--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You need a cemetery to go through life" description: "\"“You need a cemetery to go through life”\" — Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir-73727_life_you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life-1_1138787.jpg" --- # You need a cemetery to go through life ![“You need a cemetery to go through life” quote by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir-73727_life_you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life-1_1138787.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir-73727_life_you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life-1_1138787.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir-73727_life_you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life-1_1138787.jpg) > ““You need a cemetery to go through life”” Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life requires confronting mortality, and that awareness gives meaning to our journey. **In simple terms:** Facing death gives life meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality to live fully. Themes mortality meaning existence reflection Mood poetic thought‑provoking Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - grief counseling - life planning - creative expression Key Concepts existentialism psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of death shape your actions? - What does “a cemetery” symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Avoiding death can cause denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cemetery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Don't make a cemetery of your life by burying your talents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-sheindlin/don-t-make-a-cemetery-of-your-life-by-burying-your-talents/) [Judy Sheindlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-sheindlin/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [A cemetery saddens us because it is the only place of the world in which we do not meet our dead again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/a-cemetery-saddens-us-because-it-is-the-only-place-of-the-world-in/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) > [The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-cemetery-of-the-victims-of-human-cruelty-in-our-century-is/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [“what i really need is a dead man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/what-i-really-need-is-a-dead-man/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Cats and dogs believe politicians are like cemetery caregivers; they are on top of everyone, but nobody listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/cats-and-dogs-believe-politicians-are-like-cemetery-caregivers-they/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [In old grimy streets, in isolated and decaying houses, sometimes far from the Vieux Carre, in little used and secluded cemeteries, there still sluggishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-john-laughlin/in-old-grimy-streets-in-isolated-and-decaying-houses-sometimes-far/) [Clarence John Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-john-laughlin/) > [We think that a powerful and vigorous movement is impossible without differences - "true conformity" is possible only in the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/we-think-that-a-powerful-and-vigorous-movement-is-impossible-without/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Being president of the University of California is like being manager of a cemetery: there are many people under you, but no one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-yudof/being-president-of-the-university-of-california-is-like-being-manager/) Mark Yudof > [“I visited my old haunt, but somehow without all my old friends there with me, the cemetery just wasn’t the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-visited-my-old-haunt-but-somehow-without-all-my-old-friends-there/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/i-am-surprised-that-many-people-disregard-the-fact-that-the-end-for/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [If it wasn't for baseball, I'd be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-ruth/if-it-wasn-t-for-baseball-i-d-be-in-either-the-penitentiary-or-the/) [Babe Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-ruth/) > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) Molly Caldwell Crosby > [The only people without problems are in cemeteries. If you don't have problems, get on your knees and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-only-people-without-problems-are-in-cemeteries-if-you-don-t-have/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) ## More by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir > [“I'm not separate from this world, nor is this world separate from me; time had not taken hold of me yet and distances are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/i-m-not-separate-from-this-world-nor-is-this-world-separate-from-me/) Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir > [“The only thing mothers have in common with each other is the fact that they slept with a man while they were ovulating without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/the-only-thing-mothers-have-in-common-with-each-other-is-the-fact/) Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir Explore all 3 Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir quotes ## More Cemetery quotes > [The only people without problems are in cemeteries. If you don't have problems, get on your knees and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-only-people-without-problems-are-in-cemeteries-if-you-don-t-have/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) Molly Caldwell Crosby > [If it wasn't for baseball, I'd be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-ruth/if-it-wasn-t-for-baseball-i-d-be-in-either-the-penitentiary-or-the/) [Babe Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-ruth/) > [I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/i-am-surprised-that-many-people-disregard-the-fact-that-the-end-for/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“I visited my old haunt, but somehow without all my old friends there with me, the cemetery just wasn’t the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-visited-my-old-haunt-but-somehow-without-all-my-old-friends-there/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Being president of the University of California is like being manager of a cemetery: there are many people under you, but no one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-yudof/being-president-of-the-university-of-california-is-like-being-manager/) Mark Yudof > [We think that a powerful and vigorous movement is impossible without differences - "true conformity" is possible only in the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/we-think-that-a-powerful-and-vigorous-movement-is-impossible-without/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-cemetery-of-the-victims-of-human-cruelty-in-our-century-is/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [In old grimy streets, in isolated and decaying houses, sometimes far from the Vieux Carre, in little used and secluded cemeteries, there still sluggishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-john-laughlin/in-old-grimy-streets-in-isolated-and-decaying-houses-sometimes-far/) [Clarence John Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-john-laughlin/) > [Cats and dogs believe politicians are like cemetery caregivers; they are on top of everyone, but nobody listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/cats-and-dogs-believe-politicians-are-like-cemetery-caregivers-they/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“The atmosphere is always very grave when I walk into a cemetery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-atmosphere-is-always-very-grave-when-i-walk-into-a-cemetery/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Nothing exists except by virtue of a disequilibrium, an injustice. All existence is a theft paid for by other existences; no life flowers except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/nothing-exists-except-by-virtue-of-a-disequilibrium-an-injustice-all/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [ Our agreements on creating the conditions for preparing a peace treaty \[with Japan\] should be rooted in this trust. This may be achieved, for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/our-agreements-on-creating-the-conditions-for-preparing-a-peace/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [A cemetery saddens us because it is the only place of the world in which we do not meet our dead again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/a-cemetery-saddens-us-because-it-is-the-only-place-of-the-world-in/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) [Browse all 309 Cemetery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You need a cemetery to go through life”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cemetery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir-73727_life_you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life-1_1138787.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir-73727_life_you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life-1_1138787.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir-73727_life_you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life-1_1138787.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You need a cemetery to go through life” — Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You need a cemetery to go...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/you-need-a-cemetery-to-go-through-life/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```