--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The message coming back at all of us is…" description: "\"The message coming back at all of us is: live without closure.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/terence-mckenna-287_closure_the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is_1631378.png" --- # The message coming back at all of us is: live without… ![“The message coming back at all of us is: live without closure.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/terence-mckenna-287_closure_the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is_1631378.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/terence-mckenna-287_closure_the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is_1631378.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/terence-mckenna-287_closure_the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is_1631378.png) > “The message coming back at all of us is: live without closure.” [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. Life should be lived without needing definitive closure; embrace uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Live without needing closure. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and keep moving forward. Themes uncertainty acceptance growth Mood curious open‑minded Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career transitions - relationship endings - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with unresolved issues? - What benefits come from embracing uncertainty? A Different Perspective May cause unfinished business or lingering doubts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Closure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closure/) [Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/message/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) ## Related quotes > [So many bands play to tracks - what's the point in coming to see them live if they're playing to a CD?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-root/so-many-bands-play-to-tracks-what-s-the-point-in-coming-to-see-them/) [Jim Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-root/) > [The horrible truth is we are linear beings; we can't multitask, and we shouldn't keep interrupting important connections to each other with the latest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/the-horrible-truth-is-we-are-linear-beings-we-can-t-multitask-and-we/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Sometimes the most difficult things to see are those that have been right in front of us all along… We who have heard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/sometimes-the-most-difficult-things-to-see-are-those-that-have-been/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [No interruptions, stereos pumpin from the dungeon, coming live from Flatbush Junction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/capital-steez/no-interruptions-stereos-pumpin-from-the-dungeon-coming-live-from/) [Capital STEEZ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/capital-steez/) > [Sometimes I feel people can move past what they've grown up around and their surroundings while in a place and some people need closure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/sometimes-i-feel-people-can-move-past-what-they-ve-grown-up-around/) [Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/) > [Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-demand-to-make-upon-reality-other/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And that we cannot go to space with our feet in the mud. Nor can we in fact turn ourselves into an eco-sensitive hallucinogenic-based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-that-we-cannot-go-to-space-with-our-feet-in-the-mud-nor-can-we-in/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I was devastated. I'm still devastated to this day. When talent like that disappears in a flash, you can't believe it. You deny it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-merrill/i-was-devastated-i-m-still-devastated-to-this-day-when-talent-like/) Helen Merrill > [“Well, anyway… it’s over,” I say, realizing that those two words lump me right in with a hoard of naive women who say it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/well-anyway-it-s-over-i-say-realizing-that-those-two-words-lump-me/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“If you have feelings for someone, let them know. It doesn’t matter if they can be in your life or not. Maybe, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-have-feelings-for-someone-let-them-know-it-doesn-t-matter-if/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Ghosting's a horrible thing, isn't it? It doesn't feel good, it feels like a rejection. And what's more, it feels like a rejection where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-hussey/ghosting-s-a-horrible-thing-isn-t-it-it-doesn-t-feel-good-it-feels/) [Matthew Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-hussey/) > [“i tried to find it but there was no answer at the end of the last conversation - closure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-tried-to-find-it-but-there-was-no-answer-at-the-end-of-the-last/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Denial leads to closure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/denial-leads-to-closure/) Aruho Marwin Machiaveli > [“...our loves ones truly are ever-present. We may bury their bodies or scatter their ashes, but their spirits are boundless and do not accompany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-slaughter/our-loves-ones-truly-are-ever-present-we-may-bury-their-bodies-or/) April Slaughter ## 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 Closure quotes > [“...our loves ones truly are ever-present. We may bury their bodies or scatter their ashes, but their spirits are boundless and do not accompany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-slaughter/our-loves-ones-truly-are-ever-present-we-may-bury-their-bodies-or/) April Slaughter > [Denial leads to closure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/denial-leads-to-closure/) Aruho Marwin Machiaveli > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“i tried to find it but there was no answer at the end of the last conversation - closure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-tried-to-find-it-but-there-was-no-answer-at-the-end-of-the-last/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [Ghosting's a horrible thing, isn't it? It doesn't feel good, it feels like a rejection. And what's more, it feels like a rejection where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-hussey/ghosting-s-a-horrible-thing-isn-t-it-it-doesn-t-feel-good-it-feels/) [Matthew Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-hussey/) > [Sometimes I feel people can move past what they've grown up around and their surroundings while in a place and some people need closure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/sometimes-i-feel-people-can-move-past-what-they-ve-grown-up-around/) [Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/) > [“If you have feelings for someone, let them know. It doesn’t matter if they can be in your life or not. Maybe, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-have-feelings-for-someone-let-them-know-it-doesn-t-matter-if/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Well, anyway… it’s over,” I say, realizing that those two words lump me right in with a hoard of naive women who say it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/well-anyway-it-s-over-i-say-realizing-that-those-two-words-lump-me/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I was devastated. I'm still devastated to this day. When talent like that disappears in a flash, you can't believe it. You deny it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-merrill/i-was-devastated-i-m-still-devastated-to-this-day-when-talent-like/) Helen Merrill > ['Closure' is the word used for a loss that's not acknowledged - and the habit this causes, physically and mentally, for anybody who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ripley/closure-is-the-word-used-for-a-loss-that-s-not-acknowledged-and-the/) [Alice Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ripley/) > [Love is beauty, consciousness is trust. One of the deepest feminine pleasures is when a man stands full, present, and unreactive in the midst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/love-is-beauty-consciousness-is-trust-one-of-the-deepest-feminine/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [I'm considering 'Dark Souls 3' to be the big closure on the series. That's not just limited to me, but From Software and myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hidetaka-miyazaki/i-m-considering-dark-souls-3-to-be-the-big-closure-on-the-series-that/) [Hidetaka Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hidetaka-miyazaki/) > [Shift often from openness to closure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/shift-often-from-openness-to-closure/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [I still read romance, and I read suspense. I read them both. And part of it is, I like stories with strong characters, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/i-still-read-romance-and-i-read-suspense-i-read-them-both-and-part-of/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [The PURPOSE of the DATA INTEGRITY BOARD review meeting is NOT for the purpose of reviewing the INTEGRITY of the paperwork because that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-smith/the-purpose-of-the-data-integrity-board-review-meeting-is-not-for-the/) [Jack Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-smith/) [Browse all 215 Closure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The message coming back at all of us is: live without closure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is-live-without-closure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Closure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is-live-without-closure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/terence-mckenna-287_closure_the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is_1631378.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/terence-mckenna-287_closure_the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is_1631378.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/terence-mckenna-287_closure_the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is_1631378.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The message coming back at all of us is: live without closure.” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The message coming back at all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is-live-without-closure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is-live-without-closure/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```