--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had always thought that death was…" description: "\"“He had always thought that death was black nothingness, but he had not counted on being awake for it.”\" — Kay Kenyon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/kay-kenyon-33408_death_he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-bla_1592999.jpg" --- # He had always thought that death was black nothingness… ![“He had always thought that death was black nothingness, but he had not counted on being awake for it.” quote by Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/kay-kenyon-33408_death_he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-bla_1592999.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/kay-kenyon-33408_death_he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-bla_1592999.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/kay-kenyon-33408_death_he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-bla_1592999.jpg) > ““He had always thought that death was black nothingness, but he had not counted on being awake for it.”” [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death may be an awakening rather than oblivion, challenging assumptions. **In simple terms:** Death could be an awakening. Key Takeaway Stay open to unknown possibilities. Themes death awakening existential doubt Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - grief counseling - spiritual exploration - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy afterlife speculation Questions to Reflect On - How does this idea change your view of mortality? - Can fear of the unknown be transformed? A Different Perspective Some may find this view unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) ## Related quotes > [“I look up upon a sparsely starred abyss Having wandered to this street corner In the middle of the night Watching the cars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-wetch/i-look-up-upon-a-sparsely-starred-abyss-having-wandered-to-this/) [Justin Wetch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-wetch/) > [Death is a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdelkader-el-djezairi/death-is-a-black-camel-which-kneels-at-the-gates-of-all/) [Abdelkader El Djezairi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdelkader-el-djezairi/) > [Nothing is more dreadful in life than the profound thought that death may only greet you with eternal nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-more-dreadful-in-life-than-the-profound-thought-that-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She thought of death like the seam of a hem: each time you lose someone close, it unraveled a little. You could still go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/she-thought-of-death-like-the-seam-of-a-hem-each-time-you-lose/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-sometimes-when-night-sets-in/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I've always thought that if my death was imminent, I would read. When I can't focus on a book, I tend to keep reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-ve-always-thought-that-if-my-death-was-imminent-i-would-read-when-i/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [The thought of death deceives us; for it causes us to neglect to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/the-thought-of-death-deceives-us-for-it-causes-us-to-neglect-to-live/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [This thought is as a death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-thought-is-as-a-death/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Now Mrs. Greensleeve, who knew that she was going to die, thought of death in the same way a nightbound wanderer in the rain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-kersh/now-mrs-greensleeve-who-knew-that-she-was-going-to-die-thought-of/) [Gerald Kersh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-kersh/) > [True love makes the thought of death frequent, easy, without terrors; it merely becomes the standard of comparison, the price one would pay for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/true-love-makes-the-thought-of-death-frequent-easy-without-terrors-it/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“He had been taught that language was essentially inadequate, that it could never speak what was there, that it only spoke itself. He thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt/he-had-been-taught-that-language-was-essentially-inadequate-that-it/) [A.S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt/) > [“an unproblematic state is a state without creative thought. Its other name is death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/an-unproblematic-state-is-a-state-without-creative-thought-its-other/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [“I thought about death and was gripped by feelings which choked my chest and made my throat dry, a sudden pushing and shoving in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzaburo-oe/i-thought-about-death-and-was-gripped-by-feelings-which-choked-my/) [Kenzaburō Ōe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzaburo-oe/) > [“He’d never thought of death like that, like it’s some sort of other life that you can hope for, dream of. Escape to. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/he-d-never-thought-of-death-like-that-like-it-s-some-sort-of-other/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) > [Death is easier to bear without thinking of it, than the thought of death without peril.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/death-is-easier-to-bear-without-thinking-of-it-than-the-thought-of/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) ## More by Kay Kenyon > [“The student asks: If my redstone necklace had every view of every veil that ever brightened, would I be wise? The master answers: If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/the-student-asks-if-my-redstone-necklace-had-every-view-of-every-veil/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“We must love all of creation, not only what is common. A god may have the head of an elephant, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/we-must-love-all-of-creation-not-only-what-is-common-a-god-may-have/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“She shrugged. "Ownership is a fragile concept.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/she-shrugged-ownership-is-a-fragile-concept/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“Every man wishes to be king." Her hair snapped about her, buzzing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/every-man-wishes-to-be-king-her-hair-snapped-about-her-buzzing/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“The awful, ironic, glorious fix for the writing doldrums is to write the next page.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/the-awful-ironic-glorious-fix-for-the-writing-doldrums-is-to-write/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“3,117 people had lost their lives in the flood. And the king had missed breakfast”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/3-117-people-had-lost-their-lives-in-the-flood-and-the-king-had/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“Even when I’m writing about shape shifters and magical lands, I’m looking into my own heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/even-when-i-m-writing-about-shape-shifters-and-magical-lands-i-m/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“It was always easy to think that happiness and wisdom lay in the shadows, in places that have never yet been seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/it-was-always-easy-to-think-that-happiness-and-wisdom-lay-in-the/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“He didn't know which he preferred: the Red, with its fatalistic and pious acceptance of all futures, or the Misery, acknowledging that the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/he-didn-t-know-which-he-preferred-the-red-with-its-fatalistic-and/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“A novel in progress doesn't have a clear, forward process. It’s messy, like a beloved, balky child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/a-novel-in-progress-doesn-t-have-a-clear-forward-process-it-s-messy/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“I love storytelling when the writing spins through me like photons on their way to lighting the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/i-love-storytelling-when-the-writing-spins-through-me-like-photons-on/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“Tori gazed out on the calm Ancific Ocean across which, incredibly, she would be taking a coach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/tori-gazed-out-on-the-calm-ancific-ocean-across-which-incredibly-she/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“The worst kind of poison for despots: truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/the-worst-kind-of-poison-for-despots-truth/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) > [“The writer’s special talent is to empathize with people and imagine their lives. We know them as we write them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/the-writer-s-special-talent-is-to-empathize-with-people-and-imagine/) [Kay Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) [Explore all 15 Kay Kenyon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/) ## 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. 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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": "“He had always thought that death was black nothingness, but he had not counted on being awake for it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kay Kenyon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-black-nothingness-but-he-had-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-black-nothingness-but-he-had-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/kay-kenyon-33408_death_he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-bla_1592999.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/kay-kenyon-33408_death_he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-bla_1592999.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/kay-kenyon-33408_death_he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-bla_1592999.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He had always thought that death was black nothingness, but he had not counted on being awake for it.” — Kay Kenyon", "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": "Kay Kenyon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kenyon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He had always thought that death...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-black-nothingness-but-he-had-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kenyon/he-had-always-thought-that-death-was-black-nothingness-but-he-had-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 } } ] } ```