--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we really believed that those who are…" description: "\"If we really believed that those who are gone from us were as truly alive as ourselves, we could not invest the subject with such awful depth of gloom ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/lydia-m-child-9261_alive_if-we-really-believed-that-those-who-are_545951.jpg" --- # If we really believed that those who are gone from us were… ![“If we really believed that those who are gone from us were as truly alive as ourselves, we could not invest the subject with such awful depth of gloom as we do. If we could imbue our children with distinct faith in immortality, we should never speak of people as dead, but passed into another…” quote by Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/lydia-m-child-9261_alive_if-we-really-believed-that-those-who-are_545951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/lydia-m-child-9261_alive_if-we-really-believed-that-those-who-are_545951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/lydia-m-child-9261_alive_if-we-really-believed-that-those-who-are_545951.jpg) > “If we really believed that those who are gone from us were as truly alive as ourselves, we could not invest the subject with such awful depth of gloom as we do. If we could imbue our children with distinct faith in immortality, we should never speak of people as dead, but passed into another world. We should speak of the body as a cast-off garment, which the wearer had outgrown; consecrated indeed by the beloved being that used it for a season, but of no value within itself.” [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that if we truly believed the dead remain alive, we would treat death less gloomily, seeing it as a transition rather than an end. **In simple terms:** Seeing death as a transition reduces sorrow. Key Takeaway Adopt a view of death as a passage. Themes mortality spirituality grief belief Mood reflective somber Type philosophical contemplative When to use this quote - funeral rites - parenting children - comforting the bereaved - philosophical discussions Key Concepts afterlife transcendence impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How would your language about death change? - What impact would this view have on grieving? A Different Perspective May conflict with materialist or secular perspectives that deny an afterlife. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Another world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) [Beloved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Gloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloom/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Seasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seasons/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [... the random talk of people who have no chance of immortality and thus can speak their minds out has a setting, often, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-random-talk-of-people-who-have-no-chance-of-immortality-and-thus/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sad that everything I believed in is gone. Sad that I can never have anything more than sex with Nikolai.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-le-carre/sad-that-everything-i-believed-in-is-gone-sad-that-i-can-never-have/) [Georgia Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-le-carre/) > [“No. You’ve talked about it. I just had to sit and listen. The only person I can talk to is Ilven. We grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-hellisen/no-you-ve-talked-about-it-i-just-had-to-sit-and-listen-the-only/) [Cat Hellisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-hellisen/) > [Masonry inculcates faith in immortality as indispensable to moral living and urges its members to qualify for eternal life by the practice of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-hammond/masonry-inculcates-faith-in-immortality-as-indispensable-to-moral/) William E Hammond > [Scholasticism, a concept which does not bear criticism, is a theological concept specifically designed to sustain faith in the immortality of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/scholasticism-a-concept-which-does-not-bear-criticism-is-a/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [“Just another obscenity, human flesh turned to trash. I never got used to it. Each time I encountered it, I craved faith in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kellerman/just-another-obscenity-human-flesh-turned-to-trash-i-never-got-used/) [Jonathan Kellerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kellerman/) > [Twas a clever quibble. Here, a garment for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/twas-a-clever-quibble-here-a-garment-for-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gadadhara-pandit-dasa/as-a-person-puts-on-new-garments-giving-up-old-ones-the-soul/) Gadadhara Pandit Dasa > [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“You see the same plain landscape day after day, and then one day, perhaps it's the play of light or the time of year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hay/you-see-the-same-plain-landscape-day-after-day-and-then-one-day/) [Elizabeth Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hay/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [There is surely no more unselfish person than the anthologist. For while all we others are striving to ensure our own immortality with eagerness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-surely-no-more-unselfish-person-than-the-anthologist-for/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Not simply the righteousness of our Saviour, not simply the beauty of His holiness or the graces of His character, are we to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adoniram-judson-gordon/not-simply-the-righteousness-of-our-saviour-not-simply-the-beauty-of/) [Adoniram Judson Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adoniram-judson-gordon/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) ## More by Lydia M. Child > [Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. If it does not always tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/every-human-being-has-like-socrates-an-attendant-spirit-and-wise-are/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Happiness consists not in having much, but in wanting no more than you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/happiness-consists-not-in-having-much-but-in-wanting-no-more-than-you/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Home - that blessed word, which opens to the human heart the most perfect glimpse of Heaven, and helps to carry it thither, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/home-that-blessed-word-which-opens-to-the-human-heart-the-most/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [our republican ideas cannot be consistently carried out while women are excluded from any share in the government. ... Any class of human beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/our-republican-ideas-cannot-be-consistently-carried-out-while-women/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [The eye of genius has always a plaintive expression, and its natural language is pathos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/the-eye-of-genius-has-always-a-plaintive-expression-and-its-natural/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [I do not know how the affair at Canterbury is generally considered; but I have heard individuals of all parties and all opinions speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/i-do-not-know-how-the-affair-at-canterbury-is-generally-considered/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [To everything there is a bright side and a dark side; and I hold it to be unwise, unphilosophic, unkind to others, and unhealthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/to-everything-there-is-a-bright-side-and-a-dark-side-and-i-hold-it-to/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [It is right noble to fight with wickedness and wrong; the mistake is in supposing that spiritual evil can be overcome by physical means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/it-is-right-noble-to-fight-with-wickedness-and-wrong-the-mistake-is/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Misfortune is never mournful to the soul that accepts it; for such do always see that every cloud is an angel's face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/misfortune-is-never-mournful-to-the-soul-that-accepts-it-for-such-do/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [The boughs of no two trees ever have the same arrangement. Nature always produces individuals; She never produces classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/the-boughs-of-no-two-trees-ever-have-the-same-arrangement-nature/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [In the first place, the government ought not to be invested with power to control the affections, any more than the consciences of citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/in-the-first-place-the-government-ought-not-to-be-invested-with-power/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [That a majority of women do not wish for any important change in their social and civil condition, merely proves that they are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/that-a-majority-of-women-do-not-wish-for-any-important-change-in/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [There was a time when all these things would have passed me by, like the flitting figures of a theatre, sufficient for the amusement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/there-was-a-time-when-all-these-things-would-have-passed-me-by-like/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [That man's best works should be such bungling imitations of Nature's infinite perfection, matters not much; but that he should make himself an imitation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/that-man-s-best-works-should-be-such-bungling-imitations-of-nature-s/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Misfortune is never mournful to the soul that accepts it; for such do always see that every cloud is an angel's face. Every man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/misfortune-is-never-mournful-to-the-soul-that-accepts-it-for-such-do-2/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) [Explore all 74 Lydia M. Child quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) ## 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": "If we really believed that those who are gone from us were as truly alive as ourselves, we could not invest the subject with such awful depth of gloom as we do. If we could imbue our children with distinct faith in immortality, we should never speak of people as dead, but passed into another world. We should speak of the body as a cast-off garment, which the wearer had outgrown; consecrated indeed by the beloved being that used it for a season, but of no value within itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lydia M. 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