--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One spiritual writer has observed that…" description: "\"“One spiritual writer has observed that human beings are born with two diseases: life, from which we die; and hope, which says the first disease is not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/brennan-manning-959_afterlife_one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-h_963350.jpg" --- # One spiritual writer has observed that human beings are… ![“One spiritual writer has observed that human beings are born with two diseases: life, from which we die; and hope, which says the first disease is not terminal. Hope is built into the structure of our personalities, into the depths of our unconscious; it plagues us to the very moment of our death…” quote by Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/brennan-manning-959_afterlife_one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-h_963350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/brennan-manning-959_afterlife_one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-h_963350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/brennan-manning-959_afterlife_one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-h_963350.jpg) > ““One spiritual writer has observed that human beings are born with two diseases: life, from which we die; and hope, which says the first disease is not terminal. Hope is built into the structure of our personalities, into the depths of our unconscious; it plagues us to the very moment of our death. The critical question is whether hope is self-deception, the ultimate cruelty of a cruel and tricky universe, or whether it is just possibly the imprint of reality.”” [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity carries two afflictions: mortality and hope, the latter suggesting life isn’t final, yet it may be self‑deception or a true aspect of reality. **In simple terms:** Life and hope are twin diseases; hope may be illusion or reality. Key Takeaway Question the role of hope in life. Themes hope mortality existentialism Mood thoughtful philosophical Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - end‑of‑life care - personal resilience - creative writing - spiritual counseling Key Concepts philosophy psychology ontology Questions to Reflect On - Is hope a comfort or a delusion? - How does hope influence decisions near death? A Different Perspective Hope can lead to denial of inevitable outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Catholicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholicism/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Salvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salvation/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have people coming to me every day, coming to my office, with life-threatening diseases - life-threatening diseases - and they were dropped from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grimm/i-have-people-coming-to-me-every-day-coming-to-my-office-with-life/) [Michael Grimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grimm/) > [In relation to the question of hope, I think the only hope we have is hope against hope. We hope for a better world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/in-relation-to-the-question-of-hope-i-think-the-only-hope-we-have-is/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) > [Evil does not question itself. Only Hope questions itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/evil-does-not-question-itself-only-hope-questions-itself/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [The question was put to him, what hope is; and his answer was, "The dream of a waking man."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/the-question-was-put-to-him-what-hope-is-and-his-answer-was-the-dream/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [Everywhere I go I find that people... both leaders and individuals... are asking one basic question, 'Is there any hope for the future?' My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/everywhere-i-go-i-find-that-people-both-leaders-and-individuals-are/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Sixty-four thousand dollars for a question, I hope they are asking you the meaning of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-scofield/sixty-four-thousand-dollars-for-a-question-i-hope-they-are-asking-you/) [Paul Scofield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-scofield/) > [“To whom can I put this question (with any hope of an answer)? Does being able to live without someone you loved mean you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/to-whom-can-i-put-this-question-with-any-hope-of-an-answer-does-being/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Hope is not wishful thinking. It's not a temperament we're born with. It is a stance toward life that we can choose...not not. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/hope-is-not-wishful-thinking-it-s-not-a-temperament-we-re-born-with/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [“If a man begins his sacrifice when the flames are luminous, and considers for the offerings the signs of heaven, then the holy offerings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-mascaro/if-a-man-begins-his-sacrifice-when-the-flames-are-luminous-and/) [Juan Mascaró](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-mascaro/) > [All human beings are born entrepreneurs. Some get a chance to unleash that capacity. Some never got the chance, never knew that he or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/all-human-beings-are-born-entrepreneurs-some-get-a-chance-to-unleash/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mother gives birth to them, but that life obliges them over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/human-beings-are-not-born-once-and-for-all-on-the-day-their-mother/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“1. First, human beings are linguistic beings and, as we’ll show, live in concerns unavoidable for linguistic beings.        2. Second, human beings live in history:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-flores/1-first-human-beings-are-linguistic-beings-and-as-we-ll-show-live-in/) [Fernando Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-flores/) > [Human beings - they go on being born and dying, dying and being born. It's kind of boring, isn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/human-beings-they-go-on-being-born-and-dying-dying-and-being-born-it/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [“Within Judaism we find divine beings who temporarily become human, semidivine beings who are born of the union of a divine being and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-d-ehrman/within-judaism-we-find-divine-beings-who-temporarily-become-human/) [Bart D. Ehrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bart-d-ehrman/) > [Beings who are born not only unaware of, but quite indifferent to, the aims and habits of the social group have to be rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/beings-who-are-born-not-only-unaware-of-but-quite-indifferent-to-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## More by Brennan Manning > [Accepting the reality of our sinfulness means accepting our authentic self. Judas could not face his shadow; Peter could. The latter befriended the impostor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/accepting-the-reality-of-our-sinfulness-means-accepting-our-authentic/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Trust is our gift back to God, and he finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/trust-is-our-gift-back-to-god-and-he-finds-it-so-enchanting-that/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Genuine self-acceptance is not derived from the power of positive thinking, mind games or pop psychology. IT IS AN ACT OF FAITH in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/genuine-self-acceptance-is-not-derived-from-the-power-of-positive/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [That which is denied cannot be healed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/that-which-is-denied-cannot-be-healed/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“It is not objective proof of God’s existence that we want but the experience of God’s presence. That is the miracle we are really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/it-is-not-objective-proof-of-god-s-existence-that-we-want-but-the/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“He who is alone with his sins is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/he-who-is-alone-with-his-sins-is-utterly-alone-it-may-be-that/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [God not only loves me as I am, but also knows me as I am. Because of this I don't need to apply spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/god-not-only-loves-me-as-i-am-but-also-knows-me-as-i-am-because-of/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Grace abounds in contemporary movies, books, novels, films and music. If God is not in the whirlwind, He may be in a Woody Allen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/grace-abounds-in-contemporary-movies-books-novels-films-and-music-if/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [My trust in God flows out of the experience of his loving me, day in and day out, whether the day is stormy or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/my-trust-in-god-flows-out-of-the-experience-of-his-loving-me-day-in/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [I you think you've done it, then you're wrong. Because you're not finished until you have achieved everything that you never thought you could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/i-you-think-you-ve-done-it-then-you-re-wrong-because-you-re-not/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [May all your expectations be frustrated, may all your plans be thwarted, may all your desires be withered into nothingness, that you may experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/may-all-your-expectations-be-frustrated-may-all-your-plans-be/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Our identity rests in God's relentless tenderness for us revealed in Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/our-identity-rests-in-god-s-relentless-tenderness-for-us-revealed-in/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“When I get honest I admit that I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and I get discouraged.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/when-i-get-honest-i-admit-that-i-am-a-bundle-of-paradoxes-i-believe/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“At Sunday worship, as in every dimension of our existence, many of us pretend to believe we are sinners. Consequently, all we can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/at-sunday-worship-as-in-every-dimension-of-our-existence-many-of-us/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“You tell others about Me - that I am a loving God. Your words are glib. My words are written in the blood of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/you-tell-others-about-me-that-i-am-a-loving-god-your-words-are-glib/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) [Explore all 320 Brennan Manning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) ## More Afterlife quotes > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I guess on one hand I believe it doesn't matter if there is life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/i-guess-on-one-hand-i-believe-it-doesn-t-matter-if-there-is-life/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One spiritual writer has observed that human beings are born with two diseases: life, from which we die; and hope, which says the first disease is not terminal. Hope is built into the structure of our personalities, into the depths of our unconscious; it plagues us to the very moment of our death. The critical question is whether hope is self-deception, the ultimate cruelty of a cruel and tricky universe, or whether it is just possibly the imprint of reality.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brennan Manning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-human-beings-are-born-with-two/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afterlife" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-human-beings-are-born-with-two/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/brennan-manning-959_afterlife_one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-h_963350.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/brennan-manning-959_afterlife_one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-h_963350.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/brennan-manning-959_afterlife_one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-h_963350.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One spiritual writer has observed that human beings are born with two diseases: life, from which we die; and…” — Brennan Manning", "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": "Brennan Manning", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“One spiritual writer has observed that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-human-beings-are-born-with-two/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/one-spiritual-writer-has-observed-that-human-beings-are-born-with-two/#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 } } ] } ```