--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The shortness of life, I keep saying…" description: "\"The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death. When I look ahead, all I can see is my ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_already-gone_the-shortness-of-life-i-keep-saying-make_2552367.png" --- # The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything… ![“The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death. When I look ahead, all I can see is my final demise. And they say, But maybe not for seventy or eighty years. And I say, Maybe you, but me, I'm already gone.” quote by Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_already-gone_the-shortness-of-life-i-keep-saying-make_2552367.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_already-gone_the-shortness-of-life-i-keep-saying-make_2552367.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_already-gone_the-shortness-of-life-i-keep-saying-make_2552367.png) > “The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death. When I look ahead, all I can see is my final demise. And they say, But maybe not for seventy or eighty years. And I say, Maybe you, but me, I'm already gone.” [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s brevity makes death’s length feel overwhelming, yet the present moment remains fleeting. **In simple terms:** Life short, death long Key Takeaway Embrace present, accept mortality Themes mortality existentialism anxiety Mood introspective melancholic thoughtful Type existential literary When to use this quote - mental health therapy - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of mortality affect your daily choices? - What small actions give your life meaning now? A Different Perspective Focusing on death can cause paralysis rather than motivation ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Already gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/already-gone/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Demise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demise/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-saying/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless/) [Pointless Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless-think-1013602/) [Shortness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortness/) [Shortness Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortness-life-779957/) [Shortness of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortness-of-life/) [Think Longness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-longness-1533542/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [The shortness of life, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/the-shortness-of-life-makes-everything-seem-pointless-when-i-think/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“Why do anything-- why wash my hair, why read Moby Dick, why fall in love, why sit through six hours of Nicholas Nickleby, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/why-do-anything-why-wash-my-hair-why-read-moby-dick-why-fall-in-love/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“The shortness of life, I keep saying, makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/the-shortness-of-life-i-keep-saying-makes-everything-seem-pointless/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“The shortness of life makes everything seem pointless when I think about the longness of death.” —ELIZABETH WURTZEL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-shortness-of-life-makes-everything-seem-pointless-when-i-think-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Perhaps nothing is more common than to bewail the shortness of life, unless it is to mispend the little time we are permitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thelwall/perhaps-nothing-is-more-common-than-to-bewail-the-shortness-of-life/) [John Thelwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thelwall/) > [Though we seem grieved at the shortness of life in general, we are wishing every period of it at an end. 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