--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You die - and this is why manmade…" description: "\"You die - and this is why manmade religions don't work for so many of us. The notion that you're dead and that's the end, and they even try to contain ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/alice-walker-347_beginning_you-die-and-this-is-why-manmade-religion_2998408.png" --- # You die - and this is why manmade religions don't work for… ![“You die - and this is why manmade religions don't work for so many of us. The notion that you're dead and that's the end, and they even try to contain you in coffins. They make them out of steel and stuff. But really, your journey - for all you know - is just beginning. For all I know, what you…” quote by Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/alice-walker-347_beginning_you-die-and-this-is-why-manmade-religion_2998408.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/alice-walker-347_beginning_you-die-and-this-is-why-manmade-religion_2998408.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/alice-walker-347_beginning_you-die-and-this-is-why-manmade-religion_2998408.png) > “You die - and this is why manmade religions don't work for so many of us. The notion that you're dead and that's the end, and they even try to contain you in coffins. They make them out of steel and stuff. But really, your journey - for all you know - is just beginning. For all I know, what you see now is just a tiny little seed. So, I may blossom into an entire - I don't know - something in the sky. Who knows where we're going?” [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death is not an end; it may be a seed for new growth, challenging religious finality. **In simple terms:** Death may start new life, not end it. Key Takeaway Embrace death as potential transformation. Themes philosophy life death spirituality Mood hopeful melancholic Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - grief counseling - spiritual practice - creative writing - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism rebirth Questions to Reflect On - What does “new beginning” mean to you? - How do beliefs shape your view of death? A Different Perspective Fear of the unknown can dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Coffins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffins/) [Dead end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-end/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Manmade Religions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manmade-religions-4747564/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Notion Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion-dead-4747565/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religions Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religions-don-1508851/) [Seeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeds/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steel/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Tiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tiny/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [People and their religions don't affect me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-power/people-and-their-religions-don-t-affect-me/) [Cat Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-power/) > [I still pray when I fly and all that stuff and it can't hurt anything but there's too many things in both religions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-baruchel/i-still-pray-when-i-fly-and-all-that-stuff-and-it-can-t-hurt-anything/) [Jay Baruchel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-baruchel/) > [“i love all the religions , i don't know why i borned in one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-yadav/i-love-all-the-religions-i-don-t-know-why-i-borned-in-one/) [Nikhil Yadav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-yadav/) > [The only religions I don't like are the ones that insist their God is bigger than your God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-only-religions-i-don-t-like-are-the-ones-that-insist-their-god-is/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Even though I respect many different religions, I don't really particularly just follow one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-machado/even-though-i-respect-many-different-religions-i-don-t-really/) [Cristian Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-machado/) > [War is a dead end, literally. And, what is more, we simply can't afford it. Not morally, and not financially. How long will it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/war-is-a-dead-end-literally-and-what-is-more-we-simply-can-t-afford/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [For me, curiosity is life. If you are not curious, you are in your coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-boulez/for-me-curiosity-is-life-if-you-are-not-curious-you-are-in-your-coffin/) [Pierre Boulez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-boulez/) > [One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/one-of-the-lessons-learned-during-the-vietnam-war-was-that-the/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [The reason they invented coffins, to lock the dead in, preserve them, they put makeup on them; they didn't want them spreading or changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-reason-they-invented-coffins-to-lock-the-dead-in-preserve-them/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I don't think we have all the words in a single vocabulary to explain what we are or why we are. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-don-t-think-we-have-all-the-words-in-a-single-vocabulary-to-explain/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [She wanted to be buried in a coffin filled with used paperbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/she-wanted-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin-filled-with-used-paperbacks/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Well, I guess I am about the livest dead man you ever saw; although I was once asked to accept a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rice/well-i-guess-i-am-about-the-livest-dead-man-you-ever-saw-although-i/) [Dan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rice/) > [At my funeral, if one said, 'Nick was a generous person,' trust me I won't be doing cartwheels in my coffin. Recognition from people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/at-my-funeral-if-one-said-nick-was-a-generous-person-trust-me-i-won-t/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [His smile is like the silver plate on a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/his-smile-is-like-the-silver-plate-on-a-coffin/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) ## More by Alice Walker > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Just be what it is that you are, and that is just fine. You don't have to be what you're not in any way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/just-be-what-it-is-that-you-are-and-that-is-just-fine-you-don-t-have/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“Remember this-- say it & know it is true: Alice loves me Alice loves me and I am not blamed for this. ... she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/remember-this-say-it-know-it-is-true-alice-loves-me-alice-loves-me/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“Only the sky above us do we hold in common.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/only-the-sky-above-us-do-we-hold-in-common/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“Why aren't you happy in America, if everyone there drives motorcars?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/why-aren-t-you-happy-in-america-if-everyone-there-drives-motorcars/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“She saw poetry where other writers merely saw failure to cope with English.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/she-saw-poetry-where-other-writers-merely-saw-failure-to-cope-with/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [My mother had handed down respect for the possibilities...and the will to grasp them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/my-mother-had-handed-down-respect-for-the-possibilities-and-the-will/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Helped are those who are content to be themselves; they will never lack mystery in their lives and the joys of self-discovery will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/helped-are-those-who-are-content-to-be-themselves-they-will-never/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“As others might prepare for an exam whose subject matter is unknown to them, so I must study, cram, for every conversation with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/as-others-might-prepare-for-an-exam-whose-subject-matter-is-unknown/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [The original crime of niggers and lesbians is that they prefer themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-original-crime-of-niggers-and-lesbians-is-that-they-prefer/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [My mother was very strong. Once, she picked up a coconut and smashed it against my father's head. It taught me about women defending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/my-mother-was-very-strong-once-she-picked-up-a-coconut-and-smashed-it/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Many readers fail to realize this, but 'The Color Purple' is a theological text. It is about the reclamation of one's original God: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/many-readers-fail-to-realize-this-but-the-color-purple-is-a/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Humans - whatever billions we are - we don't have the control. We are considered expendable, basically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/humans-whatever-billions-we-are-we-don-t-have-the-control-we-are/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/all-my-life-i-had-to-fight-i-had-to-fight-my-daddy-i-had-to-fight-my/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) [Explore all 654 Alice Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## More Beginning quotes > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) [Adam Imad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-imad/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) [Manae Poet Of Carisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manae-poet-of-carisis/) > [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/) [Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) [Jacklyn H Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacklyn-h-lucas/) [Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You die - and this is why manmade religions don't work for so many of us. 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