--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human beings do not live forever, Reuven…" description: "\"“Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/chaim-potok-2254_blink-of-an-eye_human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven_2530357.jpg" --- # Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less… ![“Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing…” quote by Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/chaim-potok-2254_blink-of-an-eye_human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven_2530357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/chaim-potok-2254_blink-of-an-eye_human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven_2530357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/chaim-potok-2254_blink-of-an-eye_human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven_2530357.jpg) > ““Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye? I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here.”” [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s fleeting nature gives urgency to create personal meaning, making existence worthwhile despite suffering. **In simple terms:** Life is short; make it meaningful. Key Takeaway Seek purpose, not just existence. Themes meaning purpose mortality humanity Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief - career - relationships - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you define meaning in daily life? - What actions give your life purpose? A Different Perspective Meaning must be actively pursued, not passively assumed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blink of an eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blink-of-an-eye/) [Eternity Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-asked-1337417/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-meaning/) [Life With Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-with-meaning/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Live forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-forever/) [Lives Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-eternity-1337419/) [Lives Span](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-span-1337418/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Long time ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time-ago/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Understand Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-life/) ## Related quotes > [“We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity...a blink of an eye in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/we-live-less-than-the-time-it-takes-to-blink-an-eye-if-we-measure-our/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-learned-a-long-time-ago-reuven-that-a-blink-of-an-eye-in-itself-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-span-of-life-is-nothing-but-the-man-who-lives-that-span-he-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-man-must-fill-his-life-with-meaning-meaning-is-not-automatically/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing, But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-blink-of-an-eye-in-itself-is-nothing-but-the-eye-that-blinks-that-2/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [That every man after the life in the world lives to eternity, is evident from this, that man is then spiritual, and no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/that-every-man-after-the-life-in-the-world-lives-to-eternity-is/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Lives in eternity's sun rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/lives-in-eternity-s-sun-rise/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/he-who-binds-to-himself-a-joy-does-the-winged-life-destroy-but-he-who-2/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The life of a wise man is most of all extemporaneous, for he lives out of an eternity which includes all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-life-of-a-wise-man-is-most-of-all-extemporaneous-for-he-lives-out/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Eternity He who binds himself to a joy Does the winged life destroy But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/eternity-he-who-binds-himself-to-a-joy-does-the-winged-life-destroy/) [René Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [“Obsessed people orient their lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/obsessed-people-orient-their-lives-around-eternity-they-are-not-fixed/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/he-who-binds-to-himself-a-joy-does-the-winged-life-destroy-but-he-who/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [He who lives in the present lives in eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/he-who-lives-in-the-present-lives-in-eternity/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“...a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-blink-of-an-eye-in-itself-is-nothing-but-the-eye-that-blinks-that/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“The blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-blink-of-an-eye-in-itself-is-nothing-but-the-eye-that-blinks-that/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## More by Chaim Potok > [“DW: Some critics have written that they don’t admire your so-called simple style. You have contended that your writing is a result of much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/dw-some-critics-have-written-that-they-don-t-admire-your-so-called/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“I cannot pray. I talk to God through my sculpture and painting.' 'That's also prayer.' He smiled faintly, the morning sun on his face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-cannot-pray-i-talk-to-god-through-my-sculpture-and-painting-that-s/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I don't work on my Sabbath. I write five-and-a-half or six days a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-don-t-work-on-my-sabbath-i-write-five-and-a-half-or-six-days-a-week/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [And these two elements are at odds with one another because Freud is utterly adversary to almost all the ways of structuring the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/and-these-two-elements-are-at-odds-with-one-another-because-freud-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“How should a Jew feel? There we went through the seven gates of hell for matzos. Here I stand in matzos over my head.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/how-should-a-jew-feel-there-we-went-through-the-seven-gates-of-hell/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“In our time... a man whose enemies are faceless bureaucrats almost never wins. It is our equivalent to the anger of the gods in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/in-our-time-a-man-whose-enemies-are-faceless-bureaucrats-almost-never/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Seeds must be sown everywhere. Only some will bear fruit. But there would not be the fruit from the few had the many not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/seeds-must-be-sown-everywhere-only-some-will-bear-fruit-but-there/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Basically it’s none of our business how somebody manages to grow, if only he does grow, if only we’re on the trail of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/basically-it-s-none-of-our-business-how-somebody-manages-to-grow-if/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“I walked the streets and tasted the golden sun that lay across the city.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-walked-the-streets-and-tasted-the-golden-sun-that-lay-across-the/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [What I have in advance are people I want to write about and a problem or problems that I see those people encountering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/what-i-have-in-advance-are-people-i-want-to-write-about-and-a-problem/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Millions of people can draw. Art is whether there is a scream in you wanting to get out in a special way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/millions-of-people-can-draw-art-is-whether-there-is-a-scream-in-you/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“When the alternative is possible disaster, a man must gamble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/when-the-alternative-is-possible-disaster-a-man-must-gamble/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I will go wherever the truth leads me. It is secular scholarship, Rebbe; it is not the scholarship of tradition. In secular scholarship there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-will-go-wherever-the-truth-leads-me-it-is-secular-scholarship-rebbe/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [… the world will indulge you just so long Asher Lev. Then it will stop. You will simply have to grow accustomed to that truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-world-will-indulge-you-just-so-long-asher-lev-then-it-will-stop/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [No one knows he is fortunate until he becomes unfortunate, that's the way the world is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/no-one-knows-he-is-fortunate-until-he-becomes-unfortunate-that-s-the/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) [Explore all 175 Chaim Potok quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## More Blink of an eye quotes > [Looking back at the days you were sitting next to me, feels like it would last forever. In a blink of an eye, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-el-hallab/looking-back-at-the-days-you-were-sitting-next-to-me-feels-like-it/) [Mahmoud El Hallab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-el-hallab/) > [“sleep soon!” Rapture From Temporal to Eternal In the blink of an eye. Skinned, deboned And winged to fly!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-torridon/sleep-soon-rapture-from-temporal-to-eternal-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/) [Daniel Torridon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-torridon/) > [Always tell someone how you feel, because opportunities are lost in the blink of an eye but regret can last for a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-tell-someone-how-you-feel-because-opportunities-are-lost-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“in the blink of an eye, one’s whole world could take a swan dive; the elevator from heaven to hell was a fast-moving one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-rose/in-the-blink-of-an-eye-one-s-whole-world-could-take-a-swan-dive-the/) [Sierra Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-rose/) > [“I am 1324512000 seconds old. In the cosmic blink of an eye, I will become once again cosmic dust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/i-am-1324512000-seconds-old-in-the-cosmic-blink-of-an-eye-i-will/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“Of knowing that there is a larger energy and force that can crush our ambitions and plans in the blink of an eye, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-j-abdul-kalam-2/of-knowing-that-there-is-a-larger-energy-and-force-that-can-crush-our/) [A.P.J. Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-j-abdul-kalam-2/) > [When I write about "realizations," I am describing a state in which a practitioner has wisdom of who she or he is, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-targ/when-i-write-about-realizations-i-am-describing-a-state-in-which-a/) [Russell Targ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-targ/) > [You know, the smallest thing can change a life. In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - and when you least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-know-the-smallest-thing-can-change-a-life-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [It takes an 365 days to complete an year, 31 or 30daysto complete a month, 7 days to complete a week, 24 hrs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kimani/it-takes-an-365-days-to-complete-an-year-31-or-30daysto-complete-a/) [Paul Kimani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kimani/) > [“in the blink of an eye my beauty becomes but a feast for worms, and I, a forgotten sigh in a sea of nothingness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/in-the-blink-of-an-eye-my-beauty-becomes-but-a-feast-for-worms-and-i/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“I could heal you-" "No," he says, sharply enough that it startles me. "Everyone is dead. Gavin, Jedro, Melita... All gone. My life, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-carson/i-could-heal-you-no-he-says-sharply-enough-that-it-startles-me/) [Rae Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-carson/) > [“Everything turns slower when she’s not around, but when she’s with me, an hour feels like a blink of an eye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rea-lidde/everything-turns-slower-when-she-s-not-around-but-when-she-s-with-me/) [Rea Lidde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rea-lidde/) > [“No. I don't want the love at first sight That sears my heart Like a bolt of lightning And disappears in the blink of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sowmya-thejomoorthy/no-i-don-t-want-the-love-at-first-sight-that-sears-my-heart-like-a/) [Sowmya Thejomoorthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sowmya-thejomoorthy/) > [Life can change in the blink of an eye. All you have is right now. So don’t ever put off telling someone how you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-potter/life-can-change-in-the-blink-of-an-eye-all-you-have-is-right-now-so/) [Alexandra Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-potter/) > [“No, my point is that life on earth can take of itself. In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/no-my-point-is-that-life-on-earth-can-take-of-itself-in-the-thinking/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) [Browse all 279 Blink of an eye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blink-of-an-eye/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye? I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chaim Potok" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven-we-live-less-than-the-time-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blink of an eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven-we-live-less-than-the-time-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/chaim-potok-2254_blink-of-an-eye_human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven_2530357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/chaim-potok-2254_blink-of-an-eye_human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven_2530357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/chaim-potok-2254_blink-of-an-eye_human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven_2530357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure…” — Chaim Potok", "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": "Chaim Potok", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Human beings do not live forever,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven-we-live-less-than-the-time-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/human-beings-do-not-live-forever-reuven-we-live-less-than-the-time-it/#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 } } ] } ```