--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A person dies, or something you had…" description: "\"A person dies, or something you had identified with completely is gone. Your home goes up in flames. There is extreme pain at first. But whenever a for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/eckhart-tolle-81_death_a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-ident_1051872.jpg" --- # A person dies, or something you had identified with… ![“A person dies, or something you had identified with completely is gone. Your home goes up in flames. There is extreme pain at first. But whenever a form dissolves, which is called "death," what remains is an opening into emptiness.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/eckhart-tolle-81_death_a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-ident_1051872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/eckhart-tolle-81_death_a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-ident_1051872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/eckhart-tolle-81_death_a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-ident_1051872.jpg) > “A person dies, or something you had identified with completely is gone. Your home goes up in flames. There is extreme pain at first. But whenever a form dissolves, which is called "death," what remains is an opening into emptiness.” [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death reveals a void that invites deeper awareness beyond form. **In simple terms:** Death opens a space of emptiness. Key Takeaway Embrace the emptiness to discover inner peace. Themes mortality emptiness awakening Mood contemplative somber Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - spiritual practice - creative renewal Key Concepts Existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you find meaning in loss? - What does the void teach about self? A Different Perspective Empty spaces can feel overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Extreme pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extreme-pain/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) ## Related quotes > [In the face of death, especially violent death, things don't make sense anymore. So death is the dissolution of either physical form or psychological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/in-the-face-of-death-especially-violent-death-things-don-t-make-sense/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [In this world of ups and downs, we cannot open ourselves up to love without opening ourselves up to emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-this-world-of-ups-and-downs-we-cannot-open-ourselves-up-to-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Death can be a good friend to those in extreme pain. I wondered how he held on so long...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/death-can-be-a-good-friend-to-those-in-extreme-pain-i-wondered-how-he/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [The brute animals have all the same sensations of pain as human beings, and consequently endure as much pain when their body is hurt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/the-brute-animals-have-all-the-same-sensations-of-pain-as-human/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [I too have experienced the extreme pain of living, but I have also experienced some of its remarkable ecstasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-too-have-experienced-the-extreme-pain-of-living-but-i-have-also/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I was taught early on in my recovery that, 'Pain is good. Extreme pain is extremely good.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ness/i-was-taught-early-on-in-my-recovery-that-pain-is-good-extreme-pain/) [Mike Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ness/) > [I write for the people I grew up with. I took extreme pains for my book to not be a native informant. Not: 'This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-write-for-the-people-i-grew-up-with-i-took-extreme-pains-for-my/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“recognition skills. Your subconscious. Your left brain is a scientist. Your right brain is an artist. People live their lives out of the left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/recognition-skills-your-subconscious-your-left-brain-is-a-scientist/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“My third contention is that at times of extreme pain for the patient, euthanasia is the most humane alternative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-thomas/my-third-contention-is-that-at-times-of-extreme-pain-for-the-patient/) [Matthew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-thomas/) > [Extreme pain to extreme pleasure has been the story of my entire life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prodigy/extreme-pain-to-extreme-pleasure-has-been-the-story-of-my-entire-life/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prodigy/) > [“Dressed, she’s in front of the mirror. Armed. She puts her face on. In her case, not a matter of cosmetics, but will. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/dressed-she-s-in-front-of-the-mirror-armed-she-puts-her-face-on-in/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [At times I've played through extreme pain or not practiced for weeks and tried to go out there and play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalen-ramsey/at-times-i-ve-played-through-extreme-pain-or-not-practiced-for-weeks/) [Jalen Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalen-ramsey/) > [“The left half of your brain deals with logic, language, calculation, and reason. This is the half people perceive as their personal identity. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-left-half-of-your-brain-deals-with-logic-language-calculation-and/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Love has an extreme capacity to offer everything we need but not without extreme pain. Anyone who tastes the sweet fruit -joy of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-aswini/love-has-an-extreme-capacity-to-offer-everything-we-need-but-not/) D. Aswini > [Consider that all these torments of body and soul are without intermission. Be their suffering ever so extreme, be their pain ever so intense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/consider-that-all-these-torments-of-body-and-soul-are-without/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) ## More by Eckhart Tolle > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“A powerful spiritual practice is consciously to allow the diminishment of ego when it happens without attempting to restore it. I recommend that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-powerful-spiritual-practice-is-consciously-to-allow-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [To become aware of the subtlety of nature you need to be alert. The moment you become alert you become still... thinking subsides. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-become-aware-of-the-subtlety-of-nature-you-need-to-be-alert-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-not-honoring-the-present-moment-by-allowing-it-to-be-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a joyous energy behind what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/on-a-deeper-level-you-are-already-complete-when-you-realize-that/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/life-will-give-you-whatever-experience-is-most-helpful-for-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You may not yet be able to bring your unconscious mind activity into awareness as thoughts, but it will always be reflected in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-may-not-yet-be-able-to-bring-your-unconscious-mind-activity-into/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“War is a mind-set, and all action that comes out of such a mind-set will either strengthen the enemy, the perceived evil, or, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/war-is-a-mind-set-and-all-action-that-comes-out-of-such-a-mind-set/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Get the inside right, and the outside will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/get-the-inside-right-and-the-outside-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [It is very hard to tell when I started to be a spiritual teacher. There was a time when occasionally somebody would come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/it-is-very-hard-to-tell-when-i-started-to-be-a-spiritual-teacher/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Most people spend their entire life imprisoned within the confines of their own thoughts. They never go beyond a narrow, mind-made, personalized sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/most-people-spend-their-entire-life-imprisoned-within-the-confines-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Let the end of the world be inside you, then you don't need to fear the end of the world out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/let-the-end-of-the-world-be-inside-you-then-you-don-t-need-to-fear/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Jeste li zabrinuti? Razmišljate li često: »Što bi bilo da sam...?« To znači da ste se poistovjetili s umom, koji se projicira u neku…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/jeste-li-zabrinuti-razmi-ljate-li-esto-to-bi-bilo-da-sam-to-zna-i-da/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) [Explore all 1,493 Eckhart Tolle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## 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 > [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 > [“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": "A person dies, or something you had identified with completely is gone. Your home goes up in flames. There is extreme pain at first. But whenever a form dissolves, which is called \"death,\" what remains is an opening into emptiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eckhart Tolle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-identified-with-completely-is-gone/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-identified-with-completely-is-gone/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/eckhart-tolle-81_death_a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-ident_1051872.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/eckhart-tolle-81_death_a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-ident_1051872.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/eckhart-tolle-81_death_a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-ident_1051872.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A person dies, or something you had identified with completely is gone. Your home goes up in flames. There…” — Eckhart Tolle", "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": "Eckhart Tolle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A person dies, or something you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-identified-with-completely-is-gone/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-identified-with-completely-is-gone/#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 } } ] } ```