--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would like to believe when I die that I…" description: "\"I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/may-sarton-897_believe_i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that_785894.jpg" --- # I would like to believe when I die that I have given… ![“I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree's way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/may-sarton-897_believe_i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that_785894.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/may-sarton-897_believe_i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that_785894.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/may-sarton-897_believe_i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that_785894.jpg) > “I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree's way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker wishes to die selflessly, giving like a tree that seeds without counting loss. **In simple terms:** Desire to contribute to future life without fearing loss. Key Takeaway Live selflessly, focus on lasting impact. Themes selflessness legacy growth Mood hopeful contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - environmental activism - teaching - mentorship - writing Key Concepts philosophy nature metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What does “adding to future life” mean for you? - How can you balance giving with self-care? A Different Perspective Self-sacrifice may neglect personal needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Future life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Treasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treasure/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [As an analogy one can imagine an intelligent amoeba with a good memory. As time progresses the amoeba is constantly splitting, each time the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-everett-iii/as-an-analogy-one-can-imagine-an-intelligent-amoeba-with-a-good/) Hugh Everett III > [The one who did not understood that his times root supports his life tree was born in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/the-one-who-did-not-understood-that-his-times-root-supports-his-life/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [What we want is another sample of life, which is not on our tree of life at all. All life that we've studied so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/what-we-want-is-another-sample-of-life-which-is-not-on-our-tree-of/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [A tree you pass by every day is just a tree. If you are to closely examine what a tree has and the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/a-tree-you-pass-by-every-day-is-just-a-tree-if-you-are-to-closely/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [Life is a tree with different branches of experience, different leaves of stories, different flowers of feelings, different roots of teachings of gaining and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-tree-with-different-branches-of-experience-different-leaves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once he raised his arm to show his friends the back of his hand, where the veins were laid out in the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-olesha/once-he-raised-his-arm-to-show-his-friends-the-back-of-his-hand-where/) Yuri Olesha > [“Watch the beauty of your life tree old leaves falling and allowing new ones to sprout !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-lima/watch-the-beauty-of-your-life-tree-old-leaves-falling-and-allowing/) Joy Lima > [Never feel sad on losing anything in your life because whenever a tree loses its leaf another is ready to take its place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-feel-sad-on-losing-anything-in-your-life-because-whenever-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My life is a tree and I can stay in one place and spread out in all directions, and I can do more learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-e-turner/my-life-is-a-tree-and-i-can-stay-in-one-place-and-spread-out-in-all/) [Nancy E. Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-e-turner/) > [Freedom of life does not mean disorder of life, does not mean chaos, and just everyone doing anything he wants. That is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/freedom-of-life-does-not-mean-disorder-of-life-does-not-mean-chaos/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“The one who did not understood that his time’s root supports his life tree was born in vain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/the-one-who-did-not-understood-that-his-time-s-root-supports-his-life/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [I shook so that it was some time before I realized that he was shaking too, and for the same reason. I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-shook-so-that-it-was-some-time-before-i-realized-that-he-was/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [Women's books are kind of discriminated against. If a man writes a book about his family stories, people think of it as literature. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/women-s-books-are-kind-of-discriminated-against-if-a-man-writes-a/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I imagine the wave of water colliding with the rock and spilling over the tile floor, collecting around my shoes. Doing a little at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-imagine-the-wave-of-water-colliding-with-the-rock-and-spilling-over/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Fifty thousand people in Mexico have been murdered. Puerto Penasco, 60 miles south of our border, just had five people and a police officer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/fifty-thousand-people-in-mexico-have-been-murdered-puerto-penasco-60/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [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 don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree's way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "May Sarton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that-i-have-given-myself-away-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that-i-have-given-myself-away-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/may-sarton-897_believe_i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that_785894.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/may-sarton-897_believe_i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that_785894.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/may-sarton-897_believe_i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that_785894.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and…” — May Sarton", "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": "May Sarton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I would like to believe when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that-i-have-given-myself-away-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-would-like-to-believe-when-i-die-that-i-have-given-myself-away-like/#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 } } ] } ```