--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even a billion people is too much…" description: "\"Even a billion people is too much. There's no way back to the simplicity we once knew, but there may be a way forward to the simplicity that we once kn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/terence-mckenna-287_billion_even-a-billion-people-is-too-much-there_2302312.png" --- # Even a billion people is too much. There's no way back to… ![“Even a billion people is too much. There's no way back to the simplicity we once knew, but there may be a way forward to the simplicity that we once knew.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/terence-mckenna-287_billion_even-a-billion-people-is-too-much-there_2302312.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/terence-mckenna-287_billion_even-a-billion-people-is-too-much-there_2302312.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/terence-mckenna-287_billion_even-a-billion-people-is-too-much-there_2302312.png) > “Even a billion people is too much. There's no way back to the simplicity we once knew, but there may be a way forward to the simplicity that we once knew.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern life overwhelms us, yet we can rediscover simplicity by focusing on essential values. **In simple terms:** Too many people complicate life; seek essential simplicity. Key Takeaway Prioritize essentials over excess. Themes modernity simplicity overwhelm values Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban living - digital detox - minimalist lifestyle - community building Key Concepts consumerism mindfulness existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What core values can you strip away? - How does community aid simplicity? A Different Perspective Simplicity may be idealized and hard to achieve in practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [Way forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-forward/) ## Related quotes > [The billion people who wake up every day trying to figure out if they have enough food to eat won't be at Davos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-billion-people-who-wake-up-every-day-trying-to-figure-out-if-they/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [What civilization is, is 6 billion people trying to make themselves happy by standing on each other's shoulders and kicking each other's teeth in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-civilization-is-is-6-billion-people-trying-to-make-themselves/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The world isn't set up equally, and the first billion people using Facebook have way more money than the rest of the world combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/the-world-isn-t-set-up-equally-and-the-first-billion-people-using/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [There are five billion people living on this planet. But you fall in love with one particular person, and you won't swap her for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/there-are-five-billion-people-living-on-this-planet-but-you-fall-in/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The international community... allows nearly 3 billion people - almost half of all humanity - to subsist on $2 or less a day in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-international-community-allows-nearly-3-billion-people-almost/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [There are 6 billion people in the world. It's hard to find the one person who's right for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-caan/there-are-6-billion-people-in-the-world-it-s-hard-to-find-the-one/) [Scott Caan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-caan/) > [Another way to think of this is there are now 6.8 billion people on this planet, and half of them weren't even born when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/another-way-to-think-of-this-is-there-are-now-6-8-billion-people-on/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“How seriously can I take myself? I'm just one of six billion people, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-corrigan/how-seriously-can-i-take-myself-i-m-just-one-of-six-billion-people/) [Kelly Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-corrigan/) > [To have six billion people on Earth, two billion of whom are carrying around a warped view of you? That has to register.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-toback/to-have-six-billion-people-on-earth-two-billion-of-whom-are-carrying/) [James Toback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-toback/) > [Seven billion people in the world... But!! My heart choose you. :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udigwe-vinsnt/seven-billion-people-in-the-world-but-my-heart-choose-you/) Udigwe Vinsnt > [At this moment there are 6,470,818,671 people in the world. Some are running scared. Some are coming home. Some tell lies to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-this-moment-there-are-6-470-818-671-people-in-the-world-some-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By the year 2040, the world's population is likely to increase by about 2 billion people, with also projected economic output will be up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-tillerson/by-the-year-2040-the-world-s-population-is-likely-to-increase-by/) [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) > [1 Universe, 9 Planets, 204 Countries, 809 Islands, 7 Seas and 7 Billion people, But My Heart Wants Only You.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/1-universe-9-planets-204-countries-809-islands-7-seas-and-7-billion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“I have a billion what-ifs and no way forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kenneally/i-have-a-billion-what-ifs-and-no-way-forward/) [Miranda Kenneally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kenneally/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Billion quotes > [Seven billion people in the world... But!! My heart choose you. :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udigwe-vinsnt/seven-billion-people-in-the-world-but-my-heart-choose-you/) Udigwe Vinsnt > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The world isn't fast-paced, it's frenetic. People have to be managers of themselves. Time has been managing itself for 15 billion years; we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-buzan/the-world-isn-t-fast-paced-it-s-frenetic-people-have-to-be-managers/) [Tony Buzan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-buzan/) > [Again, a franchise to me doesn't have to be a billion dollar title.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/again-a-franchise-to-me-doesn-t-have-to-be-a-billion-dollar-title/) [David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/) > [I’m neither ‘pro-women’ nor ‘anti-men’. I’m just ‘Thumbs up for the six billion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/i-m-neither-pro-women-nor-anti-men-i-m-just-thumbs-up-for-the-six/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [Malaria is a disease that kills one to three million people a year. 300 to 500 million cases are reported. It's estimated that Africa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/malaria-is-a-disease-that-kills-one-to-three-million-people-a-year/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [1 Universe, 9 Planets, 204 Countries, 809 Islands, 7 Seas and 7 Billion people, But My Heart Wants Only You.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/1-universe-9-planets-204-countries-809-islands-7-seas-and-7-billion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't know why, but I'm continually amazed to think that two and a half billion of us around the world are connected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kovacs/i-don-t-know-why-but-i-m-continually-amazed-to-think-that-two-and-a/) [Gary Kovacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kovacs/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I am proud of the fact that I have co-produced the film 'A Billion Colour Story.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kaushik/i-am-proud-of-the-fact-that-i-have-co-produced-the-film-a-billion/) [Satish Kaushik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kaushik/) > [I think TARP was the most defining vote since I've been in Congress. It was wrong. You don't nationalize private - it was wrong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-gohmert/i-think-tarp-was-the-most-defining-vote-since-i-ve-been-in-congress/) [Louie Gohmert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-gohmert/) > [You tell me I'm one in a million, well you're one in a billion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-tell-me-i-m-one-in-a-million-well-you-re-one-in-a-billion/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/if-you-can-count-your-money-you-don-t-have-a-billion-dollars/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [By the year 2040, the world's population is likely to increase by about 2 billion people, with also projected economic output will be up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-tillerson/by-the-year-2040-the-world-s-population-is-likely-to-increase-by/) [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) > [At this moment there are 6,470,818,671 people in the world. Some are running scared. Some are coming home. Some tell lies to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-this-moment-there-are-6-470-818-671-people-in-the-world-some-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 423 Billion quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even a billion people is too much. 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