--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Growing old was simply a process of…" description: "\"Growing old was simply a process of drawing closer to that ultimate independence called death.\" — Martha Ostenso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/martha-ostenso-23577_aging_growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-draw_2473125.jpg" --- # Growing old was simply a process of drawing closer to that… ![“Growing old was simply a process of drawing closer to that ultimate independence called death.” quote by Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/martha-ostenso-23577_aging_growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-draw_2473125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/martha-ostenso-23577_aging_growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-draw_2473125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/martha-ostenso-23577_aging_growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-draw_2473125.jpg) > “Growing old was simply a process of drawing closer to that ultimate independence called death.” [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging brings us nearer to death, which can be seen as a final freedom. **In simple terms:** Growing old leads to death, a form of ultimate freedom. Key Takeaway Accept mortality as a path to freedom. Themes mortality freedom aging Mood contemplative somber Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - end‑of‑life care - elderly counseling - philosophical reflection Key Concepts existentialism acceptance life cycle Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing death as independence change your daily choices? - What freedoms might you pursue now? A Different Perspective Death may be feared, limiting the appreciation of present life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Growing old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [There are some - called 'death fatigue' - people who just grow so tired of death, so they don't want to keep perpetuating death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-are-some-called-death-fatigue-people-who-just-grow-so-tired-of/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“The septons sing of sweet surcease, of laying down our burdens and voyaging to a far sweet land where we may laugh and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-septons-sing-of-sweet-surcease-of-laying-down-our-burdens-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a thing called the death wish, a literal thing. It doesn't mean you want to die. It just means however we're built,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/there-is-a-thing-called-the-death-wish-a-literal-thing-it-doesn-t/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [“Stream of Source Energy flows to you and through you—and that it is you. This Stream flowed before the physical Being that you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/stream-of-source-energy-flows-to-you-and-through-you-and-that-it-is/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [One clings to life although there is nothing to be called life; another clings to death although there is nothing to be called death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/one-clings-to-life-although-there-is-nothing-to-be-called-life/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [“For limited minds, it seems like we only live once. But who knows what the future holds after the so-called death?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/for-limited-minds-it-seems-like-we-only-live-once-but-who-knows-what/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [“Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death. The higher the interest rate and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/sleep-is-the-interest-we-have-to-pay-on-the-capital-which-is-called-2/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [The ultimate affront, that neither hurries, grows weary nor forgets, is called death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ultimate-affront-that-neither-hurries-grows-weary-nor-forgets-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What science does not understand is called psychology, what psychology does not understand is called religion, what religion does not understand is called spirituality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/what-science-does-not-understand-is-called-psychology-what-psychology/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [A person dies, or something you had identified with completely is gone. Your home goes up in flames. There is extreme pain at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-person-dies-or-something-you-had-identified-with-completely-is-gone/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [No, I did a film called 'Death and the Compass' as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/no-i-did-a-film-called-death-and-the-compass-as-well/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) > [Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death; and the higher the rate of interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/sleep-is-the-interest-we-have-to-pay-on-the-capital-which-is-called/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Under a stony moon we are flooded in the light of each other's guidance, and taken into tomorrow with terrible premonitions. Though, I've resigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-demone/under-a-stony-moon-we-are-flooded-in-the-light-of-each-other-s/) [stephen demone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-demone/) > [They definitely mean to maintain that the process called death is a mere severence of soul and body, and that the soul is freed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-joseph-lodge/they-definitely-mean-to-maintain-that-the-process-called-death-is-a/) Oliver Joseph Lodge > [There is a remedy for everything; it is called death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portuguese-proverb/there-is-a-remedy-for-everything-it-is-called-death/) [Portuguese Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portuguese-proverb/) ## More by Martha Ostenso > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Time passed so much more slowly than space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/time-passed-so-much-more-slowly-than-space/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Listen - man is a child of Nature. When he turns against his mother - he's done! He may not find out about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/listen-man-is-a-child-of-nature-when-he-turns-against-his-mother-he-s/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [There is too much doing - too little being! When we begin to get strenuous, life begins to grow intolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/there-is-too-much-doing-too-little-being-when-we-begin-to-get/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [There was nothing so real on the prairie as winter, nothing so memorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/there-was-nothing-so-real-on-the-prairie-as-winter-nothing-so/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [“Work did not destroy the loneliness; work was only a fog in which they moved so that they might not see the loneliness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/work-did-not-destroy-the-loneliness-work-was-only-a-fog-in-which-they/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [It's remarkable - most remarkable, the way these people manage, from time to time, a tragedy or a near-tragedy to break the even tenor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/it-s-remarkable-most-remarkable-the-way-these-people-manage-from-time/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [once a man had thrust his hands into the soil and knew the grit of it between his teeth, he felt something rise within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/once-a-man-had-thrust-his-hands-into-the-soil-and-knew-the-grit-of-it/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Religion is passionate, reckless, destructive, idol-smashing. It's a martyr burning at the stake. It's a crown of thorns and a cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/religion-is-passionate-reckless-destructive-idol-smashing-it-s-a/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [a man can break God's laws and be forgiven. That's what they teach us. But when he breaks Nature's laws, there's no forgiveness -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/a-man-can-break-god-s-laws-and-be-forgiven-that-s-what-they-teach-us/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Here and there on the branch of an oak a congress of leaves still clung, rigid as flakes of bronze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/here-and-there-on-the-branch-of-an-oak-a-congress-of-leaves-still/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [You have stirred the soil with your plow, my friend. It will never be the same again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/you-have-stirred-the-soil-with-your-plow-my-friend-it-will-never-be/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [God, what pathetic creatures had inherited the earth, to walk a little while with their eyes upon the stars and turn their gaze too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/god-what-pathetic-creatures-had-inherited-the-earth-to-walk-a-little/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [Ah, life, life, how madly, how cruelly it raced along your pulses!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/ah-life-life-how-madly-how-cruelly-it-raced-along-your-pulses/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [I don't see as it matters much how well you mean if it's harm you're doin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/i-don-t-see-as-it-matters-much-how-well-you-mean-if-it-s-harm-you-re/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) [Explore all 25 Martha Ostenso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Growing old was simply a process of drawing closer to that ultimate independence called death.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha Ostenso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-drawing-closer-to-that-ultimate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-drawing-closer-to-that-ultimate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/martha-ostenso-23577_aging_growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-draw_2473125.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/martha-ostenso-23577_aging_growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-draw_2473125.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/martha-ostenso-23577_aging_growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-draw_2473125.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Growing old was simply a process of drawing closer to that ultimate independence called death.” — Martha Ostenso", "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": "Martha Ostenso", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Growing old was simply a process...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-drawing-closer-to-that-ultimate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/growing-old-was-simply-a-process-of-drawing-closer-to-that-ultimate/#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 } } ] } ```