--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I often thought of comparing life to a…" description: "\"“I often thought of comparing life to a dream, because death always seemed to be an awakening.”\" — Peter Kreeft" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/peter-kreeft-820_awakening_i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-d_1203273.png" --- # I often thought of comparing life to a dream, because… ![“I often thought of comparing life to a dream, because death always seemed to be an awakening.” quote by Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/peter-kreeft-820_awakening_i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-d_1203273.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/peter-kreeft-820_awakening_i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-d_1203273.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/peter-kreeft-820_awakening_i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-d_1203273.png) > ““I often thought of comparing life to a dream, because death always seemed to be an awakening.”” [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life resembles a dream; death is the awakening that ends the illusion. **In simple terms:** Life is a dream, death awakens us. Key Takeaway Embrace death as a natural awakening. Themes mortality philosophy awakening Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grieving loss - end‑of‑life care - personal reflection Key Concepts existential reflection spiritual insight transience Questions to Reflect On - Does seeing death as awakening ease fear? - How does this view affect how you live? A Different Perspective Viewing death as awakening may minimize grief’s complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Comparing Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparing-life-1405204/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-awakening-1957535/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dream Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-death-305390/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-dream/) ## Related quotes > [Life is a dream and death an awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurent-angliviel-de-la-beaumelle/life-is-a-dream-and-death-an-awakening/) [Laurent Angliviel de la Beaumelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurent-angliviel-de-la-beaumelle/) > [“Life a dream in Death's eternal sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thomson-b-v/life-a-dream-in-death-s-eternal-sleep/) [James Thomson (B.V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thomson-b-v/) > [Life is a dream of which death wakes us up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-dream-of-which-death-wakes-us-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In working with the wounded at Gallipoli, the lead character comments, “Perhaps life was the nightmare and death the awakening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-perry/in-working-with-the-wounded-at-gallipoli-the-lead-character-comments/) [Anne Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-perry/) > [So right off, I'm going to have to say that a lot of people have been comparing Life Is Killing Me to World Coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-silver/so-right-off-i-m-going-to-have-to-say-that-a-lot-of-people-have-been/) [Josh Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-silver/) > [You always envy someone else's life and, as a woman, you're always comparing your life to someone else's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-camp/you-always-envy-someone-else-s-life-and-as-a-woman-you-re-always/) [Anna Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-camp/) > [Remember, don't waste time comparing your life to others who seem more fortunate. Being fortunate is based on how much peace you have, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-childre/remember-don-t-waste-time-comparing-your-life-to-others-who-seem-more/) [Doc Childre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-childre/) > [It was normal to us, like having a camera or seeing Mum and Dad play live - what you grow up with is normal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccartney/it-was-normal-to-us-like-having-a-camera-or-seeing-mum-and-dad-play/) [Mary McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccartney/) > [“Life is really the dream and death is really the life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/life-is-really-the-dream-and-death-is-really-the-life/) [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) > [It was like a dream you might have after death in which lost people came back to life, your friends loved you again no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/it-was-like-a-dream-you-might-have-after-death-in-which-lost-people/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [The death of a dream can in fact serve as the vehicle that endows it with new form, with reinvigorated substance, a fresh flow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-death-of-a-dream-can-in-fact-serve-as-the-vehicle-that-endows-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dead souls dream only of death. 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Every situation is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-dream-death-is-also-a-dream-for-that-matter-waking-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Peter Kreeft > [“I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers to God make, and all the people those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-strongly-suspect-that-if-we-saw-all-the-difference-even-the-tiniest/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [God's love is as objective as light. Because the sun in a sense is light, or the source of light rather than being lit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-love-is-as-objective-as-light-because-the-sun-in-a-sense-is/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The self is like a baseball. Throw it back to the divine pitcher who pitched it to you in the first place, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-self-is-like-a-baseball-throw-it-back-to-the-divine-pitcher-who/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [How will the Tower of Babel be undone? How will we understand each other in Heaven? Will we all speak English or Dutch or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/how-will-the-tower-of-babel-be-undone-how-will-we-understand-each/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Humility is the marriage bond of Heaven. 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They no more interfere with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-interventions-are-miracles-events-that-cannot-happen-by-merely/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“And what is consensus? It means a majority of the individuals in a society coming together and agreeing to make their values into laws,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/and-what-is-consensus-it-means-a-majority-of-the-individuals-in-a/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Love is the binding force on every level of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/love-is-the-binding-force-on-every-level-of-existence/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We can't believe what we believe to be untrue, and we can't love what we believe to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/we-can-t-believe-what-we-believe-to-be-untrue-and-we-can-t-love-what/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) [Explore all 361 Peter Kreeft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## More Awakening quotes > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquillizers each day to combat depression, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belsebuub/low-states-are-a-like-a-poison-to-the-psyche-millions-of-people/) [Belsebuub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belsebuub/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/my-political-awakening-if-i-can-be-as-grand-as-to-call-it-that-was/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-often-have-you-sailed-in-my-dreams-and-now-you-come-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) [Sindiwe Magona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sindiwe-magona/) > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. More than any previous time, people are drawn to meditation, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/i-feel-there-is-a-great-spiritual-awakening-on-the-planet-right-now/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [When I was 20 years old, I got cast in 'Spring Awakening' and got swept up in this experience where it was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/when-i-was-20-years-old-i-got-cast-in-spring-awakening-and-got-swept/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [Motivation is awakening own mind and Inspiration is arising spirit in others to find their own with their heart and soul in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/motivation-is-awakening-own-mind-and-inspiration-is-arising-spirit-in/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“The Illusion - The source of suffering can be linked back to a condition of the mind that creates the illusion of separation--the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-blanchard/the-illusion-the-source-of-suffering-can-be-linked-back-to-a/) [L.M.Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-blanchard/) [Browse all 1,440 Awakening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I often thought of comparing life to a dream, because death always seemed to be an awakening.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Kreeft" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-dream-because-death-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awakening" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-dream-because-death-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/peter-kreeft-820_awakening_i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-d_1203273.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/peter-kreeft-820_awakening_i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-d_1203273.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/peter-kreeft-820_awakening_i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-d_1203273.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I often thought of comparing life to a dream, because death always seemed to be an awakening.” — Peter Kreeft", "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 Kreeft", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I often thought of comparing life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-dream-because-death-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-often-thought-of-comparing-life-to-a-dream-because-death-always/#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 } } ] } ```