--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because that is how one survives…" description: "\"“Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or even a few years. Friends. Family. Moving with them. Moving forward.”\" — N.K. Jemisin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/n-k-jemisin-1466_eternity_because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternit_1186397.png" --- # Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or… ![“Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or even a few years. Friends. Family. Moving with them. Moving forward.” quote by N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/n-k-jemisin-1466_eternity_because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternit_1186397.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/n-k-jemisin-1466_eternity_because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternit_1186397.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/n-k-jemisin-1466_eternity_because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternit_1186397.png) > ““Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or even a few years. Friends. Family. Moving with them. Moving forward.”” [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Survival through eternity requires companionship, family, and forward movement. **In simple terms:** Friends and family help survive long term. Key Takeaway Cultivate relationships and progress. Themes survival eternity relationships Mood hopeful reflective Type existential inspirational When to use this quote - long‑term planning - family bonding - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What relationships sustain you? - How do you move forward after loss? A Different Perspective It may ignore solitary resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eternity Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-say-1174882/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Moving forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-forward/) [Survives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survives/) [Survives Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survives-eternity-3501668/) ## Related quotes > [A good man ("un homme de bien", Fr.) never wholly perishes, the best part of his being outlives (or survives) in eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/a-good-man-un-homme-de-bien-fr-never-wholly-perishes-the-best-part-of/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [ You know, we'll hardly get our feet out of time \[and\] into eternity that we'll bow our heads in shame and humiliation. We'll gaze… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/you-know-we-ll-hardly-get-our-feet-out-of-time-and-into-eternity-that/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [To those who say Ted Bundy should burn forever in eternity I would only say, so should I, so should all of us...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/to-those-who-say-ted-bundy-should-burn-forever-in-eternity-i-would/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [“ Invitation to Eternity Say, wilt thou go with me, sweet maid, Say, maiden, wilt thou go with me Through the valley-depths of shade,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/invitation-to-eternity-say-wilt-thou-go-with-me-sweet-maid-say-maiden/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [Eternity' is there, We say, as of a station. Meanwhile, he is so near, He joins me in my Ramble? Divides abode with me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/eternity-is-there-we-say-as-of-a-station-meanwhile-he-is-so-near-he/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [At any point in all of Eternity, we can say, 'This is just the beginning.' How wonderful for those who are with Christ. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/at-any-point-in-all-of-eternity-we-can-say-this-is-just-the-beginning-2/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [At any point in all of eternity, we can say 'this is just the beginning.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-any-point-in-all-of-eternity-we-can-say-this-is-just-the-beginning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Uber survives only if people trust us. You have to trust us with your data. You have to trust us with your safety or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-west/uber-survives-only-if-people-trust-us-you-have-to-trust-us-with-your/) [Tony West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-west/) > [The law of evolution is that the strongest survives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-law-of-evolution-is-that-the-strongest-survives/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The man who wins out and survives does so only because of superior science and strategy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-who-wins-out-and-survives-does-so-only-because-of-superior/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any marriage that survives a big wedding can probably survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/any-marriage-that-survives-a-big-wedding-can-probably-survive/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [The United States survives so long as at least one of its major parties is politically and intellectually healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-united-states-survives-so-long-as-at-least-one-of-its-major/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [“Love survives in us precisely because it isn't wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/love-survives-in-us-precisely-because-it-isn-t-wise/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [If we look to the saints, this great luminous wake with which God has passed through history, we truly see that here is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-we-look-to-the-saints-this-great-luminous-wake-with-which-god-has/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [It's the love that goes through the hardest trials and survives that's worth having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/it-s-the-love-that-goes-through-the-hardest-trials-and-survives-that/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) ## More by N.K. Jemisin > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“She feels closer than ever to her father in this moment of utter broken rage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/she-feels-closer-than-ever-to-her-father-in-this-moment-of-utter/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When a comm builds atop a fault line, do you blame its walls when they inevitably crush the people inside? No; you blame whoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/when-a-comm-builds-atop-a-fault-line-do-you-blame-its-walls-when-they/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“I don’t know how I feel about a canon anymore ... The sheer volume of books that exist out there means that a canon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-don-t-know-how-i-feel-about-a-canon-anymore-the-sheer-volume-of/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ “\[...\] the kind of healer who knows that sometimes one must inflict terrible agony - rebreak a bone, carve off a limb, kill the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-kind-of-healer-who-knows-that-sometimes-one-must-inflict-terrible/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/so-here-is-why-i-write-what-i-do-we-all-have-futures-we-all-have/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“How can we prepare for the future if we won’t acknowledge the past?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/how-can-we-prepare-for-the-future-if-we-won-t-acknowledge-the-past/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What can orogeny do against something like that? Keep her breathing, maybe. But breathing doesn't always mean living, and maybe... maybe genocide doesn't always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-can-orogeny-do-against-something-like-that-keep-her-breathing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What the rust do you matter? Who cares about you? Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? Once, you did have people who cared about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-the-rust-do-you-matter-who-cares-about-you-well-that-s-the-thing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“Let me say only that these vehicles float a few inches off the ground. No animals draw them. No steam or chemical fuels them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/let-me-say-only-that-these-vehicles-float-a-few-inches-off-the-ground/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/we-can-never-be-gods-after-all-but-we-can-become-something-less-than/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“(This is not a digression.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/this-is-not-a-digression/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“He's not a parasite if she needs him, too, and if she gives what he will not take. (One day soon, she will learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/he-s-not-a-parasite-if-she-needs-him-too-and-if-she-gives-what-he/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) [Explore all 225 N.K. Jemisin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or even a few years. Friends. Family. Moving with them. Moving forward.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.K. Jemisin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternity-i-say-or-even-a-few-years/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternity-i-say-or-even-a-few-years/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/n-k-jemisin-1466_eternity_because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternit_1186397.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/n-k-jemisin-1466_eternity_because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternit_1186397.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebf/n-k-jemisin-1466_eternity_because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternit_1186397.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or even a few years. Friends. Family. Moving with them…” — N.K. Jemisin", "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": "N.K. Jemisin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Because that is how one survives...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternity-i-say-or-even-a-few-years/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/because-that-is-how-one-survives-eternity-i-say-or-even-a-few-years/#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 } } ] } ```