---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we call the beginning is often the…"
description: "\"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.\" — T. S. Eliot"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/t-s-eliot-633_beginning_what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the_1931898.png"
---

#  What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make…

![“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/t-s-eliot-633_beginning_what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the_1931898.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/t-s-eliot-633_beginning_what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the_1931898.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/t-s-eliot-633_beginning_what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the_1931898.png)

> “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Beginnings and endings are interlinked; each conclusion initiates a new start.

**In simple terms:** Ends become beginnings, and vice versa.

Key Takeaway

Recognize cycles of change.

Themes

change cycles continuity

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- project planning
- life transitions
- creative processes

Key Concepts

philosophy literary analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you honor endings?
- What new opportunities arise from conclusions?

A Different Perspective

Viewing ends as beginnings may cause denial of loss.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Beginning End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-end/) [End Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-make-381704/) [End Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-start-492117/) [Make Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-beginning-588571/) [Make End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-end-995125/)

## Related quotes

> [“To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/to-make-an-end-is-to-make-a-beginning-the-end-is-where-we-start-from/)

[T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/)

> [“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-charbonneau/what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the-end-and-to-make-an-end-is-to-2/)

[Bradley Charbonneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-charbonneau/)

> [To make an end is to make a beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/to-make-an-end-is-to-make-a-beginning/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [“For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/for-last-year-s-words-belong-to-last-year-s-language-and-next-year-s/)

[T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/)

> [I would encourage people that, if you are waiting for the end of 'The Office,' to re-tune in right away. It is the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-daniels/i-would-encourage-people-that-if-you-are-waiting-for-the-end-of-the/)

[Greg Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-daniels/)

> [Every end is a beginning...And every beginning is an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/every-end-is-a-beginning-and-every-beginning-is-an-end/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [In my beginning is my end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/in-my-beginning-is-my-end/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [The end is where we start from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-end-is-where-we-start-from/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [Everything has an end; Fri-end Boyfri-end Girlfri-end But at the end you will see who was waiting for the end to start .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jannnethh/everything-has-an-end-fri-end-boyfri-end-girlfri-end-but-at-the-end/)

[Jannnethh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jannnethh/)

> [“For better it is to make a beginning of that which may lead to something, than to engage in a perpetual struggle and pursuit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/for-better-it-is-to-make-a-beginning-of-that-which-may-lead-to/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world in a vulnerable spot, and I can take it by storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/let-me-but-make-a-beginning-let-me-but-strike-the-world-in-a/)

[Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/)

> [Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world," he said wisely one day, "but people don't know what it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/of-course-there-must-be-lots-of-magic-in-the-world-he-said-wisely-one/)

[Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/)

> [If you can't figure out how to make the beginning of your book compelling, you're probably not writing a compelling book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pavone/if-you-can-t-figure-out-how-to-make-the-beginning-of-your-book/)

[Chris Pavone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pavone/)

> [There's only one way to make a beginning, and that is to begin; and begin with hard work, and patience, prepared for all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/there-s-only-one-way-to-make-a-beginning-and-that-is-to-begin-and/)

[Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/)

> [In my beginning is my end. In succession Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended, Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/in-my-beginning-is-my-end-in-succession-houses-rise-and-fall-crumble/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

## More by T. S. Eliot

> [The Nobel is a ticket to one's own funeral. No one has ever done anything after he got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-nobel-is-a-ticket-to-one-s-own-funeral-no-one-has-ever-done/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [Dear Mother, I am getting on nicely in my work at the bank, and like it ... I want to find out something about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/dear-mother-i-am-getting-on-nicely-in-my-work-at-the-bank-and-like-it/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, But the faith and the love and the hope are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/for-love-would-be-love-of-the-wrong-thing-there-is-yet-faith-but-the/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [We must always take risks. That is our destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-must-always-take-risks-that-is-our-destiny/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [All significant truths are private truths. As they become public they cease to become truths; they become facts, or at best, part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/all-significant-truths-are-private-truths-as-they-become-public-they/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/when-forced-to-work-within-a-strict-framework-the-imagination-is/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/honest-criticism-and-sensitive-appreciation-are-directed-not-upon-the/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [Desire itself is movement Not in itself desirable; Love is itself unmoving, Only the cause and end of movement, Timeless, and undesiring Except in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/desire-itself-is-movement-not-in-itself-desirable-love-is-itself/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [We had the experience, but we missed the meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-had-the-experience-but-we-missed-the-meaning/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [The end is in the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-end-is-in-the-beginning/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [You have learned enough to see that cats are much like you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/you-have-learned-enough-to-see-that-cats-are-much-like-you-and-me/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-good-poet-welds-his-theft-into-a-whole-of-feeling-which-is-unique/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [It's strange that words are so inadequate. Yet, like the asthmatic struggling for breath, so the lover must struggle for words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/it-s-strange-that-words-are-so-inadequate-yet-like-the-asthmatic/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [Every end is a beginning...And every beginning is an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/every-end-is-a-beginning-and-every-beginning-is-an-end/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

[Explore all 433 T. S. Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

## More Beginning quotes

> [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/)

[Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/)

> [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/)

[Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/)

> [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/)

[Adam Imad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-imad/)

> [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/)

[Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/)

> [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/)

[Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/)

> [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/)

[Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/)

> [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/)

[Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/)

> [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/)

[Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/)

> [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/)

[Manae Poet Of Carisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manae-poet-of-carisis/)

> [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/)

[Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/)

> [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/)

[Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/)

> [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/)

[Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/)

> [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/)

[Jacklyn H Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacklyn-h-lucas/)

[Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "T. S. Eliot"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the-end-and-to-make-an-end-is-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beginning"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the-end-and-to-make-an-end-is-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/t-s-eliot-633_beginning_what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the_1931898.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/t-s-eliot-633_beginning_what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the_1931898.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/t-s-eliot-633_beginning_what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the_1931898.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we…” — T. S. Eliot",
                "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": "T. S. Eliot",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What we call the beginning is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the-end-and-to-make-an-end-is-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/what-we-call-the-beginning-is-often-the-end-and-to-make-an-end-is-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```