--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eternity is not something that begins…" description: "\"Eternity is not something that begins after you're dead. It is going on all the time. We are in it now.\" — Charlotte Perkins Gilman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/charlotte-perkins-gilman-2420_begins_eternity-is-not-something-that-begins-af_2188925.png" --- # Eternity is not something that begins after you're dead… ![“Eternity is not something that begins after you're dead. It is going on all the time. We are in it now.” quote by Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/charlotte-perkins-gilman-2420_begins_eternity-is-not-something-that-begins-af_2188925.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/charlotte-perkins-gilman-2420_begins_eternity-is-not-something-that-begins-af_2188925.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/charlotte-perkins-gilman-2420_begins_eternity-is-not-something-that-begins-af_2188925.png) > “Eternity is not something that begins after you're dead. It is going on all the time. We are in it now.” [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eternity is a continuous present, not a post‑death state; we exist within it now. **In simple terms:** Eternity is always happening. Key Takeaway Live fully in the present. Themes philosophy time existence Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily life - mindfulness - spiritual practice Key Concepts continuum presentism Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing eternity affect your daily choices? - Do you feel present in each moment? A Different Perspective It may overlook cultural variations in afterlife beliefs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Dead Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-going-869386/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eternity Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-begins-594822/) [Going Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-time-653880/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Eternity is not something that begins after you are dead. It is going on all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/eternity-is-not-something-that-begins-after-you-are-dead-it-is-going/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [“Eternity is not something that begins after you are dead,it is going on all the time. CP Gilman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/eternity-is-not-something-that-begins-after-you-are-dead-it-is-going-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When Time is spent, Eternity begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-time-is-spent-eternity-begins/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Who says I’m dying? Did you see the amount of sheer effort it took me to escape the land of the dead? I’m not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-stroud/who-says-i-m-dying-did-you-see-the-amount-of-sheer-effort-it-took-me/) [Jonathan Stroud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-stroud/) > [There's no man, alive or dead, who's going to fault you for living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/there-s-no-man-alive-or-dead-who-s-going-to-fault-you-for-living/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [“Apart from being dead its going to be necessary to die. And I'm dealing at the moment with the realization that at my age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-tarn/apart-from-being-dead-its-going-to-be-necessary-to-die-and-i-m/) [Nathaniel Tarn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-tarn/) > [Eternity begins and ends with the oceans tides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/eternity-begins-and-ends-with-the-oceans-tides/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God will take care of the poor trampled slave, but where will the slaveholder be when eternity begins?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/god-will-take-care-of-the-poor-trampled-slave-but-where-will-the/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [“And once their imaginations are liberated, they begin glimpse the grand interconnectedness of all things. Eternity begins to peek out from behind the everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-wood/and-once-their-imaginations-are-liberated-they-begin-glimpse-the/) [Geoffrey Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-wood/) > [They too wonder about the nature of existence, where they've come from and where they're going to and how much time they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/they-too-wonder-about-the-nature-of-existence-where-they-ve-come-from/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“If you’ve never been to a Catholic Mass, don’t worry, it’s still going on, you still have time to catch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/if-you-ve-never-been-to-a-catholic-mass-don-t-worry-it-s-still-going/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [If what they say is right we're none of us going to have time to do all that we planned to do. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/if-what-they-say-is-right-we-re-none-of-us-going-to-have-time-to-do/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [If I don't have time to live my life well the first time, when am I going to find the time to go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/if-i-don-t-have-time-to-live-my-life-well-the-first-time-when-am-i/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Every bit of our lives revolves around how we get from one place to another and how long it's going to take to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-edwards/every-bit-of-our-lives-revolves-around-how-we-get-from-one-place-to/) [Donna Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-edwards/) > [You never know when it's going to be your last time to step onto the field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-krieger/you-never-know-when-it-s-going-to-be-your-last-time-to-step-onto-the/) [Ali Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-krieger/) ## More by Charlotte Perkins Gilman > [“They were inconveniently reasonable, these women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/they-were-inconveniently-reasonable-these-women/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [Architecture might be more sportive and varied if every man built his own house, but it would not be the art and science that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/architecture-might-be-more-sportive-and-varied-if-every-man-built-his/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [To-day there is hardly a woman of intelligence in all America ... who is not definitely and actively concerned in some social interest, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/to-day-there-is-hardly-a-woman-of-intelligence-in-all-america-who-is/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [“Here she comes, running, out of prison and off the pedestal: chains off, crown off, halo off, just a live woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/here-she-comes-running-out-of-prison-and-off-the-pedestal-chains-off/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [“I never saw so much expression in an inanimate thing before, and we all know how much expression they have! I used to lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/i-never-saw-so-much-expression-in-an-inanimate-thing-before-and-we/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [In New York City, everyone is an exile, none more so than the Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/in-new-york-city-everyone-is-an-exile-none-more-so-than-the-americans/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [The fact that women in the home have shut themselves away from the thought and life of the world has done much to retard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/the-fact-that-women-in-the-home-have-shut-themselves-away-from-the/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [Eternity is not something that begins after you are dead. It is going on all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/eternity-is-not-something-that-begins-after-you-are-dead-it-is-going/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [Now why should that man have fainted? But he did,and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/now-why-should-that-man-have-fainted-but-he-did-and-right-across-my/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [The best proof of man's dissatisfaction with the home is found in his universal absence from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/the-best-proof-of-man-s-dissatisfaction-with-the-home-is-found-in-his/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [The home is the centre and circumference, the start and the finish, of most of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/the-home-is-the-centre-and-circumference-the-start-and-the-finish-of/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [Audiences are always better pleased with a smart retort, some joke or epigram, than with any amount of reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/audiences-are-always-better-pleased-with-a-smart-retort-some-joke-or/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [No matter what the belief, if it had modestly said, 'This is our best thought, go on, think farther!' then we could have smoothly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/no-matter-what-the-belief-if-it-had-modestly-said-this-is-our-best/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [A house does not need a wife any more than it needs a husband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/a-house-does-not-need-a-wife-any-more-than-it-needs-a-husband/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [The home is a human institution. All human institutions are open to improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/the-home-is-a-human-institution-all-human-institutions-are-open-to/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) [Explore all 167 Charlotte Perkins Gilman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) ## More Begins quotes > [When I was 3, my parents strapped on a pair of Playskool plastic roller skates to my feet, and that's where the story begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-celski/when-i-was-3-my-parents-strapped-on-a-pair-of-playskool-plastic/) [J. R. Celski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-celski/) > [Whether one is twenty, forty, or sixty; whether one has succeeded, failed or just muddled along; whether yesterday was full of sun or storm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-mitchell-hodges/whether-one-is-twenty-forty-or-sixty-whether-one-has-succeeded-failed/) [Leigh Mitchell Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-mitchell-hodges/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“healing begins the moment you want it to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayyirah-waheed/healing-begins-the-moment-you-want-it-to/) [Nayyirah Waheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayyirah-waheed/) > [Life begins when a person first realizes how soon it will end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelene-cox/life-begins-when-a-person-first-realizes-how-soon-it-will-end/) [Marcelene Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelene-cox/) > [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-struggle-ends-when-the-gratitude-begins/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The longest journey begins with a single step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/the-longest-journey-begins-with-a-single-step/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [“Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-thomas/every-accomplishment-begins-with-the-decision-to-try/) [Esther Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-thomas/) > [Prayer begins where our power ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/prayer-begins-where-our-power-ends/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel, play, or poem, begins with an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whether-a-story-novel-play-or-poem/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [“Civilization begins at 10 am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-n-peacock/civilization-begins-at-10-am/) [B.N. Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-n-peacock/) > [The end of the world begins in the sea we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/the-end-of-the-world-begins-in-the-sea-we-love/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [Remove the predators, and the whole ecosystem begins to crash like a house of cards. As the sharks disappear, the predator-prey balance dramatically shifts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/remove-the-predators-and-the-whole-ecosystem-begins-to-crash-like-a/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) [Browse all 499 Begins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Eternity is not something that begins after you're dead. It is going on all the time. 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