14 Existential Quotes That Will Make You Smirk

Credit: Matthew Henry from Burst

Life can be a challenging ordeal that many of us take very seriously. But at the end of the day, none of us actually know what this is or what happens at the end of it. This cosmic joke is our birthright, so why not lean in? These philosophers, writers and comedians capture the existential absurdity of being anything at all.

1. “Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke.”

– Herman Hesse

2. “Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.”

– Susan Ertz

Credit: Lerone Pieters

3. “Sometimes I wish my first word was ‘quote’ so that on my deathbed, my last words could be ‘end quote.'”

– Steven Wright

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

4. “The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to grab onto, no parachute. The good news is, there’s no ground.”

– Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

5. “Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”

– Rumi

6. “Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.”

– Andre Gide

7. “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions of years before I was born and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience.”

– Mark Twain

8. “The universe is a cruel, uncaring void. The key to being happy isn’t a search for meaning. It’s to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you’ll be dead.

– mr peanutbutter (Bojack Horseman)

9. “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.”

– Yogi Berra

10. “I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

– Woody Allen

11. “I have an existential map. It has ‘You are here’ written all over it.”

– Steven Wright

 

Credit: Avelino Calvar Martinez from Burst

12. “Serenity is contagious. If we smile at someone, he or she will smile back. And a smile costs nothing. We should plague everyone with joy. If we are to die in a minute, why not die happily, laughing?”

– Swami Satchidananda

13. “People say walking on water is a miracle, but to me walking peacefully on Earth is the real miracle. “

– Thich Nhat Hanh

14. “You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.”

– Chinese Proverb