Death is staring too long into the burning sun and the relief of entering a cool, dark room.
Elisabeth Kubler-RossRead
It is the denial of death that is partially responsible for people living empty, purposeless lives; for when you live as if you'll live forever, it becomes too easy to postpone the things you know that you must do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ignoring the inevitability of death leads to a lack of purpose and urgency in life.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross emphasizes that when individuals deny the reality of death, they often fail to appreciate the significance of their actions, leading to lives that feel empty and unfulfilled. Acknowledging our mortality encourages us to take meaningful actions and prioritize what truly matters, motivating us to pursue our goals and relationships with greater intention and urgency.
Themes
DeathPurposeLifeUrgencyMeaning
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about finding purpose in life.
More from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
All quotes βThe reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not "get over" the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.
Elisabeth Kubler-RossRead
The simple life on the farm was everything to me. Nothing was more relaxing after a long plane flight than to reach the winding driveway that led up to my house. The quiet of the night was more soothing than a sleeping pill.
Elisabeth Kubler-RossRead
The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which includes not only others but ourselves as well.
Elisabeth Kubler-RossRead
There is no joy without hardship. If not for death, would we appreciate life? If not for hate, would we know the ultimate goal is love? At these moments you can either hold on to negativity and look for blame, or you can choose to heal and keep on loving.
Elisabeth Kubler-RossRead
We're put here on Earth to learn our own lessons. No one can tell you what your lessons are; it is part of your personal journey to discover them. On these journeys we may be given a lot, or just a little bit, of the things we must grapple with, but never more than we can handle.
Elisabeth Kubler-RossRead
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The tectonic layers of our lives rest so tightly one on top of the other that we always come up against earlier events in later ones, not as matter that has been fully formed and pushed aside, but absolutely present and alive. I understand this. Nonetheless, I sometimes find it hard to bear.
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