--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are not as we were. Death has been our…" description: "\"We are not as we were. Death has been our pentecost.\" — Dana Gioia" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/dana-gioia-14386_death_we-are-not-as-we-were-death-has-been-our_2740422.png" --- # We are not as we were. Death has been our pentecost. ![“We are not as we were. Death has been our pentecost.” quote by Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/dana-gioia-14386_death_we-are-not-as-we-were-death-has-been-our_2740422.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/dana-gioia-14386_death_we-are-not-as-we-were-death-has-been-our_2740422.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/dana-gioia-14386_death_we-are-not-as-we-were-death-has-been-our_2740422.png) > “We are not as we were. Death has been our pentecost.” [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death transforms us, marking a profound rebirth that reshapes identity **In simple terms:** Death reshapes us Key Takeaway Embrace transformation after loss Themes mortality rebirth identity Mood somber reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism spiritual renewal Questions to Reflect On - What new identity emerges after profound change? - How does loss inspire creative renewal? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on loss can hinder healing ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Pentecost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-pentecost-3023286/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Pentecost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pentecost/) ## Related quotes > [“Our modern era embodies both the Tower of Babel and Pentecost simultaneously. Like Babel, globalization and technological advancement have created linguistic and cultural fragmentation……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-patterson/our-modern-era-embodies-both-the-tower-of-babel-and-pentecost/) [Paule Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-patterson/) > [“The church's task in the world is to model genuine humanness as a sign and an invitation to those around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-church-s-task-in-the-world-is-to-model-genuine-humanness-as-a/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [St. Peter announced the glad tidings of the Gospel to the people on the day of Pentecost, and converted, by the first Christian sermon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-strachan/st-peter-announced-the-glad-tidings-of-the-gospel-to-the-people-on/) [John Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-strachan/) > [When you strip it of everything else, Pentecost stands for power and life. That's what came into the church when the Holy Spirit came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilkerson/when-you-strip-it-of-everything-else-pentecost-stands-for-power-and/) [David Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilkerson/) > [“Have you ever reached to a point where you asked God if the assignment is really from Him. In your account you have just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-johnson/have-you-ever-reached-to-a-point-where-you-asked-god-if-the/) [Patience Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-johnson/) > [Without Pentecost the Christ-event - the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus - remains imprisoned in history as something to remember, think about and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/without-pentecost-the-christ-event-the-life-death-and-resurrection-of/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“The money you are looking for is not in any country, phd or your designer outlook, it is in wisdom. Solomon never prayed for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-johnson/the-money-you-are-looking-for-is-not-in-any-country-phd-or-your/) [Patience Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-johnson/) > [O chime of sweet Saint Charity, Peal soon that Easter morn When Christ for all shall risen be, And in all hearts new-born! That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/o-chime-of-sweet-saint-charity-peal-soon-that-easter-morn-when-christ/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [“Your calling may be to find new ways to tell the story of redemption, to create fresh symbols tat will speak of a home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/your-calling-may-be-to-find-new-ways-to-tell-the-story-of-redemption/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [You have been called to Pentecost and to prepare for it this year. I bid you gather in our groups to recite the powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearls-of-wisdom/you-have-been-called-to-pentecost-and-to-prepare-for-it-this-year-i/) [Pearls Of Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearls-of-wisdom/) > [“It is well known that Pentecost reverses Babel. The people who built the tower of Babel sought to make a name, and a unity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-vanhoozer/it-is-well-known-that-pentecost-reverses-babel-the-people-who-built/) [Kevin J. Vanhoozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-j-vanhoozer/) > [“That you are a born again Christian does not mean you will automatically succeed except you follow God's principles. Never forget faith without good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-johnson/that-you-are-a-born-again-christian-does-not-mean-you-will/) [Patience Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-johnson/) > [The Spirit is as operative today in communicating the gospel to all who seek the truth as it was on the day of Pentecost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/the-spirit-is-as-operative-today-in-communicating-the-gospel-to-all/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [“An attempt to wrest from God the prerogatives of absolute freedom and infinity leads to the inversion of Pentecost and what is in effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-e-gunton/an-attempt-to-wrest-from-god-the-prerogatives-of-absolute-freedom-and/) [Colin E. Gunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-e-gunton/) > [“The Holy Spirit's fullness, now being restored to God's people, will never again be taken from them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-prince/the-holy-spirit-s-fullness-now-being-restored-to-god-s-people-will/) [Derek Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-prince/) ## More by Dana Gioia > [How many voices have escaped you until now, the venting furnace, the floorboards underfoot, the steady accusations of the clock numbering the minutes no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/how-many-voices-have-escaped-you-until-now-the-venting-furnace-the/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [In an age of global standardization, regional voices also remind both writer and reader that no life is lived generically. If the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/in-an-age-of-global-standardization-regional-voices-also-remind-both/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“The daylight needs no praise, and so we praise it always- greater than ourselves and all the airy words we summon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/the-daylight-needs-no-praise-and-so-we-praise-it-always-greater-than/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“And memory insists on pining For places it never went, As if life would be happier Just by being different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/and-memory-insists-on-pining-for-places-it-never-went-as-if-life/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“Whatever the reasons, reading somehow awakens something in a kid's life that makes them take their own life more seriously and other people's lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/whatever-the-reasons-reading-somehow-awakens-something-in-a-kid-s/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“Breton considered suicide the truest art, though life seemed hardly worth the trouble to discard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/breton-considered-suicide-the-truest-art-though-life-seemed-hardly/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [The new year always brings us what we want Simply by bringing us along—to see A calendar with every day uncrossed, A field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/the-new-year-always-brings-us-what-we-want-simply-by-bringing-us/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Being so deeply rooted in one place and culture allows a genuine writer to experiment wildly with the material without ever losing touch with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/being-so-deeply-rooted-in-one-place-and-culture-allows-a-genuine/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Poetry speaks most effectively and inclusively (whether in free or formal verse) when it recognizes its connection - without apology - to its musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/poetry-speaks-most-effectively-and-inclusively-whether-in-free-or/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [It seems to me that awakening to the full potential of what your life might be - beyond the possibilities of your own family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/it-seems-to-me-that-awakening-to-the-full-potential-of-what-your-life/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“There is no human society, however isolated, that has not developed and employed poetry as a cultural practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/there-is-no-human-society-however-isolated-that-has-not-developed-and/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/the-purpose-of-arts-education-is-not-to-produce-more-artists-though/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [“What if we had walked a different path one day, would some small incident have nudged us elsewhere the way a pebble tossed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/what-if-we-had-walked-a-different-path-one-day-would-some-small/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Poetry offers a way of understanding and expressing existence that is fundamentally different from conceptual thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/poetry-offers-a-way-of-understanding-and-expressing-existence-that-is/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Yet the stones remain less real to those who cannot name them, or read the mute syllables graven in silica. To see a red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/yet-the-stones-remain-less-real-to-those-who-cannot-name-them-or-read/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) [Explore all 47 Dana Gioia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are not as we were. 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