--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We begin to die as soon as we are born…" description: "\"We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is linked to the beginning.\" — Bret Harte" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/bret-harte-16965_begin_we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-a_736891.jpg" --- # We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is… ![“We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is linked to the beginning.” quote by Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/bret-harte-16965_begin_we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-a_736891.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/bret-harte-16965_begin_we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-a_736891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/bret-harte-16965_begin_we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-a_736891.jpg) > “We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is linked to the beginning.” [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a cycle where birth and death are interconnected, suggesting continuity. **In simple terms:** Birth and death are linked in a cycle. Key Takeaway Embrace the whole life cycle. Themes mortality continuity philosophy Mood contemplative somber Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - illness - aging - legacy planning Key Concepts existentialism cyclical time Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing this link affect your choices? - Can you find meaning in both beginnings and endings? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex life processes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [“As soon as you were born you were captured by fresh air that you screamed against the minute you came out. 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Just to get away from you.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/she-started-disappearing-as-soon-as-she-was-born-just-to-get-away/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [To lose hope in the future is to begin to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kijewski/to-lose-hope-in-the-future-is-to-begin-to-die/) [Karen Kijewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kijewski/) > [Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/living-is-a-form-of-not-being-sure-not-knowing-what-next-or-how-the/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/when-you-cease-to-make-a-contribution-you-begin-to-die/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [The day we see the truth and cease to speak is the day we begin to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-day-we-see-the-truth-and-cease-to-speak-is-the-day-we-begin-to-die/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [WE begin to die not in our sense or extremities, but in our divine faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-begin-to-die-not-in-our-sense-or-extremities-but-in-our-divine/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [To retire is to begin to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/to-retire-is-to-begin-to-die/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [“Life kicks you and you begin to die, it kicks you again and you don’t care anymore, it kicks you one last time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-august/life-kicks-you-and-you-begin-to-die-it-kicks-you-again-and-you-don-t/) [J.M. August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-august/) > [Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/living-is-a-form-of-not-being-sure-not-knowing-what-next-or-how-the-2/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [From the moment we are born, we begin to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janne-teller/from-the-moment-we-are-born-we-begin-to-die/) [Janne Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janne-teller/) > [“From the moment you are born and you take your first breath, you begin to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-richter/from-the-moment-you-are-born-and-you-take-your-first-breath-you-begin/) David Richter ## More by Bret Harte > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“Nellie was a good girl, and I think had a sort of quiet respect for old Fagg's unobtrusiveness. But her fancy was already taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/nellie-was-a-good-girl-and-i-think-had-a-sort-of-quiet-respect-for/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little exertion on the part of the owner as personal beauty. I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/perhaps-there-is-no-gift-of-nature-that-requires-as-little-exertion/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Howbeit, though no scholar, I am not one of those who misuse the English speech, and, being foolishly led by the hasty custom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/howbeit-though-no-scholar-i-am-not-one-of-those-who-misuse-the/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“Tommy, you're a good little man, but you can't gamble worth a cent. Don't try it over again.' He then handed him his money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/tommy-you-re-a-good-little-man-but-you-can-t-gamble-worth-a-cent-don/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“I've had some mighty mean moments afore I kem to this spot,-- Lost on the plains in '50, drowned almost, and shot; But out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/i-ve-had-some-mighty-mean-moments-afore-i-kem-to-this-spot-lost-on/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [But, when the goddess' work is done,The woman's still remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/but-when-the-goddess-work-is-done-the-woman-s-still-remains/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [The delicate thought, that cannot find expression, For ruder speech too fair, That, like thy petals, trembles in possession, And scatters on the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/the-delicate-thought-that-cannot-find-expression-for-ruder-speech-too/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“There was, I think, a prevailing impression common to the provincial mind, that his misfortune was the result of the defective moral quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/there-was-i-think-a-prevailing-impression-common-to-the-provincial/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Your voices break and falter in the darkness, Break, falter, and are still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/your-voices-break-and-falter-in-the-darkness-break-falter-and-are/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Each lost day has its patron saint!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/each-lost-day-has-its-patron-saint/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [When folks find I ain't afeard to speak my mind on their affairs, they kinder guess I'm tellin' the truth about my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/when-folks-find-i-ain-t-afeard-to-speak-my-mind-on-their-affairs-they/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [It would seem evident, therefore, that the secret of the American short story was the treatment of characteristic American life, with absolute knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/it-would-seem-evident-therefore-that-the-secret-of-the-american-short/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [Never a tear bedims the eye that time and patience will not dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/never-a-tear-bedims-the-eye-that-time-and-patience-will-not-dry/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [But still when the mists of doubt prevail, And we lie becalmed by the shores of age, We hear from the misty troubled shore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/but-still-when-the-mists-of-doubt-prevail-and-we-lie-becalmed-by-the/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) [Explore all 38 Bret Harte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) ## More Begin quotes > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Let the motherfucking games begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/let-the-motherfucking-games-begin/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/begin-as-you-mean-to-go-on-and-go-on-as-you-began-and-let-the-lord-be/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [The world will only begin to have faith in you when you do too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-world-will-only-begin-to-have-faith-in-you-when-you-do-too/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The idea with a collection is sort of to begin with a kind of bang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/the-idea-with-a-collection-is-sort-of-to-begin-with-a-kind-of-bang/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [“Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you high. People who are gentle, humble and able always have a great ending no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/humble-yourself-before-the-lord-and-he-will-lift-you-high-people-who/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-begin-and-the-mind-grows-heated-continue-and-the-task-will-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Quitters don’t gain what they have started working on; waiters don’t start what they could have gained. What is common there is failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/quitters-don-t-gain-what-they-have-started-working-on-waiters-don-t/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/i-don-t-know-the-future-i-didn-t-come-here-to-tell-you-how-this-is/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [The public should begin to understand that there's nothing that comes out of this campaign, or this Obama White House, that they can believe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/the-public-should-begin-to-understand-that-there-s-nothing-that-comes/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I look forward to the day that a lot of the folks that you all talk about and cover on this network will begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-forward-to-the-day-that-a-lot-of-the-folks-that-you-all-talk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...I'd be interested in any tips you have for somebody starting out.” “Uh-huh,” I said, looking out the window. I decided, as we drove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/i-d-be-interested-in-any-tips-you-have-for-somebody-starting-out-uh/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. 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Read every word, every phrase, every paragraph of the mind, as it operates through thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/begin-where-you-are-read-every-word-every-phrase-every-paragraph-of/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) Browse all 1,199 Begin quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is linked to the beginning.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bret Harte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-and-the-end-is-linked-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Begin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-and-the-end-is-linked-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/bret-harte-16965_begin_we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-a_736891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/bret-harte-16965_begin_we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-a_736891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/bret-harte-16965_begin_we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-a_736891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We begin to die as soon as we are born, and the end is linked to the beginning.” — Bret Harte", "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": "Bret Harte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We begin to die as soon...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-and-the-end-is-linked-to-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/we-begin-to-die-as-soon-as-we-are-born-and-the-end-is-linked-to-the/#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 } } ] } ```