--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not that we're trying to avoid…" description: "\"It's not that we're trying to avoid death; we're trying to enjoy our lives fully, to wring every wonderful drop out of life that we possibly can.\" — Jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/joe-de-sena-33290_death_it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-deat_2880252.png" --- # It's not that we're trying to avoid death; we're trying to… ![“It's not that we're trying to avoid death; we're trying to enjoy our lives fully, to wring every wonderful drop out of life that we possibly can.” quote by Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/joe-de-sena-33290_death_it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-deat_2880252.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/joe-de-sena-33290_death_it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-deat_2880252.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/joe-de-sena-33290_death_it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-deat_2880252.png) > “It's not that we're trying to avoid death; we're trying to enjoy our lives fully, to wring every wonderful drop out of life that we possibly can.” [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life should be lived fully, extracting every wonderful moment. **In simple terms:** Live fully, enjoy each moment. Key Takeaway Cherish each experience. Themes life joy mindfulness Mood inspirational motivational Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - travel - creative projects - daily gratitude Key Concepts existentialism positive psychology Questions to Reflect On - What moment will you savor today? - How do you balance joy and responsibility? A Different Perspective Over‑pursuit can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [There are many that I will not post. I'm not trying to show a blatant death. I'm trying to show something funny that, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-chapman/there-are-many-that-i-will-not-post-i-m-not-trying-to-show-a-blatant/) [Rex Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-chapman/) > [Why I had to go down a dead end street at 200 miles an hour screaming for vengeance and embracing death? That's something I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sixx-am/why-i-had-to-go-down-a-dead-end-street-at-200-miles-an-hour-screaming/) Sixx AM > [“It seemed humans, the scientifically minded ones at least, were either tempting death or trying to prolong life. Surely that was an indication of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kady-cross/it-seemed-humans-the-scientifically-minded-ones-at-least-were-either/) [Kady Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kady-cross/) > [“Can the light dying behind my eyes be recorded in rhyme schemes? I meet this page in the morning beating back death trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sapphire/can-the-light-dying-behind-my-eyes-be-recorded-in-rhyme-schemes-i/) [Sapphire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sapphire/) > [Death is something that I am still trying to figure out a healthy relationship with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomi-adeyemi/death-is-something-that-i-am-still-trying-to-figure-out-a-healthy/) [Tomi Adeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomi-adeyemi/) > [“In writing The American Way of Death, Jessica Mitford wasn’t trying to improve our relationship with death, she was trying to improve out relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-doughty/in-writing-the-american-way-of-death-jessica-mitford-wasn-t-trying-to/) [Caitlin Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-doughty/) > [I was trying to cheat death. I was only trying to surmount for a little while the darkness that all my life I surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/i-was-trying-to-cheat-death-i-was-only-trying-to-surmount-for-a/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“She's not trying to prepare us for her death. She's trying to prepare us for her life. For what she has left of it."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/she-s-not-trying-to-prepare-us-for-her-death-she-s-trying-to-prepare/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“If someone were crushed to death trying to get a frosty can of Diet Coke, it wouldn't be my fault. I'd tried to raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/if-someone-were-crushed-to-death-trying-to-get-a-frosty-can-of-diet/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [Life is so short, so beautiful. Don't be so serious about work. Enjoy the lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/life-is-so-short-so-beautiful-don-t-be-so-serious-about-work-enjoy-2/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [If you associate enough with older people who do enjoy their lives, who are not stored away in any golden ghettos, you will gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-associate-enough-with-older-people-who-do-enjoy-their-lives/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Lasting fulfillment is attained only through gaining insight into the core of our human nature, unleashing the power to understand, appreciate, and enjoy our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/lasting-fulfillment-is-attained-only-through-gaining-insight-into-the/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Living our lives may not be an exciting prospect to some of us either. Maybe we've been so wrapped up in other people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/living-our-lives-may-not-be-an-exciting-prospect-to-some-of-us-either/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [“Life is so short, so beautiful. Don’t be so serious about work. Enjoy the lives.” – Jack Ma”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/think-maverick/life-is-so-short-so-beautiful-don-t-be-so-serious-about-work-enjoy/) Think Maverick ## More by Joe De Sena > [“In fact, living with the mindset “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” may get you there quite a bit faster!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/in-fact-living-with-the-mindset-i-ll-sleep-when-i-m-dead-may-get-you/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [The way to get through anything mentally painful is to take it a little at a time. The mind can't handle dealing with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/the-way-to-get-through-anything-mentally-painful-is-to-take-it-a/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [“A child without discipline is a child without love. — MR. ROGERS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/a-child-without-discipline-is-a-child-without-love-mr-rogers/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [“He tells his friend, the noble wizard Gandalf, “I wish none of this had happened.” Gandalf’s reply is one of the greatest in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/he-tells-his-friend-the-noble-wizard-gandalf-i-wish-none-of-this-had/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [You can either go to bed satisfied with your efforts today or stressed with what you left for tomorrow. You can either work hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/you-can-either-go-to-bed-satisfied-with-your-efforts-today-or/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [Death is the price we pay for life, so make it worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/death-is-the-price-we-pay-for-life-so-make-it-worth-it/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [“These achievements ring hollow, because what matters is the journey, and there was no journey. Instant success imparts nothing of any real or lasting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/these-achievements-ring-hollow-because-what-matters-is-the-journey/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [“Spartan Up! Life Lesson No. 3: Always Remember Those Who Serve   In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/spartan-up-life-lesson-no-3-always-remember-those-who-serve-in-the/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [Bite off more than you can chew, then keep chewing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew-then-keep-chewing/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [Put one foot in front of the other, focus on the little goal right in front of you, and almost anything is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-focus-on-the-little-goal-right-in/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [The phrase 'I can't' doesn't mean anything to me anymore, not because of my ego but because I know anything is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/the-phrase-i-can-t-doesn-t-mean-anything-to-me-anymore-not-because-of/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [“Once you sign up for a Spartan Race, once you tell all of your friends about it, you, too, are committed. To back out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/once-you-sign-up-for-a-spartan-race-once-you-tell-all-of-your-friends/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [It cannot be considered success unless you are smiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/it-cannot-be-considered-success-unless-you-are-smiling/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [“Deep inside each human being is a spirit that hungers for movement and for growth. A live and burgeoning ball of energy, the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/deep-inside-each-human-being-is-a-spirit-that-hungers-for-movement/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) [Explore all 15 Joe De Sena quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) ## 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": "It's not that we're trying to avoid death; we're trying to enjoy our lives fully, to wring every wonderful drop out of life that we possibly can.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joe De Sena" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-death-we-re-trying-to-enjoy-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-death-we-re-trying-to-enjoy-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/joe-de-sena-33290_death_it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-deat_2880252.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/joe-de-sena-33290_death_it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-deat_2880252.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e0/joe-de-sena-33290_death_it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-deat_2880252.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's not that we're trying to avoid death; we're trying to enjoy our lives fully, to wring every wonderful…” — Joe De Sena", "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": "Joe De Sena", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's not that we're trying to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-death-we-re-trying-to-enjoy-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/it-s-not-that-we-re-trying-to-avoid-death-we-re-trying-to-enjoy-our/#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 } } ] } ```