--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People, I thought, wanted security. They…" description: "\"People, I thought, wanted security. They couldnt bear the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldnt bear the thought of their loved ones not exi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fb/john-green-12_being-insecure_people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-co_1632024.jpg" --- # People, I thought, wanted security. They couldnt bear the… ![“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldnt bear the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldnt bear the thought of their loved ones not existing, and couldnt even imagine themselves not existing. I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldnt bear not to.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fb/john-green-12_being-insecure_people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-co_1632024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fb/john-green-12_being-insecure_people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-co_1632024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fb/john-green-12_being-insecure_people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-co_1632024.jpg) > “People, I thought, wanted security. They couldnt bear the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldnt bear the thought of their loved ones not existing, and couldnt even imagine themselves not existing. I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldnt bear not to.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People cling to belief in an afterlife to avoid the terror of nonexistence and the loss of loved ones. **In simple terms:** Fear of death drives belief in afterlife. Key Takeaway Acknowledge mortality to reduce fear. Themes mortality belief comfort existence Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - philosophical discussions - religious debates - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism psychology thanomancy Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting mortality change your values? - What comforts do you seek beyond life? A Different Perspective Belief may also stem from cultural tradition, not just fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Being insecure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-insecure/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Loved ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-ones/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) ## Related quotes > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [People believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-believed-in-an-afterlife-because-they-couldn-t-bear-not-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-in-an-afterlife-because-they/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I never liked writing concluding paragraphs to papers—where you just repeat what you’ve already said with phrases like In summation, and To conclude. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-never-liked-writing-concluding-paragraphs-to-papers-where-you-just-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [One time he was asked if he believed in an afterlife. After a moment's hesitation he said no, that he thought there was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/one-time-he-was-asked-if-he-believed-in-an-afterlife-after-a-moment-s/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Humanism inspires a lot of enthusiasm for everyday life and urges people to be better to one another, to work towards a better future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/humanism-inspires-a-lot-of-enthusiasm-for-everyday-life-and-urges/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Asked whether or not he believed in an afterlife, Thoreau quipped, "One world at a time."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/asked-whether-or-not-he-believed-in-an-afterlife-thoreau-quipped-one/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn't bear the though of their loved ones not existing, and couldn't even imagine themselves not existing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bear-the-though-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I thought at first that she was just dead. Just darkness. Just a body being eaten by bugs. I thought about her a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-thought-at-first-that-she-was-just-dead-just-darkness-just-a-body/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I still think that, sometimes, think that maybe "the afterlife" is just something we made up to ease the pain of loss, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-still-think-that-sometimes-think-that-maybe-the-afterlife-is-just/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I thought at first that she was just dead. Just darkness...I thought about the slow process of becoming bone and then fossil and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-thought-at-first-that-she-was-just-dead-just-darkness-i-thought/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Out of nowhere, Augustus asked, "do you believe in an after life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/out-of-nowhere-augustus-asked-do-you-believe-in-an-after-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I still think that maybe the "afterlife" is just something we made up to ease the pain of loss, to make our time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-still-think-that-maybe-the-afterlife-is-just-something-we-made-up/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [When I was younger I thought the only thing people believed in was god. Now I see hippies bowing for Hippies. O.o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-bird/when-i-was-younger-i-thought-the-only-thing-people-believed-in-was/) Corey Bird > [“He needed the people and the clamour around him. There was no questions and no doubts when he stood on a platform over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/he-needed-the-people-and-the-clamour-around-him-there-was-no/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Afterlife quotes > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. 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They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People, I thought, wanted security. They couldnt bear the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldnt bear the thought of their loved ones not existing, and couldnt even imagine themselves not existing. 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