--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: None of us have much time. And yet you…" description: "\"“None of us have much time. And yet you act as if things were eternal—the way you fear and long for them.… Before long, darkness. And whoever buries yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/marcus-aurelius-139_time_none-of-us-have-much-time-and-yet-you-ac_2250684.jpg" --- # None of us have much time. And yet you act as if things… ![“None of us have much time. And yet you act as if things were eternal—the way you fear and long for them.… Before long, darkness. And whoever buries you mourned in their turn.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/marcus-aurelius-139_time_none-of-us-have-much-time-and-yet-you-ac_2250684.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/marcus-aurelius-139_time_none-of-us-have-much-time-and-yet-you-ac_2250684.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/marcus-aurelius-139_time_none-of-us-have-much-time-and-yet-you-ac_2250684.jpg) > ““None of us have much time. And yet you act as if things were eternal—the way you fear and long for them.… Before long, darkness. And whoever buries you mourned in their turn.”” [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reminds us that life is fleeting; we cling to permanence, yet death is inevitable and we will be remembered by those we leave behind. **In simple terms:** Life is short; we fear eternity but die soon. Key Takeaway Live fully, let go of fear of permanence. Themes mortality impermanence legacy Mood somber reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily routines - long‑term planning - grief counseling Key Concepts stoicism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of mortality change your priorities? - What legacy do you wish to leave? A Different Perspective May induce fatalism if misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“LO! THY DREAD EMPIRE, CHAOS! IS RESTOR’D; LIGHT DIES BEFORE THY UNCREATING WORD; THY HAND, GREAT ANARCH! LETS THE CURTAIN FALL; AND UNIVERSAL DARKNESS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/lo-thy-dread-empire-chaos-is-restor-d-light-dies-before-thy/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Nor public flame, nor private, dares to shine; Nor human spark is left, nor glimpse divine! Lo! thy dread empire, Chaos! is restored; Light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/nor-public-flame-nor-private-dares-to-shine-nor-human-spark-is-left/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Here then at long last is my darkness. No cry of light, no glimmer, not even the faintest shard of hope to break free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/here-then-at-long-last-is-my-darkness-no-cry-of-light-no-glimmer-not/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“I've spent so long in the darkness, I'd almost forgotten how beautiful the moonlight is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-spent-so-long-in-the-darkness-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-beautiful/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We hope that the long darkness through which the Burmese people have lived may now be coming to an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hague/we-hope-that-the-long-darkness-through-which-the-burmese-people-have/) [William Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hague/) > [“Susan stared at him. The blue glow in Death’s eyes gradually faded, and as the light died it sucked at her gaze so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett-soul-music/susan-stared-at-him-the-blue-glow-in-death-s-eyes-gradually-faded-and/) Terry Pratchett - Soul Music > [“If a person stared too long into the darkness, it would absorb them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/if-a-person-stared-too-long-into-the-darkness-it-would-absorb-them/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Yet tears to human suffering are due; And mortal hopes defeated and o'erthrown Are mourned by man, and not by man alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/yet-tears-to-human-suffering-are-due-and-mortal-hopes-defeated-and-o/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Lady Moon rose an' gazed o'er my busted'n'beautsome Valleys with silv'ry'n'sorryin' eyes, an' the dingos mourned for the died uns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/lady-moon-rose-an-gazed-o-er-my-busted-n-beautsome-valleys-with-silv/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Beloved, till life can charm no more; And mourned, till Pity's self be dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-collins/beloved-till-life-can-charm-no-more-and-mourned-till-pity-s-self-be/) [William Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-collins/) > [“He was a hunter who mourned for his prey, but was very good at tracking it down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-thomas/he-was-a-hunter-who-mourned-for-his-prey-but-was-very-good-at/) Jeffrey Thomas > [I hurt for my Marines, goodhearted American guys who'd bear these burdens for the rest of their lives. And I mourned for myself. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-fick/i-hurt-for-my-marines-goodhearted-american-guys-who-d-bear-these/) [Nathaniel Fick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-fick/) > [“I don't know if you're alive or dead. Can you on earth be sought, or only when the sunsets fade be mourned secretly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/i-don-t-know-if-you-re-alive-or-dead-can-you-on-earth-be-sought-or/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“Freedom is only mourned by those who no longer have it. Those who’ve never known it don’t have that luxury.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-dacosta/freedom-is-only-mourned-by-those-who-no-longer-have-it-those-who-ve/) [Pippa DaCosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-dacosta/) > [“The way she said his name, the tenderness in those two words, the loss, told me that it was Charlie who she mourned above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilly-macmillan/the-way-she-said-his-name-the-tenderness-in-those-two-words-the-loss/) [Gilly Macmillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilly-macmillan/) ## More by Marcus Aurelius > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Everything is mere opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/everything-is-mere-opinion/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has not done wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-any-man-has-done-wrong-the-harm-is-his-own-but-perhaps-he-has-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [My true Self is free. I cannot be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/my-true-self-is-free-i-cannot-be-contained/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nothing-befalls-any-man-which-he-is-not-fitted-to-endure/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/let-it-be-your-constant-method-to-look-into-the-design-of-people-s/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/our-life-is-a-warfare-and-a-mere-pilgrimage/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“If therefore it be a thing external that causes thy grief, know, that it is not that properly that doth cause it, but thine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-therefore-it-be-a-thing-external-that-causes-thy-grief-know-that/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/frightened-of-change-but-what-can-exist-without-it-what-s-closer-to/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-too-much-accustomed-to-attribute-to-a-single-cause-that-which/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/at-dawn-when-you-have-trouble-getting-out-of-bed-tell-yourself-i-have/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) [Explore all 1,138 Marcus Aurelius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“None of us have much time. And yet you act as if things were eternal—the way you fear and long for them.… Before long, darkness. 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