--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would love to believe that when I die I…" description: "\"“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/carl-sagan-160_afterlife_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_3000535.jpg" --- # I would love to believe that when I die I will live again… ![“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/carl-sagan-160_afterlife_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_3000535.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/carl-sagan-160_afterlife_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_3000535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/carl-sagan-160_afterlife_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_3000535.jpg) > ““I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He doubts afterlife, emphasizing gratitude for life's fleeting beauty over unproven beliefs. **In simple terms:** Life is precious; focus on the present. Key Takeaway Appreciate each day fully. Themes mortality gratitude skepticism Mood thoughtful humble Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily gratitude practice - mindfulness - ethical living Key Concepts existentialism philosophy science Questions to Reflect On - What does living fully mean to you? - How do you cope with uncertainty about death? A Different Perspective Denial of afterlife may cause existential anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Wishful thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishful-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Dad passed away in 2000, but he visits me all the time. He comes to me in different ways. So I have that connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-mailman/dad-passed-away-in-2000-but-he-visits-me-all-the-time-he-comes-to-me/) [Deborah Mailman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-mailman/) > [The chief problem about death, incidentally, is the fear that there may be no afterlife - a depressing thought, particularly for those who bothered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/the-chief-problem-about-death-incidentally-is-the-fear-that-there-may/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I might accept immortality, if I had to do it. But I would prefer - if there is any afterlife - to know nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-might-accept-immortality-if-i-had-to-do-it-but-i-would-prefer-if/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“The afterlife is what you want it to be. Not what you wish it was when you are alive, but what you feel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-k-line/the-afterlife-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-not-what-you-wish-it-was-when/) [Al K. Line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-k-line/) > [“That was the best of the American spirit, I thought--having the audacity to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary that we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-was-the-best-of-the-american-spirit-i-thought-having-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“I believe despite my doubts, belief gives me power reason takes away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/i-believe-despite-my-doubts-belief-gives-me-power-reason-takes-away/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [You have to believe in yourself despite the evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-haruf/you-have-to-believe-in-yourself-despite-the-evidence/) [Kent Haruf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-haruf/) > [“I want to believe that, despite all evidence to the contrary, it is possible for anyone to find that one special person. That person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/i-want-to-believe-that-despite-all-evidence-to-the-contrary-it-is/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [“Reality doesn't give a shit what you believe; it is what it is…despite what you believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-ball-phd/reality-doesn-t-give-a-shit-what-you-believe-it-is-what-it-is-despite/) Martin Ball Phd > [... it is because one can build a compelling set of arguments - informed by science and thoroughly compatible with it - that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/it-is-because-one-can-build-a-compelling-set-of-arguments-informed-by/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [A delusion is something that people believe in despite a total lack of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-delusion-is-something-that-people-believe-in-despite-a-total-lack/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Prayer or not, I want to believe that, despite all evidence to the contrary, it is possible for anyone to find that one special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/prayer-or-not-i-want-to-believe-that-despite-all-evidence-to-the/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [“I want to believe that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, there is reason to hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn-david-levithan-3/i-want-to-believe-that-despite-all-the-evidence-to-the-contrary-there/) Rachel Cohn, David Levithan ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## 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": "“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-4/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afterlife" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-4/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/carl-sagan-160_afterlife_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_3000535.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/carl-sagan-160_afterlife_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_3000535.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/carl-sagan-160_afterlife_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_3000535.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of…” — Carl Sagan", "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": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I would love to believe that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-4/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-4/#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 } } ] } ```