--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: John Lennon said life was what happened…" description: "\"“John Lennon said life was what happened while you made other plans. So was death.”\" — Richard Castle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/richard-castle-10046_death_john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened_351605.jpg" --- # John Lennon said life was what happened while you made… ![“John Lennon said life was what happened while you made other plans. So was death.” quote by Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/richard-castle-10046_death_john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened_351605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/richard-castle-10046_death_john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened_351605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/richard-castle-10046_death_john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened_351605.jpg) > ““John Lennon said life was what happened while you made other plans. So was death.”” [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life unfolds unexpectedly while we make plans; death is an inevitable part of that journey. **In simple terms:** Life happens while you plan; death follows. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and live fully. Themes mortality planning uncertainty life death Mood thoughtful humorous Type philosophical conversational When to use this quote - personal budgeting - health decisions - relationship building - career moves Key Concepts existentialism storytelling humor Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay adaptable? - What does “what happened” teach you about control? A Different Perspective Planning can’t prevent unexpected loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Lennon said that life’s what happens when you’re making other plans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/lennon-said-that-life-s-what-happens-when-you-re-making-other-plans/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [“People said it was a song about drugs, but John Lennon said the name came from a picture his son painted of a girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aminatta-forna/people-said-it-was-a-song-about-drugs-but-john-lennon-said-the-name/) [Aminatta Forna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aminatta-forna/) > [John Lennon said All you need is love, John obviously never met my bank manager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-mccrossan/john-lennon-said-all-you-need-is-love-john-obviously-never-met-my/) Danny McCrossan > [It's a cliche, but John Lennon is my hero. He was so rebellious, so outspoken and so publicly opinionated, and I'm someone who's so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emun-elliott/it-s-a-cliche-but-john-lennon-is-my-hero-he-was-so-rebellious-so/) [Emun Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emun-elliott/) > [I think what made John Lennon so exciting as an artist is that, like Dylan and other musicians with a truly important musical legacy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-bachman/i-think-what-made-john-lennon-so-exciting-as-an-artist-is-that-like/) [Randy Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-bachman/) > [Imagine? Yeah I can imagine John Lennon being dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/imagine-yeah-i-can-imagine-john-lennon-being-dead/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [The only good thing about America is that you killed John Lennon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-wire/the-only-good-thing-about-america-is-that-you-killed-john-lennon/) [Nicky Wire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-wire/) > [“I wouldn't like to interview John Lennon, no, because I'd ask him one question and it'd go to another thing and I'd end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gallagher/i-wouldn-t-like-to-interview-john-lennon-no-because-i-d-ask-him-one/) [Liam Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gallagher/) > [Yoko Ono never deserved any of the hate she got. Paul McCartney and John Lennon weren't getting along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/yoko-ono-never-deserved-any-of-the-hate-she-got-paul-mccartney-and/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [He murmers into my hair, "Forget what I said earlier, let's stick with this, I might not survive anything more." I laugh. Then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/he-murmers-into-my-hair-forget-what-i-said-earlier-let-s-stick-with/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [I met John Lennon and he was with his wife in Tokyo. I met him there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-ferry/i-met-john-lennon-and-he-was-with-his-wife-in-tokyo-i-met-him-there/) [Bryan Ferry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-ferry/) > [One of my great memories of John is from when we were having some argument. I was disagreeing and we were calling each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/one-of-my-great-memories-of-john-is-from-when-we-were-having-some/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [I don't really have a lot of hip-hop and all of that, so I have a lot of John Lennon. That's one that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-robinson/i-don-t-really-have-a-lot-of-hip-hop-and-all-of-that-so-i-have-a-lot/) [Nick Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-robinson/) > [The thing you must remember is that I'm the Number One John Lennon fan. I love him to this day and I always did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/the-thing-you-must-remember-is-that-i-m-the-number-one-john-lennon/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [If one could have a wish, or an alternative life, I would've liked to have been John Lennon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/if-one-could-have-a-wish-or-an-alternative-life-i-would-ve-liked-to/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) ## More by Richard Castle > [“You remember how he used to be girl on either arm? You really don't see that guy too much anymore. Why do you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/you-remember-how-he-used-to-be-girl-on-either-arm-you-really-don-t/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“For the right woman? I'd like to think I'd do just about anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/for-the-right-woman-i-d-like-to-think-i-d-do-just-about-anything/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“No shame in having a ghostwriter," Storm said. "Some of the best books published every year are penned by talented writers whose identity the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/no-shame-in-having-a-ghostwriter-storm-said-some-of-the-best-books/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“Go ahead," he said. "I need the practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/go-ahead-he-said-i-need-the-practice/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“Newsflash she already has body image issues. It's an intrinsic part of being a woman. Every woman in the world has some part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/newsflash-she-already-has-body-image-issues-it-s-an-intrinsic-part-of/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [ “\[She\] was trading sex for print. She certainly wouldn't be the first woman to do that, now, would she, Nikki Heat?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/she-was-trading-sex-for-print-she-certainly-wouldn-t-be-the-first/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“You said yourself the guy looks like he pleasures himself to pictures of Rahm Emanuel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/you-said-yourself-the-guy-looks-like-he-pleasures-himself-to-pictures/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“As Toppers rose from her seat on a sofa to meet him, Storm realized that he was looking at an architectural marvel. She weighed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/as-toppers-rose-from-her-seat-on-a-sofa-to-meet-him-storm-realized/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“Around 11 P.M., unable to concentrate on his work or even watch the news, he had started to wonder if this was how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/around-11-p-m-unable-to-concentrate-on-his-work-or-even-watch-the/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“You’re sooooo ruggedly handsome.” Storm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/you-re-sooooo-ruggedly-handsome-storm/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“Remember what one of our philosophers once said, 'In the human heart there is a perpetual generation of passions, such that the ruin of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/remember-what-one-of-our-philosophers-once-said-in-the-human-heart/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“I’m trying to figure the rules. This isn’t yin and yang, it’s more like yin and yank. The past few days I’ve been going,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/i-m-trying-to-figure-the-rules-this-isn-t-yin-and-yang-it-s-more-like/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“Showers: I must have wounded him. Storm: With a cookie?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/showers-i-must-have-wounded-him-storm-with-a-cookie/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“He wrote as if he were the reader. It was also how he kept his writing from becoming too cute, which is to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/he-wrote-as-if-he-were-the-reader-it-was-also-how-he-kept-his-writing/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) > [“There's always a story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/there-s-always-a-story/) [Richard Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) [Explore all 66 Richard Castle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/) ## 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 > [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 > [“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. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. 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": "“John Lennon said life was what happened while you made other plans. So was death.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Castle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened-while-you-made-other-plans-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened-while-you-made-other-plans-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/richard-castle-10046_death_john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened_351605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/richard-castle-10046_death_john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened_351605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/richard-castle-10046_death_john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened_351605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“John Lennon said life was what happened while you made other plans. So was death.” — Richard Castle", "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": "Richard Castle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-castle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“John Lennon said life was what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened-while-you-made-other-plans-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-castle/john-lennon-said-life-was-what-happened-while-you-made-other-plans-so/#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 } } ] } ```