--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people are dying, they call their…" description: "\"When people are dying, they call their old enemies and try to forgive them and try to be forgiven by them. They call their old friends and affirm their..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/robert-thurman-9409_death_when-people-are-dying-they-call-their-ol_1437854.jpg" --- # When people are dying, they call their old enemies and try… ![“When people are dying, they call their old enemies and try to forgive them and try to be forgiven by them. They call their old friends and affirm their love for them, as well as detach themselves from them, and they try to get into as free a space as they can so they're really ready to go. They…” quote by Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/robert-thurman-9409_death_when-people-are-dying-they-call-their-ol_1437854.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/robert-thurman-9409_death_when-people-are-dying-they-call-their-ol_1437854.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/robert-thurman-9409_death_when-people-are-dying-they-call-their-ol_1437854.jpg) > “When people are dying, they call their old enemies and try to forgive them and try to be forgiven by them. They call their old friends and affirm their love for them, as well as detach themselves from them, and they try to get into as free a space as they can so they're really ready to go. They give away all their possessions and are as generous as possible. They give up old hatreds and grudges, and that's a wise intuitive thing, because it's much freer to live like that.” [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In later life people often seek reconciliation, generosity, and detachment to achieve inner peace before death. **In simple terms:** People seek forgiveness and generosity at life's end. Key Takeaway Embrace forgiveness and generosity now. Themes forgiveness generosity detachment mortality inner peace Mood reflective hopeful serene Type advice philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - hospital visits - family reunions - estate planning - volunteering - spiritual counseling Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy psychology of end‑of‑life ethical living Questions to Reflect On - What relationships would you heal today? - How can you practice generosity without waiting for death? A Different Perspective May not everyone have the capacity or opportunity to reconcile before death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Dying Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying-old-1084287/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Forgiven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiven/) [Forgiven Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiven-old-448361/) [Forgiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiving/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Grudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grudge/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Intuitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitive/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Old friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-friends/) [Old Hatreds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-hatreds-3481355/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-dying/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. 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I had that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/in-terms-of-my-peer-group-nobody-s-parents-were-dying-of-old-age/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [The Autumn is old; The sere leaves are flying; He hath gather'd up gold, And now he is dying;- Old age, begin sighing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/the-autumn-is-old-the-sere-leaves-are-flying-he-hath-gather-d-up-gold/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [“... this ninety-five-year-old man came hiking twenty-five miles over the mountain. Know why he could do it? 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I went down to Grenada and looked at a place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/there-was-a-time-when-i-wanted-to-get-out-of-the-western-world-i-went/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [If you grow up in the suburbs, you hear of people dying of old age, car wrecks, cancer. In the city, it's always people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/if-you-grow-up-in-the-suburbs-you-hear-of-people-dying-of-old-age-car/) [Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/) > [Well. We’ll just have to hope that this wasn’t a loup-garou, I guess.” “If it was a louper, you’d know,” Bob said wisely. “In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/well-we-ll-just-have-to-hope-that-this-wasn-t-a-loup-garou-i-guess-if/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) ## More by Robert Thurman > [Whether or not enlightenment is a plausible goal for us is a vital question for our lives. 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It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/to-become-enlightened-is-not-just-to-slip-into-some-disconnected/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [I think about the trends at the moment in the planet and how it looks for my grandchildren. I don't panic over it, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/i-think-about-the-trends-at-the-moment-in-the-planet-and-how-it-looks/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [To finish building the free society dreamed of by Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, we must draw upon the resources of the enlightened imagination, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/to-finish-building-the-free-society-dreamed-of-by-washington-franklin/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [Hate poisons your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/hate-poisons-your-life/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [A possession can't make you happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/a-possession-can-t-make-you-happy/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [People in Tibet have an expression. 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