--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all know that we're going to die, but…" description: "\"We all know that we're going to die, but we don't know when. That's not a blessing, that's a curse.\" — Peter Greenaway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/peter-greenaway-2444_blessing_we-all-know-that-we-re-going-to-die-but_674011.png" --- # We all know that we're going to die, but we don't know… ![“We all know that we're going to die, but we don't know when. That's not a blessing, that's a curse.” quote by Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/peter-greenaway-2444_blessing_we-all-know-that-we-re-going-to-die-but_674011.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/peter-greenaway-2444_blessing_we-all-know-that-we-re-going-to-die-but_674011.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/peter-greenaway-2444_blessing_we-all-know-that-we-re-going-to-die-but_674011.png) > “We all know that we're going to die, but we don't know when. That's not a blessing, that's a curse.” [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awareness of inevitable death creates anxiety when timing is unknown, turning life into a perceived curse. **In simple terms:** Death is certain but timing unknown, causing dread. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, find meaning despite unknown end. Themes mortality anxiety existential Mood reflective somber Type existential philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - life planning - mindfulness practice - creative expression Key Concepts philosophy psychology acceptance Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty shape your daily choices? - What can you do to find peace with the unknown? A Different Perspective Uncertainty can also inspire urgency and appreciation, not just dread. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Blessings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessings/) [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [If you knew when you were going to die, wouldn't you make your life more worthwhile?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/if-you-knew-when-you-were-going-to-die-wouldn-t-you-make-your-life/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Down where I grew up, able-bodied people do that which we believe God created them to do. Work is a blessing; it's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-southerland/down-where-i-grew-up-able-bodied-people-do-that-which-we-believe-god/) [Steve Southerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-southerland/) > [It's a blessing and a curse. But it's not always the best situation to be in. As a profession, I don't recommend acting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armand-assante/it-s-a-blessing-and-a-curse-but-it-s-not-always-the-best-situation-to/) [Armand Assante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armand-assante/) > [BEING IN LOVE IS A BLESSING N ALSO A CURSE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/being-in-love-is-a-blessing-n-also-a-curse/) Author Name > [I'm entirely self-taught, which I think is both a blessing and a curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washed-out/i-m-entirely-self-taught-which-i-think-is-both-a-blessing-and-a-curse/) [Washed Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washed-out/) > [I get more choices of things, projects, which is a blessing and a curse. I can only do one at a time. Sometimes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benicio-del-toro/i-get-more-choices-of-things-projects-which-is-a-blessing-and-a-curse/) [Benicio Del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benicio-del-toro/) > [All this is a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because it helps people establish what they value; they understand the sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/all-this-is-a-blessing-and-a-curse-it-s-a-blessing-because-it-helps/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“Tis both a blessing a and a curse to desire a man in a physical manner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-ann-edwards/tis-both-a-blessing-a-and-a-curse-to-desire-a-man-in-a-physical-manner/) [Leigh Ann Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-ann-edwards/) > [“Bury it with me. Time was I thought it was a blessing and a curse. But it’s only a curse, and I ain’t about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/bury-it-with-me-time-was-i-thought-it-was-a-blessing-and-a-curse-but/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [Blessing is a curse, seduction and thirst, feeds the hunger that burns inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-danzig/blessing-is-a-curse-seduction-and-thirst-feeds-the-hunger-that-burns/) [Glenn Danzig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-danzig/) > [The interesting thing about a lot of serialized television is that it's a blessing and curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-weil/the-interesting-thing-about-a-lot-of-serialized-television-is-that-it-2/) [Liza Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-weil/) > [“You're nothing like I expected." "I'm never what anyone expects. It's a blessing and a curse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/you-re-nothing-like-i-expected-i-m-never-what-anyone-expects-it-s-a/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“No action, whether foul or fair, Is ever done, but it leaves somewhere A record-as a blessing or a curse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/no-action-whether-foul-or-fair-is-ever-done-but-it-leaves-somewhere-a/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [It's a blessing and a curse at the same time, the idea of genre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thundercat/it-s-a-blessing-and-a-curse-at-the-same-time-the-idea-of-genre/) [Thundercat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thundercat/) > [To do a Bond picture is a blessing but also a curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryam-d-abo/to-do-a-bond-picture-is-a-blessing-but-also-a-curse/) [Maryam d'Abo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryam-d-abo/) ## More by Peter Greenaway > [American actors are coy. We all have pricks and cunts, or are you different from the rest of us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/american-actors-are-coy-we-all-have-pricks-and-cunts-or-are-you/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I want to be a prime creator - as every self-regarding artist should do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-want-to-be-a-prime-creator-as-every-self-regarding-artist-should-do/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [To be an atheist you have to have ten thousand times more imagination than if you are a religious fundamentalist. You must take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/to-be-an-atheist-you-have-to-have-ten-thousand-times-more-imagination/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [An American critic wrote that she would rather be forced to read the New York telephone directory three times than watch the film A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/an-american-critic-wrote-that-she-would-rather-be-forced-to-read-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I like a lot of glasses about - it highers the tone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-like-a-lot-of-glasses-about-it-highers-the-tone/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [There are those who think that Zeffirelli's Hamlet is the way to treat Shakespeare. I think that cinema can handle much more. We somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/there-are-those-who-think-that-zeffirelli-s-hamlet-is-the-way-to/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [A really intelligent man makes an indifferent painter. For painting requires a certain blindness, a partial refusal to be aware of all the options.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/a-really-intelligent-man-makes-an-indifferent-painter-for-painting/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I have often thought it was very arrogant to suppose you could make a film for anybody but yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-have-often-thought-it-was-very-arrogant-to-suppose-you-could-make-a/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I believe that cinema died on the 31 September 1983 when the zapper, or the remote control, was introduced into the living rooms of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-believe-that-cinema-died-on-the-31-september-1983-when-the-zapper/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [My biggest critical success was 'The Draughtsman's Contract,' but then it wasn't the English who particularly thought so; it was the French, who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/my-biggest-critical-success-was-the-draughtsman-s-contract-but-then/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [There are basically only two subject matters in all Western culture: sex and death. We do have some ability to manipulate sex nowadays. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/there-are-basically-only-two-subject-matters-in-all-western-culture/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Cinema doesn't connect with the body as artists have in two thousand years of painting, using the nude as the central figure which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/cinema-doesn-t-connect-with-the-body-as-artists-have-in-two-thousand/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Cinema is far too rich and capable a medium to be merely left to the storytellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/cinema-is-far-too-rich-and-capable-a-medium-to-be-merely-left-to-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Jean Renoir once suggested that most true creators have only one idea and spend their lives reworking it, but then very rapidly he added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/jean-renoir-once-suggested-that-most-true-creators-have-only-one-idea/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Bill Viola is worth ten Scorseses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/bill-viola-is-worth-ten-scorseses/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) [Explore all 166 Peter Greenaway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) ## More Blessing quotes > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [God loves to glorify himself by suspending his gifts and blessings on our asking him for them. We should never presume to receive from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-storms/god-loves-to-glorify-himself-by-suspending-his-gifts-and-blessings-on/) [Sam Storms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-storms/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Life is all about experiences and being able to work with good people is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/life-is-all-about-experiences-and-being-able-to-work-with-good-people/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [“When Jesus finished teaching in a synagogue one day, a woman called out from the audience, 'God bless your mother—the womb from which you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bessey/when-jesus-finished-teaching-in-a-synagogue-one-day-a-woman-called/) [Sarah Bessey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bessey/) > [“I've never felt a pain that didn't bear a blessing. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-knudsen-hoffman/i-ve-never-felt-a-pain-that-didn-t-bear-a-blessing/) Gene Knudsen Hoffman > [Mechanical instruments, potentially a vehicle of rational human purposes, are scarcely a blessing when they enable the gossip of the village idiot and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/mechanical-instruments-potentially-a-vehicle-of-rational-human/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/the-only-men-who-become-gods-even-the-sons-of-god-are-those-who-enter/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [Being of Indian heritage is a challenge - and it's a blessing as well sometimes - because being good isn't good enough. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sacha-dhawan/being-of-indian-heritage-is-a-challenge-and-it-s-a-blessing-as-well/) [Sacha Dhawan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sacha-dhawan/) > [“Time wasted can never be compensated”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/time-wasted-can-never-be-compensated/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [Life is such a very troublesome matter, when all is said and done, that it's as well even to take its blessings quietly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-braddon/life-is-such-a-very-troublesome-matter-when-all-is-said-and-done-that/) [Mary Elizabeth Braddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-braddon/) > [Down where I grew up, able-bodied people do that which we believe God created them to do. Work is a blessing; it's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-southerland/down-where-i-grew-up-able-bodied-people-do-that-which-we-believe-god/) [Steve Southerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-southerland/) [Browse all 4,617 Blessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We all know that we're going to die, but we don't know when. 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