--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only time we can talk about death is…" description: "\"The only time we can talk about death is while we're alive, not afterwards.\" — Jose Saramago" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/jos-saramago-208_alive_the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is_2026265.png" --- # The only time we can talk about death is while we're… ![“The only time we can talk about death is while we're alive, not afterwards.” quote by Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/jos-saramago-208_alive_the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is_2026265.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/jos-saramago-208_alive_the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is_2026265.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/jos-saramago-208_alive_the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is_2026265.png) > “The only time we can talk about death is while we're alive, not afterwards.” [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating death is only meaningful while alive; after death, reflection ends. **In simple terms:** Think about death while alive. Key Takeaway Reflect on mortality now. Themes mortality reflection life philosophy existentialism meaning Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - healthcare decisions Key Concepts novel literary fiction Questions to Reflect On - What does mortality mean to you? - How does awareness of death shape choices? A Different Perspective Avoiding death thoughts can lead to unexamined life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The death of a language. The word has the same kind of reluctant resonance as it has when we talk about the death of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/the-death-of-a-language-the-word-has-the-same-kind-of-reluctant/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to unfasten your belt and look for a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/life-is-trouble-only-death-is-not-to-be-alive-is-to-unfasten-your/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [You'll find your way and may death find you alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fall-out-boy/you-ll-find-your-way-and-may-death-find-you-alive/) [Fall Out Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fall-out-boy/) > [“He wasn't alive because he feared death. He was alive because he loved life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-betancourt/he-wasn-t-alive-because-he-feared-death-he-was-alive-because-he-loved/) [Ingrid Betancourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-betancourt/) > [“There is not much mystery about death. It's being alive that's the mystery. Death is the normality, life is the exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-fallowell/there-is-not-much-mystery-about-death-it-s-being-alive-that-s-the/) Duncan Fallowell > [It even feels absurd to be writing or singing a song at all - in the context of actual death, being alive feels absurd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-elverum/it-even-feels-absurd-to-be-writing-or-singing-a-song-at-all-in-the/) [Phil Elverum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-elverum/) > [How many more times do we have to come to terms with death before we find safety?" he asked. He waited a few minutes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/how-many-more-times-do-we-have-to-come-to-terms-with-death-before-we/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [“The painful truth about life is not death but death while you are alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/the-painful-truth-about-life-is-not-death-but-death-while-you-are/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-closer-you-are-to-death-the-more-alive-you-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Death is alive, they whispered. Death lives inside life, as bones dance within the body. Yesterday is within today. Yesterday never dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/death-is-alive-they-whispered-death-lives-inside-life-as-bones-dance/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“I wish she were alive, but I am grateful for her death. If she were alive, I would likely still be working at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-wish-she-were-alive-but-i-am-grateful-for-her-death-if-she-were/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Alive. Alive in the way that death is alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/alive-alive-in-the-way-that-death-is-alive/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Every thing in life is a uniform; the only time our bodies are truly in civilian dress is when we're naked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/every-thing-in-life-is-a-uniform-the-only-time-our-bodies-are-truly/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [If I didn't miss you as much as I say I do. I wouldn't cry ever time we talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-didn-t-miss-you-as-much-as-i-say-i-do-i-wouldn-t-cry-ever-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [:P everytime you takl behind my back I find it funny because your taking your time out to talk about me behind my back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/p-everytime-you-takl-behind-my-back-i-find-it-funny-because-your/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) ## More by Jose Saramago > [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? Seriam eles capazes de aprender realmente o que há…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/e-se-as-hist-rias-para-crian-as-passassem-a-ser-de-leitura-obrigat/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-a-king-modesty-would-be-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“the inmates of the second ward in the right wing have decided, at long last, to bury their dead, at least we shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-inmates-of-the-second-ward-in-the-right-wing-have-decided-at-long/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Stretching one arm behind him, the man passed his hand over the horse's coat, his own skin transformed, or skin which had transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/stretching-one-arm-behind-him-the-man-passed-his-hand-over-the-horse/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Explore all 487 Jose Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only time we can talk about death is while we're alive, not afterwards.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Saramago" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is-while-we-re-alive-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is-while-we-re-alive-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/jos-saramago-208_alive_the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is_2026265.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/jos-saramago-208_alive_the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is_2026265.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/jos-saramago-208_alive_the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is_2026265.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only time we can talk about death is while we're alive, not afterwards.” — Jose Saramago", "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": "Jose Saramago", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only time we can talk...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is-while-we-re-alive-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is-while-we-re-alive-not/#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 } } ] } ```