--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I, a materialist who does not believe…" description: "\"And I, a materialist who does not believe in the starry heaven promised to a human being, for this dog and for every dog I believe in heaven, yes, I be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/pablo-neruda-435_afterlife_and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe_1154082.jpg" --- # And I, a materialist who does not believe in the starry… ![“And I, a materialist who does not believe in the starry heaven promised to a human being, for this dog and for every dog I believe in heaven, yes, I believe in a heaven that I will never enter, but he waits for me wagging his big fan of a tail so I, soon to arrive, will feel welcomed.” quote by Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/pablo-neruda-435_afterlife_and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe_1154082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/pablo-neruda-435_afterlife_and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe_1154082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/pablo-neruda-435_afterlife_and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe_1154082.jpg) > “And I, a materialist who does not believe in the starry heaven promised to a human being, for this dog and for every dog I believe in heaven, yes, I believe in a heaven that I will never enter, but he waits for me wagging his big fan of a tail so I, soon to arrive, will feel welcomed.” [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a materialist can find hope in a personal, animal‑centric vision of afterlife, reflecting love and loyalty beyond human belief. **In simple terms:** Love for a dog creates a personal heaven. Key Takeaway Cherish loyalty, imagine personal afterlife. Themes love loyalty afterlife materialism hope Mood reflective hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - grief coping - spiritual reflection - creative writing - pet adoption - philosophical discussion Key Concepts existentialism personal mythology animal companionship Questions to Reflect On - What does personal heaven mean to you? - How does love shape your view of eternity? A Different Perspective Not all share belief in an afterlife; may seem escapist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-heaven/) [Big fan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-fan/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Dog Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog-believe-2548197/) [Fans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fans/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven Promised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-promised-382169/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [I believe in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe-in/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Materialist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialist/) [Materialist Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialist-does-3275955/) [Tails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails/) [Wait for me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-for-me/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ## Related quotes > [“The truth is, Colonel, that there's no divine spark, bless you. There's many a man alive no more value than a dead dog. Believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-killer-angels-michael-shaara/the-truth-is-colonel-that-there-s-no-divine-spark-bless-you-there-s-2/) [The Killer Angels Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-killer-angels-michael-shaara/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [This time is difficult. Wait for me. We will live it out vividly. Give me your small hand: we will rise and suffer, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/this-time-is-difficult-wait-for-me-we-will-live-it-out-vividly-give-2/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [This time is difficult, wait for me: we will live it out vividly. Give me your small hand: we will rise and suffer, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/this-time-is-difficult-wait-for-me-we-will-live-it-out-vividly-give/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [It is incumbent on us diligently to remember that the kingdom of heaven was promised to the poor in spirit, and that minds afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-is-incumbent-on-us-diligently-to-remember-that-the-kingdom-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Europeans had no prospects other than the “life after life” in heaven promised to true believers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macgregor-burns/europeans-had-no-prospects-other-than-the-life-after-life-in-heaven/) [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) > [“The kingdom of heaven promised us certain things: it promised us happiness and a sense of purpose and a sense of having a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-kingdom-of-heaven-promised-us-certain-things-it-promised-us/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Our Father in Heaven has promised us peace in times of trial and has provided a way for us to come to Him in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-d-pinegar/our-father-in-heaven-has-promised-us-peace-in-times-of-trial-and-has/) [Rex D. Pinegar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-d-pinegar/) > [Gods called her to his heavenly home, part of his great plan, although it may be hard, we all must understand. Faith is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/gods-called-her-to-his-heavenly-home-part-of-his-great-plan-although/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every Friday I used to have about fifty, sixty kids who would wait for me on Sunset Boulevard and I'd take them all to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-lewis/every-friday-i-used-to-have-about-fifty-sixty-kids-who-would-wait-for/) [Al Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-lewis/) > [“Wait for me, Kath. Coming soon. I feel it in my bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-richler/wait-for-me-kath-coming-soon-i-feel-it-in-my-bones/) [Emma Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-richler/) > [On a windswept hill by a billowing sea, my destiny sits and waits for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/on-a-windswept-hill-by-a-billowing-sea-my-destiny-sits-and-waits-for/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [But still I dream that somewhere there must be The spirit of a child that waits for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/but-still-i-dream-that-somewhere-there-must-be-the-spirit-of-a-child/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [I have no feelings of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-have-no-feelings-of-guilt-regarding-the-books-i-have-not-read-and/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Westley: Hear this now: I will always come for you. Buttercup: But how can you be sure? Westley: This is true love-you think this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/westley-hear-this-now-i-will-always-come-for-you-buttercup-but-how/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) ## More by Pablo Neruda > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Our love was born outside the walls, in the wind, in the night, in the earth, and that's why the clay and the flower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/our-love-was-born-outside-the-walls-in-the-wind-in-the-night-in-the/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“I remember only a day that was perhaps never intended for me, it was an incessant day, without origins, Thursday. I was a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-remember-only-a-day-that-was-perhaps-never-intended-for-me-it-was/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“We had, as men, time So our thirst could slowly be satisfied, the ancestral longing to enumerate things and sum them up, to render…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-had-as-men-time-so-our-thirst-could-slowly-be-satisfied-the/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [We bear the sole, relentless tenderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-bear-the-sole-relentless-tenderness/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I don't know who it is who lives or dies, who rests or wakes, but it is your heart that distributes all the graces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-don-t-know-who-it-is-who-lives-or-dies-who-rests-or-wakes-but-it-is/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Body of a woman, white hills, white thighs, you look like a world, lying in surrender. My rough peasant's body digs in you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/body-of-a-woman-white-hills-white-thighs-you-look-like-a-world-lying/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [We open the halves of a miracle, and a clotting of acids brims into the starry divisions: creation's original juices, irreducible, changeless, alive: so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-open-the-halves-of-a-miracle-and-a-clotting-of-acids-brims-into/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but do not take from me your laughter. Do not take away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take-air-away-but-do-not-take/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Perhaps the earth can teach us As when everything seems dead And later proves to be alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/perhaps-the-earth-can-teach-us-as-when-everything-seems-dead-and/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“I am no longer in love with her, that's certain, but maybe I love her. Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-am-no-longer-in-love-with-her-that-s-certain-but-maybe-i-love-her/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Body of a woman, white hills, white thighs, you look like a world, lying in surrender.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/body-of-a-woman-white-hills-white-thighs-you-look-like-a-world-lying-2/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“ I Like For You To Be Still I like for you to be still It is as though you are absent And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-like-for-you-to-be-still-i-like-for-you-to-be-still-it-is-as-though/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Tonight I Can Write”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/tonight-i-can-write/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) [Explore all 457 Pablo Neruda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) ## More Afterlife quotes > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I guess on one hand I believe it doesn't matter if there is life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/i-guess-on-one-hand-i-believe-it-doesn-t-matter-if-there-is-life/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. 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After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And I, a materialist who does not believe in the starry heaven promised to a human being, for this dog and for every dog I believe in heaven, yes, I believe in a heaven that I will never enter, but he waits for me wagging his big fan of a tail so I, soon to arrive, will feel welcomed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Neruda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe-in-the-starry-heaven/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afterlife" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe-in-the-starry-heaven/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/pablo-neruda-435_afterlife_and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe_1154082.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/pablo-neruda-435_afterlife_and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe_1154082.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/pablo-neruda-435_afterlife_and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe_1154082.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And I, a materialist who does not believe in the starry heaven promised to a human being, for this dog and…” — Pablo Neruda", "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": "Pablo Neruda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And I, a materialist who does...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe-in-the-starry-heaven/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/and-i-a-materialist-who-does-not-believe-in-the-starry-heaven/#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 } } ] } ```