--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Older people are wise not only because…" description: "\"“Older people are wise not only because they have lived longer. They're wise because they have lost more.”\" — Mari Ruti" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/mari-ruti-40778_older-people_older-people-are-wise-not-only-because-t_1297230.jpg" --- # Older people are wise not only because they have lived… ![“Older people are wise not only because they have lived longer. They're wise because they have lost more.” quote by Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/mari-ruti-40778_older-people_older-people-are-wise-not-only-because-t_1297230.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/mari-ruti-40778_older-people_older-people-are-wise-not-only-because-t_1297230.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/mari-ruti-40778_older-people_older-people-are-wise-not-only-because-t_1297230.jpg) > ““Older people are wise not only because they have lived longer. They're wise because they have lost more.”” [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wisdom grows from both living longer and experiencing loss, not just age. **In simple terms:** Loss deepens insight. Key Takeaway Embrace loss as a teacher. Themes wisdom age loss Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grieving - career transitions - personal growth - mentorship Key Concepts philosophy psychology experience Questions to Reflect On - What losses have shaped your understanding? - How does age alone limit wisdom? A Different Perspective Too much focus on loss can cause despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Older people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-people/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“Wise people are only wise because they have lived many lives before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leydi-morfa/wise-people-are-only-wise-because-they-have-lived-many-lives-before/) Leydi Morfa > [To-morrow I will live, the fool does say; To-day itself's too late, the wise lived yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/to-morrow-i-will-live-the-fool-does-say-to-day-itself-s-too-late-the/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [Someone who lives meaningfully for 30 years has lived a much longer Life than one who drifted through Life for 60 years.-RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/someone-who-lives-meaningfully-for-30-years-has-lived-a-much-longer/) RVM > [I literally have never lived anywhere longer than two years in my life. I never just stuck anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javale-mcgee/i-literally-have-never-lived-anywhere-longer-than-two-years-in-my/) [JaVale McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javale-mcgee/) > [I wish my father had lived longer. He died when I was 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/i-wish-my-father-had-lived-longer-he-died-when-i-was-18/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [Our physical health is dependent upon energy. We have a short lifespan compared with past Yuga's. We are made up of energy lines. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/our-physical-health-is-dependent-upon-energy-we-have-a-short-lifespan-2/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“For life is experience, and longevity is, in the end, measured by memory, and those with a thousand tales to tell have indeed lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-salvatore/for-life-is-experience-and-longevity-is-in-the-end-measured-by-memory/) [R.A. Salvatore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-salvatore/) > [Humans have lived for much, much longer than the approximately 10,000 years of settled agricultural civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/humans-have-lived-for-much-much-longer-than-the-approximately-10-000/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [The longer I lived, the longer it would be until I saw him alive again, until I could taste his new lips and run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsie-shakespeare/the-longer-i-lived-the-longer-it-would-be-until-i-saw-him-alive-again/) [Chelsie Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsie-shakespeare/) > [Those that have lived longer than us always have something to teach us, that we can take with us for the rest of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/those-that-have-lived-longer-than-us-always-have-something-to-teach/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [99.99 percent of all species that have ever lived are no longer with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/99-99-percent-of-all-species-that-have-ever-lived-are-no-longer-with/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [There was no time when I lived anywhere longer than two years. I was always a social outcast. Maybe I didn't care what people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haley-bennett/there-was-no-time-when-i-lived-anywhere-longer-than-two-years-i-was/) [Haley Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haley-bennett/) > [When you have lived longer in this world and outlived the enthusiastic and pleasing illusions of youth, you will find your love and pity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-henry-shorthouse/when-you-have-lived-longer-in-this-world-and-outlived-the/) Joseph Henry Shorthouse > [“A wise man has tolerance for such people. A wise man walks away or finds a means of changing the way they think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/a-wise-man-has-tolerance-for-such-people-a-wise-man-walks-away-or/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [“People is wise 'cause they get out in the world and live. Wisdom comes from experience - from knowin' each day is a gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-hoffman/people-is-wise-cause-they-get-out-in-the-world-and-live-wisdom-comes/) [Beth Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-hoffman/) ## More by Mari Ruti > [“As Luce Iri- garay explains, "What makes me one, and perhaps even unique, is the fact that you are and I am not you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/as-luce-iri-garay-explains-what-makes-me-one-and-perhaps-even-unique/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“Love is a slippery, unruly thing, and trying to control it robs us of its delicious unpredictability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/love-is-a-slippery-unruly-thing-and-trying-to-control-it-robs-us-of/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“it is our perpetual dissatisfaction with ourselves that causes us to approach the world as a space of possibility that has the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/it-is-our-perpetual-dissatisfaction-with-ourselves-that-causes-us-to/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“We routinely replace damanged parts of ourselves with new ones that are, arguably, more resilient, more able to handle challenges. As long as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/we-routinely-replace-damanged-parts-of-ourselves-with-new-ones-that/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“Yet if we are to take the Lacanian account of singularity seriously, we must admit that what really counts in life is not our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/yet-if-we-are-to-take-the-lacanian-account-of-singularity-seriously/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“Life has a way of turning things around. Those who mourn well know this. As a result, they also live well--with courage and curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/life-has-a-way-of-turning-things-around-those-who-mourn-well-know/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“we are tempted to erase the unsettling elements of the other's alterity-the ways in which the other does not coincide with our fantasies-because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/we-are-tempted-to-erase-the-unsettling-elements-of-the-other-s/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“What makes this inner void so difficult to deal with is that it's amorphous. We can't fix it because we can't pinpoint its precise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/what-makes-this-inner-void-so-difficult-to-deal-with-is-that-it-s/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [“Schopenhauer once put it, we insist on living our lives "with great interest and much solicitude as long as possible, just as we blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/schopenhauer-once-put-it-we-insist-on-living-our-lives-with-great/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) [Explore all 10 Mari Ruti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) ## More Older people quotes > [If younger people see older people who haven't planned ahead and have to rely on charity, the young will be more likely to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/if-younger-people-see-older-people-who-haven-t-planned-ahead-and-have/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [We don't do enough to help older people recognize how much they matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/we-don-t-do-enough-to-help-older-people-recognize-how-much-they-matter/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [I always hung out with older people. I would be the youngest out of the crew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunna/i-always-hung-out-with-older-people-i-would-be-the-youngest-out-of/) [Gunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunna/) > [Fear is a huge thing for older people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/fear-is-a-huge-thing-for-older-people/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [When I hear music that parents hate, or older musicians hate, I know that's the new music. When I hear older people saying, 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/when-i-hear-music-that-parents-hate-or-older-musicians-hate-i-know/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) > [“And I am overwhelmed now by the awfulness of over-simplification. For now I realize that not only have I been guilty of it through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-macleod/and-i-am-overwhelmed-now-by-the-awfulness-of-over-simplification-for/) [Alistair MacLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-macleod/) > [I always had an affinity for older people. I had a job delivering newspapers, and one place I had to go was an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prine/i-always-had-an-affinity-for-older-people-i-had-a-job-delivering/) [John Prine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prine/) > [Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of little children are pure. Therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/grown-men-can-learn-from-very-little-children-for-the-hearts-of/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have dealt with a pretty interesting mix of young people, many of whom have never been involved in any form of politics at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/i-have-dealt-with-a-pretty-interesting-mix-of-young-people-many-of/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) > [You might be surprised by how interested young people are in older people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/you-might-be-surprised-by-how-interested-young-people-are-in-older/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [“It's of some interest that the lively arts of the millenial U.S.A. treat anhedonia and internal emptiness as hip and cool. It's maybe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-of-some-interest-that-the-lively-arts-of-the-millenial-u-s-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Most of her friends owned laptops and seemed to spend more time with their phones than anything else. Steffy kept her latest playlists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/most-of-her-friends-owned-laptops-and-seemed-to-spend-more-time-with/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) > [“In childhood, you long to grow up fast because older people are more powerful, young men more powerful. A child just longs to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/in-childhood-you-long-to-grow-up-fast-because-older-people-are-more/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [ Hence intellect\[ual perception\] is both a beginning and an end, for the demonstrations arise from these, and concern them. As a result, one ought… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/hence-intellect-ual-perception-is-both-a-beginning-and-an-end-for-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Shy” was the sympathetic interpretation she got from older people. “Snotty” was the interpretation she got from people her own age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/shy-was-the-sympathetic-interpretation-she-got-from-older-people/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) [Browse all 312 Older people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Older people are wise not only because they have lived longer. 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