--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we live with a memory we live with a…" description: "\"When we live with a memory we live with a corpse; the impact of the experience has changed us once but can never change us again.\" — Dorothy Gilman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/dorothy-gilman-19428_changed_when-we-live-with-a-memory-we-live-with_1535198.jpg" --- # When we live with a memory we live with a corpse; the… ![“When we live with a memory we live with a corpse; the impact of the experience has changed us once but can never change us again.” quote by Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/dorothy-gilman-19428_changed_when-we-live-with-a-memory-we-live-with_1535198.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/dorothy-gilman-19428_changed_when-we-live-with-a-memory-we-live-with_1535198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/dorothy-gilman-19428_changed_when-we-live-with-a-memory-we-live-with_1535198.jpg) > “When we live with a memory we live with a corpse; the impact of the experience has changed us once but can never change us again.” [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Holding onto past memories can imprison us, preventing growth and change. **In simple terms:** Memories can trap us like a corpse. Key Takeaway Release past burdens to evolve. Themes memory growth psychology Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal development - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts identity trauma acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What memory are you clinging to? - How can you transform a painful memory into growth? A Different Perspective Memories may also provide valuable lessons that shape future choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [“Rehearse your death every morning and night. Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/rehearse-your-death-every-morning-and-night-only-when-you-constantly/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [“Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/only-when-you-constantly-live-as-though-already-a-corpse-j-j-shinimi-2/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [“Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunetomo-yamamoto/only-when-you-constantly-live-as-though-already-a-corpse-j-j-shinimi/) Tsunetomo Yamamoto > [“Instead, it may be that experience itself has changed our brains so that we perceive and interpret the world in a certain way. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/instead-it-may-be-that-experience-itself-has-changed-our-brains-so/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [I thought I was actually doing quite well - I was on Jazz FM six days a week. I fancied going to Australia and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blackburn/i-thought-i-was-actually-doing-quite-well-i-was-on-jazz-fm-six-days-a/) [Tony Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blackburn/) > [“When you are dead your memory may live on so you need to be sure of what you want people to remember and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-estabrook/when-you-are-dead-your-memory-may-live-on-so-you-need-to-be-sure-of/) [Christina Estabrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-estabrook/) > [How people die remains in the memory of those who live on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cicely-saunders/how-people-die-remains-in-the-memory-of-those-who-live-on/) Cicely Saunders > [Here, in memory, we live and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/here-in-memory-we-live-and-die/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) > [“As the demands of the positions differed, and as I grew in age and experience, I found that I had changed as a leader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-mcchrystal/as-the-demands-of-the-positions-differed-and-as-i-grew-in-age-and/) [Stanley McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-mcchrystal/) > [“I gaze upon the sky and see What I want myself to be; A person who was here and gone, And whose memory will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-kiam/i-gaze-upon-the-sky-and-see-what-i-want-myself-to-be-a-person-who-was/) [Omar Kiam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-kiam/) > [“Small experiences, the smallest, can make a difference in a person's life. Once they've had that experience, they're changed forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kage-alan/small-experiences-the-smallest-can-make-a-difference-in-a-person-s/) Kage Alan > [“I soon realised that just because it appeared that way didn't mean it was true. As my thinking changed, my experience changed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/how-to-turn-stress-on-its-head-rani-bora/i-soon-realised-that-just-because-it-appeared-that-way-didn-t-mean-it/) How to Turn Stress on Its Head Rani Bora > [“Do you think the memory of someone should dictate how we live going forward?' he asks, threading and unthreading his fingers together. 'It depends,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/do-you-think-the-memory-of-someone-should-dictate-how-we-live-going/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) ## More by Dorothy Gilman > [“I wasn't offering her pity," Mrs. Caswell said impatiently. "Tragedies don't interest me, tragedies and heartbreaks are all alike, what matters is how a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/i-wasn-t-offering-her-pity-mrs-caswell-said-impatiently-tragedies-don/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [It's compassion that makes gods of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [The best things arrive on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-best-things-arrive-on-time/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-need-dreams-there-s-as-much-nourishment-in-em-as-food/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“Do you like Magda too?” His gaze left the gate to sweep the courtyard. “She seems pleasant enough when she’s not drugged. 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Wisdom and compromise come later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/will-anything-but-fanaticism-make-for-change-wisdom-and-compromise/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“the problems changed, but people were the same”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-problems-changed-but-people-were-the-same/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“...why doesn't anything end happily?" 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Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Working with Rihanna has changed my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bibi-bourelly/working-with-rihanna-has-changed-my-life/) [Bibi Bourelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bibi-bourelly/) > [The international game has changed for bidding cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ueberroth/the-international-game-has-changed-for-bidding-cities/) [Peter Ueberroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ueberroth/) > [You changed my life, don't know what you're doing to me with your love. You got me feeling super human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-changed-my-life-don-t-know-what-you-re-doing-to-me-with-your-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not changing because I'm part of a hit. 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