---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While I am alive, I intend to live…"
description: "\"“While I am alive, I intend to live. (Everett Ruess to his friend Bill, Mar 9, 1931, p 31)”\" — W.L. Rusho"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/w-l-rusho-108443_friendship_while-i-am-alive-i-intend-to-live-everet_1131903.jpg"
---

#  While I am alive, I intend to live. (Everett Ruess to his…

![“While I am alive, I intend to live. (Everett Ruess to his friend Bill, Mar 9, 1931, p 31)” quote by W.L. Rusho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/w-l-rusho-108443_friendship_while-i-am-alive-i-intend-to-live-everet_1131903.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/w-l-rusho-108443_friendship_while-i-am-alive-i-intend-to-live-everet_1131903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/w-l-rusho-108443_friendship_while-i-am-alive-i-intend-to-live-everet_1131903.jpg)

> ““While I am alive, I intend to live. (Everett Ruess to his friend Bill, Mar 9, 1931, p 31)””

[W.L. Rusho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-l-rusho/)

## About This Quote

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

Living deliberately means committing to life’s purpose while alive.

**In simple terms:** Live with intention.

Key Takeaway

Live purposefully.

Themes

life intent mortality friendship

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

Friendship:1 Intend:1 Intend Live:1 Alive Intend:0 Ruess Friend:0 Live Everett:0

When to use this quote

- daily decisions
- long‑term goals
- relationships

Key Concepts

existentialism meaning personal philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- What does living intentionally mean to you?
- How do you align actions with purpose?

A Different Perspective

Intentional living may clash with circumstances.

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[Alive Intend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-intend-3114306/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Intend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intend/) [Intend Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intend-live-1666117/) [Live Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-everett-3114308/) [Ruess Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruess-friend-3114307/)

## Related quotes

> [“while I am alive, I intend to live" -- Everett Ruess to his friend Bill, Mar 9, 1931 (Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty, 31)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-i-am-alive-i-intend-to-live-everett-ruess-to-his-friend-bill-2/)

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

> [While I am alive, I intend to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/while-i-am-alive-i-intend-to-live/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [“I intend to live an extraordinary life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-intend-to-live-an-extraordinary-life/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [I intend to live forever. So far, so good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-intend-to-live-forever-so-far-so-good/)

[Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/)

> [“I intend to live as a happy man, though I am not quite ready to live as one, which means I'm not quite ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-phillips/i-intend-to-live-as-a-happy-man-though-i-am-not-quite-ready-to-live/)

[Glen Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-phillips/)

> [“I am Josephine Darly, and I intend to live forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-gratton/i-am-josephine-darly-and-i-intend-to-live-forever/)

[Tessa Gratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-gratton/)

> [I may be a fool, but I intend to be a live fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/i-may-be-a-fool-but-i-intend-to-be-a-live-fool/)

[Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/)

> [I intend to live the first half of my life. I don't care about the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-flynn/i-intend-to-live-the-first-half-of-my-life-i-don-t-care-about-the-rest/)

[Errol Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-flynn/)

> [Intend to live in continual mortification, and never to expect or desire any worldly ease or pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/intend-to-live-in-continual-mortification-and-never-to-expect-or/)

[Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/)

> [I intend to live forever. So far, so good. - T-SHIRT](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-intend-to-live-forever-so-far-so-good-t-shirt/)

[Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/)

> [“I intend to live forever. So far, so good. —STEVEN WRIGHT”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/i-intend-to-live-forever-so-far-so-good-steven-wright/)

[Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/)

> [“I do know that I spent a long time existing, and now, I intend to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/i-do-know-that-i-spent-a-long-time-existing-and-now-i-intend-to-live/)

[Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/)

> [“I intend to live forever, so far so good because of my senectitude my forgettery is working hard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moe/i-intend-to-live-forever-so-far-so-good-because-of-my-senectitude-my/)

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

> [“But I do know that I spent a long time existing, and now, I intend to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/but-i-do-know-that-i-spent-a-long-time-existing-and-now-i-intend-to/)

[Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/)

> [I'm more interested in the future than in the past, because the future is where I intend to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-m-more-interested-in-the-future-than-in-the-past-because-the-future/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

## More by W.L. Rusho

> [“I seem always to enjoy things more intensely because of the certainty they will not last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-l-rusho/i-seem-always-to-enjoy-things-more-intensely-because-of-the-certainty/)

[W.L. Rusho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-l-rusho/)

[Explore all 2 W.L. Rusho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-l-rusho/)

## More Friendship quotes

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/)

[Maureen Andeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-andeson/)

> [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/)

[Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/)

> [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/)

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> [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/)

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> [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/)

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[Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/)

> [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/)

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> [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/)

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[Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/)

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[Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/)

[Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/)

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