--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't fear your mortality, because it is…" description: "\"Don't fear your mortality, because it is this very mortality that gives meaning and depth and poignancy to all the days that will be granted to you.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/paul-tsongas-17433_death_don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is_3009442.png" --- # Don't fear your mortality, because it is this very… ![“Don't fear your mortality, because it is this very mortality that gives meaning and depth and poignancy to all the days that will be granted to you.” quote by Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/paul-tsongas-17433_death_don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is_3009442.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/paul-tsongas-17433_death_don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is_3009442.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/paul-tsongas-17433_death_don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is_3009442.png) > “Don't fear your mortality, because it is this very mortality that gives meaning and depth and poignancy to all the days that will be granted to you.” [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mortality gives life meaning, depth, and poignancy, so do not fear it. **In simple terms:** Death gives life significance. Key Takeaway Embrace life's finitude. Themes mortality meaning existential depth Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal reflection - artistic expression - legacy planning - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of mortality shape your choices? - What practices help you appreciate each day? A Different Perspective Fear of death can still dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Depth Poignancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth-poignancy-4818234/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-mortality-311305/) [Granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) [Mortality Gives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality-gives-4256585/) [Poignancy Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poignancy-days-4818233/) ## Related quotes > [Human life without death would be something other than human; consciousness of mortality gives rise to out deepest longings and greatest accomplishments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/human-life-without-death-would-be-something-other-than-human/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [The reason some men fear older women is they fear their own mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-lear/the-reason-some-men-fear-older-women-is-they-fear-their-own-mortality/) [Frances Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-lear/) > [I have no fear of my own mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-whitehouse/i-have-no-fear-of-my-own-mortality/) [Paul Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-whitehouse/) > [You never think about your own mortality. At least not until your back gives way when you're 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lincoln/you-never-think-about-your-own-mortality-at-least-not-until-your-back/) [Andrew Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lincoln/) > [“If you can't sublimate your fear of mortality into sex with your best friend, what's it there for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-taylor/if-you-can-t-sublimate-your-fear-of-mortality-into-sex-with-your-best/) [Justin Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-taylor/) > [“When innocent people find themselves in situations that require the presence and protection of people like me, their reaction more often than not is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/when-innocent-people-find-themselves-in-situations-that-require-the/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [All investigations of Time, however sophisticated or abstract, have at their true base the human fear of mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/all-investigations-of-time-however-sophisticated-or-abstract-have-at/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [I don't take things for granted, because everything feels more fragile. It's made me wonder about mortality and how long you've got somebody in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-gibb/i-don-t-take-things-for-granted-because-everything-feels-more-fragile/) [Robin Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-gibb/) > [“I know what's wrong with me - I could never stand still for death! Which you've got to do by a certain age, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-what-s-wrong-with-me-i-could-never-stand-still-for-death-which/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Mortality applies to every aspect of life. The fear of death is the driving fear of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/mortality-applies-to-every-aspect-of-life-the-fear-of-death-is-the/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [I think mortality makes you live a fuller existence. When I was a kid I was scared of death, and maybe that's what made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolph-lundgren/i-think-mortality-makes-you-live-a-fuller-existence-when-i-was-a-kid/) [Dolph Lundgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolph-lundgren/) > [Death and pain dominate this world, for though many are cured, they leave still weak, still tremulous, still knowing mortality has whispered to them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/death-and-pain-dominate-this-world-for-though-many-are-cured-they/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [“There is nothing serious in mortality! Solomon in all his glory was Solomon with the elements of the contemptible lurking in every fold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/there-is-nothing-serious-in-mortality-solomon-in-all-his-glory-was/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-am-simply-looking-for-a-companion-with-whom-to-spend-my-days-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More by Paul Tsongas > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Breaststroke is an athletic event; butterfly is a political statement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/breaststroke-is-an-athletic-event-butterfly-is-a-political-statement/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Thinking in generations also means enabling our young to have a decent standard of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/thinking-in-generations-also-means-enabling-our-young-to-have-a/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [This land, this water, this air, this planet - this is our legacy to our young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/this-land-this-water-this-air-this-planet-this-is-our-legacy-to-our/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [You can't have employment and despise employers ... No goose, no golden eggs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-can-t-have-employment-and-despise-employers-no-goose-no-golden/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [It was a myth that's often perpetuated at commencement that holds that only hope and promise lie beyond the halls of academe. Don't worry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/it-was-a-myth-that-s-often-perpetuated-at-commencement-that-holds/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Journey with me to a true commitment to our environment. Journey with me to the serenity of leaving to our children a planet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/journey-with-me-to-a-true-commitment-to-our-environment-journey-with/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Let's try winning and see what it feels like. If we don't like it, we can go back to our traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/let-s-try-winning-and-see-what-it-feels-like-if-we-don-t-like-it-we/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Our destiny is greatness and we must return to its fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-return-to-its-fulfillment/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [In this era of the global village, the tide of democracy is running. And it will not cease, not in China, not in South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/in-this-era-of-the-global-village-the-tide-of-democracy-is-running/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [I wish I had spent more time at the office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/i-wish-i-had-spent-more-time-at-the-office/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [I am an American. I love this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/i-am-an-american-i-love-this-country/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [When George Bush used the Willie Horton ad, he knew what he was doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/when-george-bush-used-the-willie-horton-ad-he-knew-what-he-was-doing/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Two hundred years ago, our Founding Fathers gave us a democracy. It was based upon the simple, yet noble, idea that government derives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/two-hundred-years-ago-our-founding-fathers-gave-us-a-democracy-it-was/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/america-is-hope-it-is-compassion-it-is-excellence-it-is-valor/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Explore all 37 Paul Tsongas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. 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You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't fear your mortality, because it is this very mortality that gives meaning and depth and poignancy to all the days that will be granted to you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Tsongas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is-this-very-mortality-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is-this-very-mortality-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/paul-tsongas-17433_death_don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is_3009442.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/paul-tsongas-17433_death_don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is_3009442.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/paul-tsongas-17433_death_don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is_3009442.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't fear your mortality, because it is this very mortality that gives meaning and depth and poignancy to…” — Paul Tsongas", "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": "Paul Tsongas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Don't fear your mortality, because it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is-this-very-mortality-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/don-t-fear-your-mortality-because-it-is-this-very-mortality-that/#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 } } ] } ```