--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each day, we wake slightly altered, and…" description: "\"Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why, one could say, be afraid of death, when death comes all the time?..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/john-updike-396_afraid_each-day-we-wake-slightly-altered-and-th_2460716.png" --- # Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were… ![“Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why, one could say, be afraid of death, when death comes all the time?” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/john-updike-396_afraid_each-day-we-wake-slightly-altered-and-th_2460716.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/john-updike-396_afraid_each-day-we-wake-slightly-altered-and-th_2460716.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/john-updike-396_afraid_each-day-we-wake-slightly-altered-and-th_2460716.png) > “Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why, one could say, be afraid of death, when death comes all the time?” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life constantly changes; each day we die a little, so fear of death is misplaced. **In simple terms:** We die daily. Key Takeaway Embrace change. Themes mortality impermanence acceptance Mood thoughtful philosophical Type essay reflective When to use this quote - daily routines - personal growth - grief processing - mindfulness Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor the present? - What does “death” mean to you? A Different Perspective Denial of constant change hinders growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid of death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-of-death/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Each day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/each-day/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) ## Related quotes > [“Not only are selves conditional but they die. Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/not-only-are-selves-conditional-but-they-die-each-day-we-wake/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not afraid of death. 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There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. 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