-of-this-world-take-life-as-it-comes-they-just/) [Ben Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stein/) > [“We're seeing an epidemic of people who are having a hard time making the transition to work — kids who had too much success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-levine/we-re-seeing-an-epidemic-of-people-who-are-having-a-hard-time-making/) [Mel Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-levine/) > [Whenever you beat life,it comes back for a Revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colynx-mckobby-akwetey-jnr/whenever-you-beat-life-it-comes-back-for-a-revenge/) [Colynx Mckobby Akwetey Jnr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colynx-mckobby-akwetey-jnr/) > [“when my mother was pregnant with her second child i was four i pointed at her swollen belly confused at how my mother had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/when-my-mother-was-pregnant-with-her-second-child-i-was-four-i/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [“The tragedy of life is that it comes just once and before you know it, it is gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-tragedy-of-life-is-that-it-comes-just-once-and-before-you-know-it/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sometimes you have to sacrifice and let go of the things you love to move on with your life. I guess that's why life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-araujo/sometimes-you-have-to-sacrifice-and-let-go-of-the-things-you-love-to/) [Luis Araujo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-araujo/) > [Learn to drink the cup of life as it comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-sligh-turnbull/learn-to-drink-the-cup-of-life-as-it-comes/) [Agnes Sligh Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-sligh-turnbull/) > [Life comes from death. To the degree that I can live in the death of Jesus - to that degree I can channel God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/life-comes-from-death-to-the-degree-that-i-can-live-in-the-death-of/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) ## 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. 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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 Care quotes > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/) [Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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