--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I'd taken Fox's powers, I could've…" description: "\"“If I'd taken Fox's powers, I could've lived for hundreds of years, known and loved many people. But then I would've had to watch them die of illnessor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/janie-chang-36216_human-heart_if-i-d-taken-fox-s-powers-i-could-ve-liv_1688803.jpg" --- # If I'd taken Fox's powers, I could've lived for hundreds… ![“If I'd taken Fox's powers, I could've lived for hundreds of years, known and loved many people. But then I would've had to watch them die of illnessor old age. How many different kinds of pain can there be? How much loss can the human heart endure? I knew why those other foxes, once human, had…” quote by Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/janie-chang-36216_human-heart_if-i-d-taken-fox-s-powers-i-could-ve-liv_1688803.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/janie-chang-36216_human-heart_if-i-d-taken-fox-s-powers-i-could-ve-liv_1688803.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/janie-chang-36216_human-heart_if-i-d-taken-fox-s-powers-i-could-ve-liv_1688803.jpg) > ““If I'd taken Fox's powers, I could've lived for hundreds of years, known and loved many people. But then I would've had to watch them die of illnessor old age. How many different kinds of pain can there be? How much loss can the human heart endure? I knew why those other foxes, once human, had wanted to die. Their hearts had remained human een though they wielded the powers of a fox. They were ready to die because they had lost too many loved ones over the centuries, because they had suffered such an accumulation of blows to the heart that all love had been beaten out of them, all joy turned to ash. It was better to tread my own path in life as a human.”” [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing mortality over immortality to avoid endless grief and loss. **In simple terms:** Human life is finite, which gives meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace the limits of human experience. Themes mortality grief choice humanity Mood melancholic contemplative Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - character development - storytelling - philosophical debate Key Concepts existentialism psychology fiction Questions to Reflect On - What would you sacrifice for eternal life? - Can endless life ever truly be fulfilling? A Different Perspective Immortality could also bring wisdom and broader perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Foxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foxes/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Loved ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-ones/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Ready to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready-to-die/) ## Related quotes > [I never even knew foxes was real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glorilla/i-never-even-knew-foxes-was-real/) [GloRilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glorilla/) > [Understand the one who love you, they'll never lie, there must be some problem, otherwise they are also ready to die!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/understand-the-one-who-love-you-they-ll-never-lie-there-must-be-some/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I put my back against the wall. I slide down to the floor. I imagine Ryan sitting next to me. I imagine him rubbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/i-put-my-back-against-the-wall-i-slide-down-to-the-floor-i-imagine/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [Where do I go? When I'm feeling so lost and I don't want to be found. When I'm looking and listening for that peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-cing/where-do-i-go-when-i-m-feeling-so-lost-and-i-don-t-want-to-be-found/) [Felicity Cing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-cing/) > [I need a hero to save my life I need a hero just in time Save me just in time Who's gonna fight for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-need-a-hero-to-save-my-life-i-need-a-hero-just-in-time-save-me-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We were all ready to die for the country but what we did not discover was we have to live for the country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-paredes/we-were-all-ready-to-die-for-the-country-but-what-we-did-not-discover/) Jim Paredes > [It hurts when the person you are ever ready to die for...sees you as an enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/it-hurts-when-the-person-you-are-ever-ready-to-die-for-sees-you-as-an/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [It's terrible to realize that you don't learn how to live until you're ready to die; and, then it's too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/it-s-terrible-to-realize-that-you-don-t-learn-how-to-live-until-you/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [Life is Funny. You're here ready to die for someone who doesn't care about you and there's someone out there ready to die for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/life-is-funny-you-re-here-ready-to-die-for-someone-who-doesn-t-care/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [Who's gonna fight for what's right? Who's gonna help us survive? We're in the fight of our lives and we're not ready to die.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skillet/who-s-gonna-fight-for-what-s-right-who-s-gonna-help-us-survive-we-re/) [Skillet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skillet/) > [I was ready to talk about... and I'm ready to die on the hills of due process, individualism, and free thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cain/i-was-ready-to-talk-about-and-i-m-ready-to-die-on-the-hills-of-due/) [Will Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cain/) > [ Innovation is not a big breakthrough invention every time. Innovation is a constant thing. But if you don't have an innovative company \[team\], coming… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/innovation-is-not-a-big-breakthrough-invention-every-time-innovation/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [There's a thing I've dreamed of all my life, and I'll be damned if it don't look like it's about to come true-to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/there-s-a-thing-i-ve-dreamed-of-all-my-life-and-i-ll-be-damned-if-it/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) > [“Though it turned my stomach, I stumbled back inside the moment they were overtaken, sparing one last desperate glance Ben’s way before slamming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-hayworth/though-it-turned-my-stomach-i-stumbled-back-inside-the-moment-they/) Thea Hayworth > [No democracy has ever long survived the failure of its adherents to be ready to die for it. My own conviction is this, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/no-democracy-has-ever-long-survived-the-failure-of-its-adherents-to/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) ## More by Janie Chang > [“To slip through crowds unseen in the daytime, then run at night beneath moonlight and clouds. To be free of the fear of hunger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/to-slip-through-crowds-unseen-in-the-daytime-then-run-at-night/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“Not a single breath of air stirred in the light fabric at the windows. Moonlight flooded the garden with a cold radiance that slivered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/not-a-single-breath-of-air-stirred-in-the-light-fabric-at-the-windows/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“There was nothing to forgive, nothing to explain. Her love washed over me to erase all the years that had come between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/there-was-nothing-to-forgive-nothing-to-explain-her-love-washed-over/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“It's easier not to love, Fox had said. Yet Fox had loved her human friends, of this I was certain. She loved my mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/it-s-easier-not-to-love-fox-had-said-yet-fox-had-loved-her-human/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“Knowledge sharpens your wits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/knowledge-sharpens-your-wits/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“The only thing you can count on is that the gods make other plans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/the-only-thing-you-can-count-on-is-that-the-gods-make-other-plans/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“The best gardens are created through the art of deception, says Fox. Gardens should employ the art of the large in the small and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/the-best-gardens-are-created-through-the-art-of-deception-says-fox/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“I want to live at least one lifetime in this world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/i-want-to-live-at-least-one-lifetime-in-this-world/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“How can you tell whether anyone is truly good or evil? I've been a Fox for hundreds of years and from what I've seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/how-can-you-tell-whether-anyone-is-truly-good-or-evil-i-ve-been-a-fox/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“a woman’s true value is measured by the size of her dowry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/a-woman-s-true-value-is-measured-by-the-size-of-her-dowry/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“You've suffered enough for three lifetimes, Mama," I said. "You desere to go through. But I want to live at least one lifetime in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/you-ve-suffered-enough-for-three-lifetimes-mama-i-said-you-desere-to/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) > [“That’s the trouble when you’re young, my hun soul says. You think you have all the time in the world. You think the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-chang/that-s-the-trouble-when-you-re-young-my-hun-soul-says-you-think-you/) [Janie Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) [Explore all 13 Janie Chang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-chang/) ## More Foxes quotes > [Perhaps the most important reason to be skeptical of government inflation numbers is that the government, like a fox campaigning to guard a hen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/perhaps-the-most-important-reason-to-be-skeptical-of-government/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [I did not support Operation Desert Fox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-did-not-support-operation-desert-fox/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [People realized that they could come on Fox News Sunday, and they would be well and fairly treated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-hume/people-realized-that-they-could-come-on-fox-news-sunday-and-they/) [Brit Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-hume/) > [“Man is the Reasoning Animal. Such is the claim. I think it is open to dispute. Indeed, my experiments have proven to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-reasoning-animal-such-is-the-claim-i-think-it-is-open-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [New Rule: There is no devil, so stop blaming your screw-ups on him. Last week, one of the biggest evangelical leaders in America, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-there-is-no-devil-so-stop-blaming-your-screw-ups-on-him-last/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Old foxes want no tutors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/old-foxes-want-no-tutors/) [Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/) > [ The only thing is that ordinarily when I do dance with \[women\] they think I am suddenly going to throw them over a table… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kelly/the-only-thing-is-that-ordinarily-when-i-do-dance-with-women-they/) [Gene Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kelly/) > [Calling Michelle 'Obama Barack's baby mama?' Tell me, is that acceptable? But the Obamas aren't the only targets. Fox's pattern of race-baiting and fear-mongering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/calling-michelle-obama-barack-s-baby-mama-tell-me-is-that-acceptable/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-not-at-all-like-my-rose-he-said-as-yet-you-are-nothing-no-one/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I've built a tree house; because of my architectural training, it's heavily over-designed, with an oriel window sticking out of it and flying foxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-wise/i-ve-built-a-tree-house-because-of-my-architectural-training-it-s/) [Greg Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-wise/) > [ I certainly don't feel like I have a monopoly on \[opinions\] because I have the job at FOX - any one of a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/i-certainly-don-t-feel-like-i-have-a-monopoly-on-opinions-because-i/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [ I have to say, early on, to be fair, in the \[Barack\] Obama administration, the Obama White House said that Fox News was not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-have-to-say-early-on-to-be-fair-in-the-barack-obama-administration/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Donald Trump said he didn't think Megyn Kelly had been fair to him. But he also talked about Fox's response to this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martin/donald-trump-said-he-didn-t-think-megyn-kelly-had-been-fair-to-him/) [Michel Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martin/) > [All that I did," she said, "everything I tried to do. All for nothing." Nothing is done entirely for nothing, said the fox of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/all-that-i-did-she-said-everything-i-tried-to-do-all-for-nothing/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I have to say that Adam Levine is truly a daring young man to go on Twitter to bash Fox News. He's so rebellious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-have-to-say-that-adam-levine-is-truly-a-daring-young-man-to-go-on/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) [Browse all 600 Foxes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foxes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I'd taken Fox's powers, I could've lived for hundreds of years, known and loved many people. But then I would've had to watch them die of illnessor old age. How many different kinds of pain can there be? How much loss can the human heart endure? I knew why those other foxes, once human, had wanted to die. Their hearts had remained human een though they wielded the powers of a fox. They were ready to die because they had lost too many loved ones over the centuries, because they had suffered such an accumulation of blows to the heart that all love had been beaten out of them, all joy turned to ash. 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