...signifying something.

There is the well-known soliloquy of Macbeth:

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing. (Act V, Scene V, 20-31)

but most of us live as if the tale signified something.