--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Listen: being dead is not worse than…" description: "\"“Listen: being dead is not worse than being alive. It is different though. You could say the view is larger.”\" — Barbara Kingsolver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/barbara-kingsolver-200_death_listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-bein_1532697.png" --- # Listen: being dead is not worse than being alive. It is… ![“Listen: being dead is not worse than being alive. It is different though. You could say the view is larger.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/barbara-kingsolver-200_death_listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-bein_1532697.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/barbara-kingsolver-200_death_listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-bein_1532697.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/barbara-kingsolver-200_death_listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-bein_1532697.png) > ““Listen: being dead is not worse than being alive. It is different though. You could say the view is larger.”” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death and life are distinct states; death offers a broader perspective, not necessarily worse. **In simple terms:** Death offers a different view, not worse. Key Takeaway Embrace the breadth of experience. Themes mortality perspective existence philosophy acceptance Mood thoughtful philosophical somber Type literary existential When to use this quote - grief counseling - philosophical reflection - creative writing - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism comparative states meaning of life Questions to Reflect On - What does “larger view” mean to you? - How does this perspective affect how you live? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-different-1322245/) [Dead Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-worse-1322247/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen/) [Listen Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-dead-1322246/) [Worse Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse-alive-1133047/) ## Related quotes > [Every life is different because you passed this way and touched history... Listen being dead is not worse than being alive. It is different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/every-life-is-different-because-you-passed-this-way-and-touched/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Every life is different because you passed this way and touched history. Even the child Ruth May touched history. Everyone is complicit. The okapi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/every-life-is-different-because-you-passed-this-way-and-touched-2/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It matters not where or how far you travel,--the farther commonly the worse,--but how much alive you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-matters-not-where-or-how-far-you-travel-the-farther-commonly-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The more you kick something that's dead, the worse it smells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-stanwyck/the-more-you-kick-something-that-s-dead-the-worse-it-smells/) [Barbara Stanwyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-stanwyck/) > [Change is not a linear process; it's an all-encompassing process, and it's alive in different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis-p-orridge/change-is-not-a-linear-process-it-s-an-all-encompassing-process-and/) [Genesis P-Orridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis-p-orridge/) > [“Our first teacher is our own heart. When we begin to tune in and listen to our heart we can bring our thoughts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-l-white/our-first-teacher-is-our-own-heart-when-we-begin-to-tune-in-and/) [Victoria L. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-l-white/) > [“I can't promise the universe is gonna tell you what to do with your life up there. But if you can keep quiet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi-kirby/i-can-t-promise-the-universe-is-gonna-tell-you-what-to-do-with-your/) [Jessi Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi-kirby/) > [I love music. I listen to a lot of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/i-love-music-i-listen-to-a-lot-of-it/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [If you're a smart writer, you listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/if-you-re-a-smart-writer-you-listen/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [You shouldn't listen to my music for political messages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-paisley/you-shouldn-t-listen-to-my-music-for-political-messages/) [Brad Paisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-paisley/) > [“You never know why God has you move the way He does. You should just listen when He tells you to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacinta-howard/you-never-know-why-god-has-you-move-the-way-he-does-you-should-just/) [Jacinta Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacinta-howard/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [It hasn't been a conscious thing, like, 'I don't want to listen to a bunch of dudes,' but I genuinely like music by women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soccer-mommy/it-hasn-t-been-a-conscious-thing-like-i-don-t-want-to-listen-to-a/) [Soccer Mommy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soccer-mommy/) > [I listen to my body, I give it things it wants and I eliminate things it doesn't want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-ekland/i-listen-to-my-body-i-give-it-things-it-wants-and-i-eliminate-things/) [Britt Ekland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britt-ekland/) > [“Listen to your heart and trust the direction you are being pulled. Something inside you already know what to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spring-washam/listen-to-your-heart-and-trust-the-direction-you-are-being-pulled/) [Spring Washam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spring-washam/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Listen: being dead is not worse than being alive. It is different though. You could say the view is larger.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Kingsolver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-being-alive-it-is-different/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-being-alive-it-is-different/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/barbara-kingsolver-200_death_listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-bein_1532697.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/barbara-kingsolver-200_death_listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-bein_1532697.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/barbara-kingsolver-200_death_listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-bein_1532697.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Listen: being dead is not worse than being alive. It is different though. You could say the view is larger.” — Barbara Kingsolver", "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": "Barbara Kingsolver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Listen: being dead is not worse...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-being-alive-it-is-different/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/listen-being-dead-is-not-worse-than-being-alive-it-is-different/#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 } } ] } ```