--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody dies … The thing is, to have a…" description: "\"Everybody dies … The thing is, to have a life before we die.\" — John Irving" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/john-irving-337_death_everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-li_184676.png" --- # Everybody dies … The thing is, to have a life before we die. ![“Everybody dies … The thing is, to have a life before we die.” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/john-irving-337_death_everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-li_184676.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/john-irving-337_death_everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-li_184676.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/john-irving-337_death_everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-li_184676.png) > “Everybody dies … The thing is, to have a life before we die.” [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting, so it’s essential to live meaningfully before death arrives. **In simple terms:** Life is short; live it fully. Key Takeaway Make each moment count. Themes mortality meaning purpose urgency legacy Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career - family - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you want to leave? - How do you define a life well lived? A Different Perspective Fear of death can paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [You know, everybody dies. My parents died. Your father died. Everybody dies. I'm going to die too. So will you. The thing is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-know-everybody-dies-my-parents-died-your-father-died-everybody/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [A feud should live a full and colorful life, and then it should die a natural death and be forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/a-feud-should-live-a-full-and-colorful-life-and-then-it-should-die-a/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [I'm really trying to make it more than what it is because everybody dies,but not everybody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-really-trying-to-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-because-everybody/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“I am cursed. Everybody around me dies. It just might take a hundred years for them to do so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-am-cursed-everybody-around-me-dies-it-just-might-take-a-hundred/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [When I close my eyes, I see how everybody dies. Hangin from a rope, all with fear in their eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiztid/when-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-how-everybody-dies-hangin-from-a-rope-all/) [Twiztid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiztid/) > [Everybody ages. Everybody dies. There is no turning back the clock. So the question in life becomes: What are you going to do while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldie-hawn/everybody-ages-everybody-dies-there-is-no-turning-back-the-clock-so/) [Goldie Hawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldie-hawn/) > [“Everybody dies, but some spend a whole life digging their grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shon-mehta/everybody-dies-but-some-spend-a-whole-life-digging-their-grave/) [Shon Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shon-mehta/) > [“I'm nobody. I'm just a tiny little character in the big book of your life. And you're right. People do die. All of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-wallach/i-m-nobody-i-m-just-a-tiny-little-character-in-the-big-book-of-your/) [Tommy Wallach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-wallach/) > [“What the hell. You die. Everybody dies. So you die healthy. So what?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-cornwell/what-the-hell-you-die-everybody-dies-so-you-die-healthy-so-what/) [Patricia Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-cornwell/) > [“In the end though, everybody dies, but not everybody lives—the climber, though he may die young, will have lived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/in-the-end-though-everybody-dies-but-not-everybody-lives-the-climber/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Everybody dies. Some just need a little help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian/everybody-dies-some-just-need-a-little-help/) [Lucian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian/) > [You know, everybody dies anyway. So, don't kill yourself while you're alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-everybody-dies-anyway-so-don-t-kill-yourself-while-you-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My life is a Stephen King novel,” she whispered. “Everything gets worse. And worse. And worse. When it finally can’t get any worse, everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevada-barr/my-life-is-a-stephen-king-novel-she-whispered-everything-gets-worse/) [Nevada Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevada-barr/) > [Everybody dies. There's nothing you can do about it. Whether you eat six almonds a day. Whether or not you believe in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/everybody-dies-there-s-nothing-you-can-do-about-it-whether-you-eat/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [Everybody dies famous in a small town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-lambert/everybody-dies-famous-in-a-small-town/) [Miranda Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-lambert/) ## More by John Irving > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/watch-out-for-people-who-call-themselves-religious-make-sure-you-know/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-desire-to-never-leave-your-side-the-desire-to-never-see-you-again/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-had-been-a-student-in-vienna-and-one-of-the-neat-little-things-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/god-i-think-i-just-hit-a-high-e-flat-and-i-really-held-it-esmeralda/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/nostalgia-miss-frost-cried-you-re-nostalgic-she-repeated-just-how-old/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-is-much-easier-to-be-flexible-about-where-a-story-begins-than-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. 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But they both must have known that you can know someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-re-nice-cushie-told-him-squeezing-his-hand-and-you-re-my-oldest/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Because of A Prayer for Owen Meany, many of my readers assume I am “religious.” I go to church only occasionally—like a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/because-of-a-prayer-for-owen-meany-many-of-my-readers-assume-i-am/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Did anyone who was in love and was unsatisfied with how he was loved in return ever feel saved?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/did-anyone-who-was-in-love-and-was-unsatisfied-with-how-he-was-loved/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“I TRUST THAT GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-trust-that-god-will-help-me-because-what-i-m-supposed-to-do-looks/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Explore all 641 John Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## 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": "Everybody dies … The thing is, to have a life before we die.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-life-before-we-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-life-before-we-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/john-irving-337_death_everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-li_184676.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/john-irving-337_death_everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-li_184676.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/john-irving-337_death_everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-li_184676.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everybody dies … The thing is, to have a life before we die.” — John Irving", "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": "John Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Everybody dies … The thing is,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-life-before-we-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/everybody-dies-the-thing-is-to-have-a-life-before-we-die/#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 } } ] } ```