--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are always and only two trains…" description: "\"There are always and only two trains running. There is life and there is death. Each of us rides them both. To live life with dignity, to celebrate and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/august-wilson-3646_accepting_there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-run_1673704.png" --- # There are always and only two trains running. There is… ![“There are always and only two trains running. There is life and there is death. Each of us rides them both. To live life with dignity, to celebrate and accept responsibility for your presence in the world is all that can be asked of anyone.” quote by August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/august-wilson-3646_accepting_there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-run_1673704.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/august-wilson-3646_accepting_there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-run_1673704.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/august-wilson-3646_accepting_there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-run_1673704.png) > “There are always and only two trains running. There is life and there is death. Each of us rides them both. To live life with dignity, to celebrate and accept responsibility for your presence in the world is all that can be asked of anyone.” [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life and death are the only two inevitable paths; we must choose dignity and responsibility in how we live. **In simple terms:** Life and death are inevitable; live with dignity and responsibility. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility and dignity. Themes life death responsibility dignity Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - public service - end‑of‑life care - morality discussions Key Concepts existentialism ethics human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor your presence in the world? - What does dignity mean to you? A Different Perspective Neglecting responsibility can lead to a meaningless existence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) [Trains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trains/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Trains running in every direction spit hot ash and cinders. Ministers and moralists feared that the vibrations and jostling of such fast travel would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/trains-running-in-every-direction-spit-hot-ash-and-cinders-ministers/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Respect for life and for the dignity of the human person also extends to the rest of creation, which is called to join man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/respect-for-life-and-for-the-dignity-of-the-human-person-also-extends/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [We have given a government where people feel safe... we gave Dalits a life of dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/we-have-given-a-government-where-people-feel-safe-we-gave-dalits-a/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-ultimate-end-of-all-revolutionary-social-change-is-to-establish/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The call to the creative life is a call to dignity, to a life of vulnerability and adventure and the call to a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-call-to-the-creative-life-is-a-call-to-dignity-to-a-life-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Human life has dignity at every age the taking of innocent human life is always wrong. I believe our nation at every level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/human-life-has-dignity-at-every-age-the-taking-of-innocent-human-life/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [If man is not ready to risk his life, where is his dignity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/if-man-is-not-ready-to-risk-his-life-where-is-his-dignity/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [There is a vital lesson to be learned here, a Truth our society must not lose sight of, and that is the sanctity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-peretti/there-is-a-vital-lesson-to-be-learned-here-a-truth-our-society-must/) [Frank Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-peretti/) > [Life without dignity is worthless, life without green banners hoisted is useless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaddafi/life-without-dignity-is-worthless-life-without-green-banners-hoisted/) Gaddafi > [“There is a profound difference between fighting to avoid death and fighting in order to live. Men who fight to avoid death preserve their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malaparte-curzio/there-is-a-profound-difference-between-fighting-to-avoid-death-and/) Malaparte Curzio > [The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ideal-man-bears-the-accidents-of-life-with-dignity-and-grace/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“no one gets out of this life with any dignity intact”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-vmrc-oldster/no-one-gets-out-of-this-life-with-any-dignity-intact/) A Vmrc Oldster > [“I stand for peace, choice, and a life of dignity for all humankind - regardless of skin color, gender, or religion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-levon/i-stand-for-peace-choice-and-a-life-of-dignity-for-all-humankind/) [Elena Levon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-levon/) > [I think that whether someone is a Christian or not, the idea that a human life has dignity and intrinsic worth should be clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-think-that-whether-someone-is-a-christian-or-not-the-idea-that-a/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [Our choice is not between war and peace but between life with dignity or without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/our-choice-is-not-between-war-and-peace-but-between-life-with-dignity/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) ## More by August Wilson > [Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in 'The Cosby Show,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-projects-without-jobs-living-on/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I just write stuff down and pile it up, and when I get enough stuff, I spread it out and look at it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-just-write-stuff-down-and-pile-it-up-and-when-i-get-enough-stuff-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I don't look at our society today too much. My focus is still in the past, and part of the reason is because what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-look-at-our-society-today-too-much-my-focus-is-still-in-the/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [The director works as an interpretive artist, but he's still an artist, so you also have to give him room to create and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/the-director-works-as-an-interpretive-artist-but-he-s-still-an-artist/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I dropped out of school, but I didn't drop out of life. I would leave the house each morning and go to the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-dropped-out-of-school-but-i-didn-t-drop-out-of-life-i-would-leave/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [When I first started writing plays I couldn't write good dialogue because I didn't respect how black people talked. I thought that in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-couldn-t-write-good-dialogue/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“Like you? I go out of here every morning...bust my butt...cause I like you? It's my job. It's my responsibility!... Not cause I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/like-you-i-go-out-of-here-every-morning-bust-my-butt-cause-i-like-you/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“-How long you been with the rail road now? -Twenty-seven years. Now, I'll tell you something about the railroad. What I done learned after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/how-long-you-been-with-the-rail-road-now-twenty-seven-years-now-i-ll/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [Scripts were rather scarce in 1968. We did a lot of Amiri Baraka's plays, the agitprop stuff he was writing. It was at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-did-a-lot-of-amiri-baraka-s/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [All you need in the world is love and laughter. That's all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/all-you-need-in-the-world-is-love-and-laughter-that-s-all-anybody/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I ain't never found no place for me to fit. Seem like all I do is start over. It ain't nothing to find no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-ain-t-never-found-no-place-for-me-to-fit-seem-like-all-i-do-is/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I don't write for a particular audience. I work as an artist, and I think the audience of one, which is the self, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-write-for-a-particular-audience-i-work-as-an-artist-and-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I dont write particularly to effect social change. I believe writing can do that, but thats not why I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-dont-write-particularly-to-effect-social-change-i-believe-writing/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“Don't try and go through life worrying about if somebody like you or not. You best be making sure they doing right by you,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/don-t-try-and-go-through-life-worrying-about-if-somebody-like-you-or/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [Suffice it to say, I'm not poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/suffice-it-to-say-i-m-not-poor/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Explore all 124 August Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are always and only two trains running. There is life and there is death. Each of us rides them both. To live life with dignity, to celebrate and accept responsibility for your presence in the world is all that can be asked of anyone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-running-there-is-life-and-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-running-there-is-life-and-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/august-wilson-3646_accepting_there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-run_1673704.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/august-wilson-3646_accepting_there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-run_1673704.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/august-wilson-3646_accepting_there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-run_1673704.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are always and only two trains running. There is life and there is death. Each of us rides them both…” — August Wilson", "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": "August Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are always and only two...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-running-there-is-life-and-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-are-always-and-only-two-trains-running-there-is-life-and-there/#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 } } ] } ```