--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people are going to be taken from…" description: "\"“When people are going to be taken from you anyway, then it would be better if you had never come to care for them.”\" — Peter Høeg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/peter-h-eg-3553_taken_when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-y_460292.jpg" --- # When people are going to be taken from you anyway, then it… ![“When people are going to be taken from you anyway, then it would be better if you had never come to care for them.” quote by Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/peter-h-eg-3553_taken_when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-y_460292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/peter-h-eg-3553_taken_when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-y_460292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/peter-h-eg-3553_taken_when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-y_460292.jpg) > ““When people are going to be taken from you anyway, then it would be better if you had never come to care for them.”” [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If loss is inevitable, forming deep attachments may cause unnecessary pain. **In simple terms:** Attachment can lead to suffering when loss is certain. Key Takeaway Weigh attachment against inevitable loss. Themes mortality attachment pain philosophy Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - relationships - caregiving - end‑of‑life planning Key Concepts existentialism detachment emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - Is it better to love fully or protect yourself? - How do you find balance? A Different Perspective Human connections can still bring meaning despite loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“If you want something, you have to take it. Because nobody's ever going to give it to you. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. 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Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 7,170 Taken quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When people are going to be taken from you anyway, then it would be better if you had never come to care for them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Høeg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-you-anyway-then-it-would-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Taken" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-you-anyway-then-it-would-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/peter-h-eg-3553_taken_when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-y_460292.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/peter-h-eg-3553_taken_when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-y_460292.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/peter-h-eg-3553_taken_when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-y_460292.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When people are going to be taken from you anyway, then it would be better if you had never come to care for…” — Peter Høeg", "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": "Peter Høeg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When people are going to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-you-anyway-then-it-would-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/when-people-are-going-to-be-taken-from-you-anyway-then-it-would-be/#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 } } ] } ```