--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one is in charge of this process, this…" description: "\"No one is in charge of this process, this is what makes history so interesting, it's a runaway freight train on a dark and stormy night.\" — Terence McK..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/terence-mckenna-287_dark_no-one-is-in-charge-of-this-process-this_1359136.png" --- # No one is in charge of this process, this is what makes… ![“No one is in charge of this process, this is what makes history so interesting, it's a runaway freight train on a dark and stormy night.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/terence-mckenna-287_dark_no-one-is-in-charge-of-this-process-this_1359136.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/terence-mckenna-287_dark_no-one-is-in-charge-of-this-process-this_1359136.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/terence-mckenna-287_dark_no-one-is-in-charge-of-this-process-this_1359136.png) > “No one is in charge of this process, this is what makes history so interesting, it's a runaway freight train on a dark and stormy night.” [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. History unfolds unpredictably, like an uncontrolled train moving through darkness and storm. **In simple terms:** History is chaotic and exciting. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty in events. Themes history chaos unpredictability adventure Mood reflective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - strategic planning - risk assessment - creative projects Key Concepts complex systems narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - What role do we play in shaping history? - How can we navigate chaotic situations? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize chaos, ignoring the need for agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Freight Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freight-train/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting Runaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-runaway-4646605/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Runaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runaway/) [Runaway Freight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runaway-freight-4646604/) [Stormy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stormy/) [Stormy Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stormy-night-853246/) [Stormy nights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stormy-nights/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) [Train Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train-dark-1434469/) ## Related quotes > [Now, writing every day, and being paid for it and encouraged to do it, it was as if, in the midst of the clich?d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/now-writing-every-day-and-being-paid-for-it-and-encouraged-to-do-it/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [Through the dark and stormy night Faith beholds a feeble light Up the blackness streaking; Knowing God's own time is best, In a patient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/through-the-dark-and-stormy-night-faith-beholds-a-feeble-light-up-the/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, a shot rang out! A door slammed. The maid screamed. Suddenly, a pirate ship appeared on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night-suddenly-a-shot-rang-out-a-door/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [A woman friend! He that believes that weakness, Steers in a stormy night without a compass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fletcher/a-woman-friend-he-that-believes-that-weakness-steers-in-a-stormy/) [John Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fletcher/) > [“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night-the-rain-fell-in-torrents-except-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I got so good at writing to a budget, my brain was restricting myself. I'd write, "It's a stormy night." Then I'd cross out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/i-got-so-good-at-writing-to-a-budget-my-brain-was-restricting-myself/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [It was a dark and stormy night. - Snoopy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night-snoopy/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a scream pierced the air'. . . . Good writing takes enormous concentration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night-suddenly-a-scream-pierced-the-air-good/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [There's always light after the dark. You have to go through that dark place to get to it, but it's there, waiting for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-nolan/there-s-always-light-after-the-dark-you-have-to-go-through-that-dark/) [Han Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-nolan/) > [It began as most thing begin. Not on a dark and stormy night. Not foreshadowed by ominous here comes the villain music, dire warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/it-began-as-most-thing-begin-not-on-a-dark-and-stormy-night-not/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [An infant prodigy of nine is shoved upon the stage in white. She starts off in a dismal whine about a dark and stormy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/an-infant-prodigy-of-nine-is-shoved-upon-the-stage-in-white-she/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [New Orleans is 5 feet below sea level, which means that holes dug in the ground immediately fill with water. Coffins were punctured and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cagney/new-orleans-is-5-feet-below-sea-level-which-means-that-holes-dug-in/) [James Cagney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cagney/) > [For humans as well as for ships, dark stormy nights are better teachers than tranquil sunny days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/for-humans-as-well-as-for-ships-dark-stormy-nights-are-better/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Day appears again. This time he leans in close enough for his hair to brush, light as silk, against my cheeks. He pulls me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/day-appears-again-this-time-he-leans-in-close-enough-for-his-hair-to/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [“The worst things always happen at night, and oftener than one would think on stormy nights. ("The Compensation House")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-collins/the-worst-things-always-happen-at-night-and-oftener-than-one-would/) [Charles Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-collins/) ## 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 Dark quotes > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“I could see her will leaving and death seeping through her skin to skewer her soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/i-could-see-her-will-leaving-and-death-seeping-through-her-skin-to/) [J.D. 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And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-zimmerman/the-soul-wanders-in-the-dark-until-it-finds-love-and-so-wherever-our/) [Mary Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-zimmerman/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [All comedy comes from a dark place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katt-williams/all-comedy-comes-from-a-dark-place/) [Katt Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katt-williams/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. 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