--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought more and more about…" description: "\"“I thought more and more about impermanence and death - not in the form of a depressing nihilism, but as a contemplation on the transitory nature of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/andrew-bowen-187415_death_i-thought-more-and-more-about-impermanen_237306.jpg" --- # I thought more and more about impermanence and death - not… ![“I thought more and more about impermanence and death - not in the form of a depressing nihilism, but as a contemplation on the transitory nature of the bodies we cling to so dearly. Why was I so attached to something that will inevitably return to dust? Why am I not more focused on the pure and…” quote by Andrew Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/andrew-bowen-187415_death_i-thought-more-and-more-about-impermanen_237306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/andrew-bowen-187415_death_i-thought-more-and-more-about-impermanen_237306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/andrew-bowen-187415_death_i-thought-more-and-more-about-impermanen_237306.jpg) > ““I thought more and more about impermanence and death - not in the form of a depressing nihilism, but as a contemplation on the transitory nature of the bodies we cling to so dearly. Why was I so attached to something that will inevitably return to dust? Why am I not more focused on the pure and eternal soul - the only true form of life - within this fleshy cage?”” Andrew Bowen ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating impermanence reveals attachment to the body and invites focus on the eternal soul within. **In simple terms:** Impermanence shows our attachment to the body; focus on the soul. Key Takeaway Shift focus from fleeting form to lasting spirit. Themes mortality impermanence spirituality attachment existential inquiry Mood thoughtful introspective Type contemplation:1 death:1 existentialism:1 faith:0 impermanence:1 life:0 nature:0 nihilism:0 transitory:0 When to use this quote - philosophical reflection - personal meditation - creative writing Key Concepts transience soul existential meaning faith Questions to Reflect On - What does the body mean to you? - How can recognizing impermanence change your daily choices? A Different Perspective self‑help ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Impermanence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impermanence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“Change is the very nature of Nature. if there's one thing that doesn't change, it is the fact that everything changes. In the Korean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilchi-lee/change-is-the-very-nature-of-nature-if-there-s-one-thing-that-doesn-t/) [Ilchi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilchi-lee/) > [“What is the happiness ? Is it really happiness ? Nothing stable, just happen, stay and decay... Everything is impermanence, dissatisfaction and nothing can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/what-is-the-happiness-is-it-really-happiness-nothing-stable-just/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [“Man was, and is, too shallow and cowardly to endure the fact of the mortality of everything living. He wraps it up in rose-coloured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/man-was-and-is-too-shallow-and-cowardly-to-endure-the-fact-of-the/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [“The boat has become supreme isolation, chosen isolation, holding myself apart from the world, which I only dimly understand anyway. I can sit on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/the-boat-has-become-supreme-isolation-chosen-isolation-holding-myself/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [Finally, the lessons of impermanence taught me this: loss constitutes an odd kind of fullness; despair empties out into an unquenchable appetite for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/finally-the-lessons-of-impermanence-taught-me-this-loss-constitutes/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [How keen everyone is to make this world their home forgetting its impermanence It's like trying to see and name constellations in a fireworks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/how-keen-everyone-is-to-make-this-world-their-home-forgetting-its/) [Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/) > [“All systems, whether religious, philosophical, or scientific, are simply human constructions that express a psychological need for stability and control that protects us from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-aho/all-systems-whether-religious-philosophical-or-scientific-are-simply/) Kevin Aho > [In the face of impermanence, if your next thought is good, this is what we call the realization body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-porter/in-the-face-of-impermanence-if-your-next-thought-is-good-this-is-what/) [Bill Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-porter/) > [Life is impermanent and in the face of that impermanence, cavort! 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And the permanence of the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/leaving-the-people-and-places-you-love-is-a-reminder-of-the/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [If you have the insight of non-self, if you have the insight of impermanence, you should make that insight into a concentration that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-the-insight-of-non-self-if-you-have-the-insight-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I will garden on the double run, my rhythm obvious in the ringing rakes, and trust in fate to keep me poor and kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hugo/i-will-garden-on-the-double-run-my-rhythm-obvious-in-the-ringing/) [Richard Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hugo/) > [You're already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-re-already-naked-there-is-no-reason-not-to-follow-your-heart/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Realizing that I can't control or change the impermanence of things in human life is daunting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/realizing-that-i-can-t-control-or-change-the-impermanence-of-things/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/nature-s-first-green-is-gold-her-hardest-hue-to-hold-her-early-leaf-s/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## More Contemplation quotes > [“Inside every pause lived a contemplation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/inside-every-pause-lived-a-contemplation/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. 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