--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we were alive, they told us that…" description: "\"“When we were alive, they told us that when we died we'd go to heaven. And they said that heaven was a place of joy and glory and we would spend eterni..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/philip-pullman-525_afterlife_when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-whe_3080445.png" --- # When we were alive, they told us that when we died we'd go… ![“When we were alive, they told us that when we died we'd go to heaven. And they said that heaven was a place of joy and glory and we would spend eternity in the company of saints and angels praising the Almighty, in a state of bliss. That's what they said. And that's what led some of us to give our…” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/philip-pullman-525_afterlife_when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-whe_3080445.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/philip-pullman-525_afterlife_when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-whe_3080445.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/philip-pullman-525_afterlife_when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-whe_3080445.png) > ““When we were alive, they told us that when we died we'd go to heaven. And they said that heaven was a place of joy and glory and we would spend eternity in the company of saints and angels praising the Almighty, in a state of bliss. That's what they said. And that's what led some of us to give our lives, and others to spend years in solitary prayer, while all the joy of life was going to waste around us and we never knew. Because the land of the dead isn't a place of reward or a place of punishment, it is a place of nothing. The good come here as well as the wicked, and all of us languish in this gloom forever, with no hope of freedom, or joy, or sleep, or rest, or peace. But now this child has come offering us a way out and I'm going to follow her. Even if it means oblivion, friends, I'll welcome it, because it won't be nothing. We'll be alive again in a thousand blades of grass, and a million leaves; we'll be falling in the raindrops and blowing in the fresh breeze; we'll be glistening in the dew under the stars and the moon out there in the physical world, which is our true home and always was.”” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting; after death there is emptiness, but hope lies in embracing the physical world’s simple joys. **In simple terms:** Life ends, but nature offers renewal. Key Takeaway Find meaning in present, natural experiences. Themes mortality hope nature spirituality Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief coping - environmental appreciation - spiritual awakening Key Concepts existentialism nihilism redemption Questions to Reflect On - What simple natural moments bring you peace? - How do you confront the idea of nothingness? A Different Perspective May ignore cultural afterlife beliefs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [End Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-year/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-place/) [Heaven Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-said-1082159/) [Joy of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-of-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Said Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-heaven-602508/) [Spend Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-eternity-310710/) ## Related quotes > [“When we were alive, they told us that when we died we'd go to heaven. And they said that heaven was a place of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-when-we-died-we-d-go-to-heaven/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“You have been to hell, Ketut?" He smiled. Of course he's been there. What's it like in hell?" Same like in heaven," he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/you-have-been-to-hell-ketut-he-smiled-of-course-he-s-been-there-what/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“But how much happier will be the man, when he gets to heaven, who has it said of him, “He will shine like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon-spurgeon/but-how-much-happier-will-be-the-man-when-he-gets-to-heaven-who-has/) [Charles Haddon Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon-spurgeon/) > [Where Scripture speaks of the world's creation, it is not plainly said whether or when the angels were created; but if mention is made,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/where-scripture-speaks-of-the-world-s-creation-it-is-not-plainly-said/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“The Hurricane The tree lay down on the garage roof and stretched, You have your heaven, it said, go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/the-hurricane-the-tree-lay-down-on-the-garage-roof-and-stretched-you/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“Mr. Vesey, though, he didn't like any kind of talk about heaven. He said that was the coward’s way, pining for life in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/mr-vesey-though-he-didn-t-like-any-kind-of-talk-about-heaven-he-said/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I’m gonna take a nap, Heaven,” he said, wanting away from her to clear his head. He didn’t like feeling uncomfortable in his house.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/i-m-gonna-take-a-nap-heaven-he-said-wanting-away-from-her-to-clear/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [I said 2 someone at my school that Just a Wonder did it hurt when u fell out of heaven? So they Said wt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaniaacannon/i-said-2-someone-at-my-school-that-just-a-wonder-did-it-hurt-when-u/) [Shaniaacannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaniaacannon/) > [Someone asked my girl, 'Do you know where heaven is?', and she said softly back, 'Right between his arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-asked-my-girl-do-you-know-where-heaven-is-and-she-said-softly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always asked my mother, I said, 'Momma, how come is everything white?' I said, 'Why is Jesus white with blond hair and blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-always-asked-my-mother-i-said-momma-how-come-is-everything-white-i/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Do what ya have to do to pay off yer debt with Heaven,’ he said, his concern for proper speech abandoned. ‘But ya do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jana-oliver/do-what-ya-have-to-do-to-pay-off-yer-debt-with-heaven-he-said-his/) [Jana Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jana-oliver/) > [If you could work your way to heaven, you would said look what I did, I got myself here by my good works. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/if-you-could-work-your-way-to-heaven-you-would-said-look-what-i-did-i/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“We have every book you’ll need,” Mr. Reynolds said with a wink behind his Coke-bottle glasses. “Just ask.” “Every book I’ll ever need? Sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/we-have-every-book-you-ll-need-mr-reynolds-said-with-a-wink-behind/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [“When it comes to religion, we have a funny habit of believing things that make us feel better about ourselves." "What do you mean?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-wilde/when-it-comes-to-religion-we-have-a-funny-habit-of-believing-things/) [Jerome Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-wilde/) > [I wanna go to Heaven. I wanna go to Heaven. Said, I wanna go to Heaven. I wanna go to heaven, do you wanna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mary/i-wanna-go-to-heaven-i-wanna-go-to-heaven-said-i-wanna-go-to-heaven-i/) [Mary Mary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mary/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lonely-i-don-t-know-they-tell-me-this-is-cold-i-don-t-know-what-cold/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/just-finished-secrecy-truly-enthralling-both-as-a-love-story-and-as-a/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Explore all 479 Philip Pullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## 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. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. 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": "“When we were alive, they told us that when we died we'd go to heaven. And they said that heaven was a place of joy and glory and we would spend eternity in the company of saints and angels praising the Almighty, in a state of bliss. That's what they said. And that's what led some of us to give our lives, and others to spend years in solitary prayer, while all the joy of life was going to waste around us and we never knew. Because the land of the dead isn't a place of reward or a place of punishment, it is a place of nothing. The good come here as well as the wicked, and all of us languish in this gloom forever, with no hope of freedom, or joy, or sleep, or rest, or peace. But now this child has come offering us a way out and I'm going to follow her. Even if it means oblivion, friends, I'll welcome it, because it won't be nothing. We'll be alive again in a thousand blades of grass, and a million leaves; we'll be falling in the raindrops and blowing in the fresh breeze; we'll be glistening in the dew under the stars and the moon out there in the physical world, which is our true home and always was.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Pullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-when-we-died-we-d-go-to-heaven-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afterlife" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-when-we-died-we-d-go-to-heaven-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/philip-pullman-525_afterlife_when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-whe_3080445.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/philip-pullman-525_afterlife_when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-whe_3080445.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/philip-pullman-525_afterlife_when-we-were-alive-they-told-us-that-whe_3080445.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we were alive, they told us that when we died we'd go to heaven. 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