--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What answer to the meaning of existence…" description: "\"What answer to the meaning of existence should one require beyond the right to exercise one's gifts?\" — W. H. Auden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/w-h-auden-856_answers_what-answer-to-the-meaning-of-existence_821058.png" --- # What answer to the meaning of existence should one require… ![“What answer to the meaning of existence should one require beyond the right to exercise one's gifts?” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/w-h-auden-856_answers_what-answer-to-the-meaning-of-existence_821058.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/w-h-auden-856_answers_what-answer-to-the-meaning-of-existence_821058.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/w-h-auden-856_answers_what-answer-to-the-meaning-of-existence_821058.png) > “What answer to the meaning of existence should one require beyond the right to exercise one's gifts?” [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existence asks for purpose beyond mere talent; seek meaning through action. **In simple terms:** Purpose beyond talent needed. Key Takeaway Pursue meaningful contribution. Themes existence purpose meaning Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career choice - volunteering - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism human potential ethical duty Questions to Reflect On - What defines your purpose? - How do you align gifts with meaning? A Different Perspective Purpose can be elusive despite effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Require](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-require-474091/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaning Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-existence-474092/) [Require](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/require/) [Require Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/require-right-474093/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [A sense of a wider meaning to one's existence is what raises a man beyond mere getting and spending. If he lacks this sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/a-sense-of-a-wider-meaning-to-one-s-existence-is-what-raises-a-man/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Man can only find meaning for his existence in something outside himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-can-only-find-meaning-for-his-existence-in-something-outside/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“Idealism, however impractical, gives a meaning to our existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anirban-bose/idealism-however-impractical-gives-a-meaning-to-our-existence/) [Anirban Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anirban-bose/) > [There is a close connection between art and religion in the sense that both are concerned about questions of meaning - if not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-patterson/there-is-a-close-connection-between-art-and-religion-in-the-sense/) [Freeman Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-patterson/) > [So long as space remains, So long sentient beings' suffering remain, I will remain, In order to help, in order to serve... I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/so-long-as-space-remains-so-long-sentient-beings-suffering-remain-i/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I came to see that man finds meaning in his existence only through the active demonstration of his human self, a cosmos comprising the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramoedya-ananta-toer/i-came-to-see-that-man-finds-meaning-in-his-existence-only-through/) [Pramoedya Ananta Toer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramoedya-ananta-toer/) > [“To what end the ‘world’ exists, to what end ‘man­kind’ exists, ought not to concern us at all for the moment except as objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-what-end-the-world-exists-to-what-end-man-kind-exists-ought-not-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Man never ceases to seek knowledge about the objects of his experiences, to understand their meaning for his existence and to react to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/man-never-ceases-to-seek-knowledge-about-the-objects-of-his/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [The meaning of existence is to evolve. 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Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [“The meaning of existence was to preserve untarnished, undisturbed and undistorted the image of eternity which each person is born with - as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-meaning-of-existence-was-to-preserve-untarnished-undisturbed-and/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“The meaning of my existence is that life has addressed a question to me. Or, conversely, I myself am a question which is addressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-reid/the-meaning-of-my-existence-is-that-life-has-addressed-a-question-to/) [Iain Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-reid/) > [It seems that it is impossible to live without discovering the purpose of your life. And the first thing which a person should do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-seems-that-it-is-impossible-to-live-without-discovering-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The word is a thing of mystery, so volatile that it vanishes almost on the lip, yet so powerful that it decides fates and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romano-guardini/the-word-is-a-thing-of-mystery-so-volatile-that-it-vanishes-almost-on/) [Romano Guardini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romano-guardini/) ## More by W. H. Auden > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/why-doesn-t-the-united-states-take-over-the-monarchy-and-unite-with/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The commonest ivory tower is that of the average man, the state of passivity towards experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-commonest-ivory-tower-is-that-of-the-average-man-the-state-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Harrow the house of the dead; look shining at New styles of architecture, a change of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/harrow-the-house-of-the-dead-look-shining-at-new-styles-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/men-will-pay-large-sums-to-whores-for-telling-them-they-are-not-bores/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [If age, which is certainly Just as wicked as youth, look any wiser, It is only that youth is still able to believe It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/if-age-which-is-certainly-just-as-wicked-as-youth-look-any-wiser-it/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [“Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/those-to-whom-evil-is-done-do-evil-in-return/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/i-and-the-public-know-what-all-schoolchildren-learn-those-to-whom/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [How happy the lot of the mathematician. He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/how-happy-the-lot-of-the-mathematician-he-is-judged-solely-by-his/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/perhaps-there-is-only-one-cardinal-sin-impatience-because-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The windiest militant trash Important Persons shout Is not so crude as our wish: What mad Nijinsky wrote About Diaghilev Is true of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-windiest-militant-trash-important-persons-shout-is-not-so-crude/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Time and fevers burn away Individual beauty from Thoughtful children, and the grave Proves the child ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/time-and-fevers-burn-away-individual-beauty-from-thoughtful-children/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/to-hunt-for-symbols-in-a-fairy-tale-is-absolutely-fatal/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) [Explore all 344 W. H. Auden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) [Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What answer to the meaning of existence should one require beyond the right to exercise one's gifts?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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