---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All goes onward and outward, nothing…"
description: "\"“All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.”\" — walt whitman"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/walt-whitman-265_afterlife_all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-coll_2447317.png"
---

#  All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die…

![“All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.” quote by walt whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/walt-whitman-265_afterlife_all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-coll_2447317.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/walt-whitman-265_afterlife_all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-coll_2447317.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/walt-whitman-265_afterlife_all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-coll_2447317.png)

> ““All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.””

[walt whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

## About This Quote

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

Life moves forward, nothing truly collapses; death is distinct from expectations, and there is a fortunate aspect.

**In simple terms:** Life continues, death is separate, and there is luck.

Key Takeaway

Accept life's forward motion and its uncertainties.

Themes

life death expectations luck

Mood

thoughtful optimistic

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- career decisions
- health challenges
- personal loss
- risk taking

Key Concepts

existential continuity philosophical acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “nothing collapses” mean to you?
- How do you find luck in hardship?

A Different Perspective

Optimism may overlook suffering.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Die Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-different-540080/) [Goes Onward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-onward-540079/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living/) [Onward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/onward/) [Onward Outward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/onward-outward-540078/) [Supposed Luckier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-luckier-540077/)

## Related quotes

> [“And all goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, / and to die is different from that anyone supposed, and luckier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/and-all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-collapses-and-to-die-is/)

[Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/)

> [“To die is different from what anyone supposed, and luckier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/to-die-is-different-from-what-anyone-supposed-and-luckier/)

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

> [To die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/to-die-is-different-from-what-any-one-supposed-and-luckier/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [“There is one Now: the spot where I stand, And one way the road goes: onward, onward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-teague/there-is-one-now-the-spot-where-i-stand-and-one-way-the-road-goes/)

[David Teague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-teague/)

> [FEELINGS are also Living things they also DIE for different reasons .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weny-jane/feelings-are-also-living-things-they-also-die-for-different-reasons/)

[Weny Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weny-jane/)

> [We are all born in the same way but we all die in different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/we-are-all-born-in-the-same-way-but-we-all-die-in-different-ways/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [Do others, I wondered, "see things as I do? I do not think so, for if they did they would not still be alive."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mairs/do-others-i-wondered-see-things-as-i-do-i-do-not-think-so-for-if-they/)

[Nancy Mairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mairs/)

> [Leon Trotsky, Stalin's worst enemy, was far and away his most influential 20th-century interpreter, shaping the views of a generation of historians, from Isaac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/leon-trotsky-stalin-s-worst-enemy-was-far-and-away-his-most/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [As a teenager, rather than setting myself on a course to pursue fame (quite common growing up in L.A., the entertainment capital of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-finerman/as-a-teenager-rather-than-setting-myself-on-a-course-to-pursue-fame/)

[Karen Finerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-finerman/)

> [Rabbis throughout the ages, from Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook onward, strictly prohibited going up on the Temple Mount. And now there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-herzog/rabbis-throughout-the-ages-from-rabbi-avraham-yitzhak-hacohen-kook/)

[Isaac Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-herzog/)

> [Basically, when I went to school in Sri Lanka from age five onward, the classes there were sometimes sorted into a hierarchy of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/basically-when-i-went-to-school-in-sri-lanka-from-age-five-onward-the/)

[M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/)

> [We cannot know the young child's personality by studying his systems of interest, for his attention is as yet too labile, his reactions impulsive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-cannot-know-the-young-child-s-personality-by-studying-his-systems/)

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

> [“Onward. Always onward. I blow her a kiss across the linoleum, &amp; whisper blessings under my breath, divide a piece of God from my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-acevedo/onward-always-onward-i-blow-her-a-kiss-across-the-linoleum-whisper/)

[Elizabeth Acevedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-acevedo/)

> [Salvation lies in an energetic march onward towards a brighter and clearer future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/salvation-lies-in-an-energetic-march-onward-towards-a-brighter-and/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [“That’s when you realize the most of it—life, the relentless mechanism of existing—isn’t about you. It doesn’t include you at all. It will thrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/that-s-when-you-realize-the-most-of-it-life-the-relentless-mechanism/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

## More by walt whitman

> [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [“Each of us inevitable, Each of us limitless—each of us with his or her right upon the earth, Each of us allow'd the eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [“it makes such difference where you read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/it-makes-such-difference-where-you-read/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom cannot be pass'd from one having it to another not having it, Wisdom is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/wisdom-is-not-finally-tested-in-the-schools-wisdom-cannot-be-pass-d/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [I think I could always live with animals. The more you're around people, the more you love animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-always-live-with-animals-the-more-you-re-around/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [“I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-the-poet-of-the-body-and-i-am-the-poet-of-the-soul-the-pleasures/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [So here I sit in the early candle-light of old age-I and my book-casting backward glances over out travel'd road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/so-here-i-sit-in-the-early-candle-light-of-old-age-i-and-my-book/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-dismiss-what-insults-your-soul/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/this-is-what-you-shall-do-love-the-earth-and-sun-and-animals-despise/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless-each of us with his or her right upon the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her-2/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Silence? What can New York-noisy, roaring, rumbling, tumbling, bustling, story, turbulent New York-have to do with silence? Amid the universal clatter, the incessant din…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/silence-what-can-new-york-noisy-roaring-rumbling-tumbling-bustling/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

[Explore all 775 walt whitman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

## 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": "“All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "walt whitman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-collapses-and-to-die-is-different/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Afterlife"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-collapses-and-to-die-is-different/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/walt-whitman-265_afterlife_all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-coll_2447317.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/walt-whitman-265_afterlife_all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-coll_2447317.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/walt-whitman-265_afterlife_all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-coll_2447317.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and…” — walt whitman",
                "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": "walt whitman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“All goes onward and outward, nothing...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-collapses-and-to-die-is-different/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/all-goes-onward-and-outward-nothing-collapses-and-to-die-is-different/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
