--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One can remain alive ... if one is…" description: "\"One can remain alive ... if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity interested in big things and happy in small ways.\" — Edith ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/edith-wharton-512_afraid-of-change_one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid_2561230.png" --- # One can remain alive ... if one is unafraid of change… ![“One can remain alive ... if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity interested in big things and happy in small ways.” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/edith-wharton-512_afraid-of-change_one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid_2561230.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/edith-wharton-512_afraid-of-change_one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid_2561230.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/edith-wharton-512_afraid-of-change_one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid_2561230.png) > “One can remain alive ... if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity interested in big things and happy in small ways.” [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embracing change, curiosity, and joy in small moments sustains a vibrant life. **In simple terms:** Stay curious, accept change, cherish small joys. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity and gratitude daily. Themes change curiosity joy Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - learning new skills - travel - mindfulness practice Key Concepts humanism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay open to change? - What small joys bring you happiness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid of change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-of-change/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Alive Unafraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-unafraid-1607926/) [Big things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-things/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Birthdays and aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthdays-and-aging/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Insatiable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-insatiable-1607927/) [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Disintegration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disintegration/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Insatiable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insatiable/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-curiosity/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Remain Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remain-alive-984934/) [Unafraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unafraid/) [Unafraid Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unafraid-change-1607928/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [One can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-can-remain-alive-long-past-the-usual-date-of-disintegration-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/in-spite-of-illness-in-spite-even-of-the-archenemy-sorrow-one-can/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [We have an opportunity to achieve great things. But only if we are unafraid of change, and willing to make difficult choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-scott/we-have-an-opportunity-to-achieve-great-things-but-only-if-we-are/) [Phil Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-scott/) > [Relax and move with the flow of life by being unafraid of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/relax-and-move-with-the-flow-of-life-by-being-unafraid-of-change/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Habit is necessary. It is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/habit-is-necessary-it-is-the-habit-of-having-habits-of-turning-a/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [From our birthday, until we die, Is but the winking of an eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/from-our-birthday-until-we-die-is-but-the-winking-of-an-eye/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/time-may-be-a-great-healer-but-it-s-a-lousy-beautician/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don't care what they think of us. At age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/at-age-20-we-worry-about-what-others-think-of-us-at-age-40-we-don-t/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [Human beings can be beautiful. If they are not beautiful it is entirely their own fault. It is what they do to themselves that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/human-beings-can-be-beautiful-if-they-are-not-beautiful-it-is-2/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-m-joad/some-turn-to-vinegar-but-the-best-improve-with-age/) [C. E. M. Joad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-m-joad/) > [My faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-faculties-are-decaying-now-and-soon-i-shall-be-so-i-cannot/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Pleas'd look forward, pleas'd to look behind,And count each birthday with a grateful mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/pleas-d-look-forward-pleas-d-to-look-behind-and-count-each-birthday/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [You're only as old as you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simonon/you-re-only-as-old-as-you-feel/) [Paul Simonon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simonon/) > [I believe in loyalty. When a woman reaches an age she likes, she should stick with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-gabor/i-believe-in-loyalty-when-a-woman-reaches-an-age-she-likes-she-should/) [Eva Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-gabor/) > [You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-as-young-as-your-faith-as-old-as-your-doubt-as-young-as-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Edith Wharton > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. And he felt himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/untrained-human-nature-was-not-frank-and-innocent-it-was-full-of-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“High Pasture Come up--come up: in the dim vale below The autumn mist muffles the fading trees, But on this keen hill-pasture, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/high-pasture-come-up-come-up-in-the-dim-vale-below-the-autumn-mist/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“... no treasure-house of Atreus was ever as rich as a well-stored memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/no-treasure-house-of-atreus-was-ever-as-rich-as-a-well-stored-memory/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of-the-other-marriages-about/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-the-saddest-thing-there-is-next-to-death/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Dialogue in fiction should be reserved for the culminating moments and regarded as the spray into which the great wave of narrative breaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/dialogue-in-fiction-should-be-reserved-for-the-culminating-moments/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“These Americans, under their forthcoming manner, their surface-gush, as some might call it, have an odd reticence about what goes on underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/these-americans-under-their-forthcoming-manner-their-surface-gush-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Explore all 504 Edith Wharton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## More Afraid of change quotes > [Don't be afraid of change. you may lose something good, but you may gain something even better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-be-afraid-of-change-you-may-lose-something-good-but-you-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c-2/we-can-t-be-afraid-of-change-you-may-feel-very-secure-in-the-pond/) [C JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c-2/) > [Habit is necessary. It is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/habit-is-necessary-it-is-the-habit-of-having-habits-of-turning-a/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Ignorance is always afraid of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/ignorance-is-always-afraid-of-change/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [Cherish every second never let a day go by without self-improvement, also never be afraid of change, your whole life will pass you by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonyg/cherish-every-second-never-let-a-day-go-by-without-self-improvement/) [Tonyg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonyg/) > [One can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-can-remain-alive-long-past-the-usual-date-of-disintegration-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They think the government shows people everything —how to work, study, eat, sleep and that’s it. They are afraid of change. They do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-krotov/they-think-the-government-shows-people-everything-how-to-work-study/) [Anton Krotov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-krotov/) > [It's kind of depressing when you hear the anti-science rhetoric in America, but I think that people are just afraid of change, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/it-s-kind-of-depressing-when-you-hear-the-anti-science-rhetoric-in/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [Most people are afraid of change. But if you look at it as something you can always count on, then it can be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/most-people-are-afraid-of-change-but-if-you-look-at-it-as-something/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [You can't be afraid of change, especially if it's for the better, for your own advancement..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-be-afraid-of-change-especially-if-it-s-for-the-better-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As much as we pretend otherwise, we want what's comfortable, and we're afraid of the different. We're afraid of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/as-much-as-we-pretend-otherwise-we-want-what-s-comfortable-and-we-re/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [“What if I told you 10 years from now your life would be exactly the same? Doubt you'd be happy. So, why are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-salmansohn/what-if-i-told-you-10-years-from-now-your-life-would-be-exactly-the/) [Karen Salmansohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-salmansohn/) > [As much as people say they love change, they love it when you change - not when you want them to change. Even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/safra-a-catz/as-much-as-people-say-they-love-change-they-love-it-when-you-change/) [Safra A. Catz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/safra-a-catz/) > [“Don't be afraid of change. You may lose something good, but you will gain something better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-camilleri/don-t-be-afraid-of-change-you-may-lose-something-good-but-you-will/) [Josef Camilleri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-camilleri/) > [It's simple-minded people like that, the ones that are afraid of change, they use everything in their power to defend what they stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubba-wallace/it-s-simple-minded-people-like-that-the-ones-that-are-afraid-of/) [Bubba Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubba-wallace/) [Browse all 94 Afraid of change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-of-change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One can remain alive ... if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity interested in big things and happy in small ways.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edith Wharton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid-of-change-insatiable-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid of change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid-of-change-insatiable-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/edith-wharton-512_afraid-of-change_one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid_2561230.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/edith-wharton-512_afraid-of-change_one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid_2561230.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/edith-wharton-512_afraid-of-change_one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid_2561230.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One can remain alive ... if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity interested in…” — Edith Wharton", "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": "Edith Wharton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One can remain alive ... if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid-of-change-insatiable-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/one-can-remain-alive-if-one-is-unafraid-of-change-insatiable-in/#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 } } ] } ```