--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The question before me, now that I am…" description: "\"The question before me, now that I am old, is not how to be dead, which I know from enough practice, but how to be alive, as these worn hills still tel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/wendell-berry-236_alive_the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old_1977254.jpg" --- # The question before me, now that I am old, is not how to… ![“The question before me, now that I am old, is not how to be dead, which I know from enough practice, but how to be alive, as these worn hills still tell, and some paintings of Paul Cezanne, and this mere singing wren, who thinks he's alive forever, this instant, and may be.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/wendell-berry-236_alive_the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old_1977254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/wendell-berry-236_alive_the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old_1977254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/wendell-berry-236_alive_the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old_1977254.jpg) > “The question before me, now that I am old, is not how to be dead, which I know from enough practice, but how to be alive, as these worn hills still tell, and some paintings of Paul Cezanne, and this mere singing wren, who thinks he's alive forever, this instant, and may be.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An elderly narrator reflects on living fully, inspired by nature, art, and simple creatures, despite mortality. **In simple terms:** Live fully, inspired by nature and art. Key Takeaway Find meaning in everyday wonder. Themes mortality nature art reflection purpose Mood contemplative hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - painting - birdwatching - elderly care Key Concepts existentialism environmentalism creative inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay alive in spirit? - What small wonders sustain you? A Different Perspective Aging can limit physical ability, affecting engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cezanne/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Hills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hills/) [Instant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Live forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-forever/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paul-cezanne-220503/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Question Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-old-1378825/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Tell Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-paintings-1362017/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinks Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-alive-3355122/) [Worn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worn/) [Wren Thinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wren-thinks-3355123/) [Wrens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrens/) ## Related quotes > [It is not possible to overstate the influence of Paul Cezanne on twentieth-century art. He's the modern Giotto, someone who shattered one kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/it-is-not-possible-to-overstate-the-influence-of-paul-cezanne-on/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [“The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution. Paul Cezanne”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/the-day-is-coming-when-a-single-carrot-freshly-observed-will-set-off-2/) [Paul Cézanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [Life,That's what your here in this world.It's what drives your emotions to the fullest.It's what your body craves for.It's what your mind thinks about.Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-pabualan/life-that-s-what-your-here-in-this-world-it-s-what-drives-your/) [Jenny Pabualan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-pabualan/) > [A man who has not suffered has nothing to tell with his paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/a-man-who-has-not-suffered-has-nothing-to-tell-with-his-paintings/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [A lot of people tell me that my paintings are sad-looking, but they're actually more pensive than sad. They're very colorful and that says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heart-evangelista/a-lot-of-people-tell-me-that-my-paintings-are-sad-looking-but-they-re/) [Heart Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heart-evangelista/) > [“I'm old enough to ask myself that question, but not so old that I don't care what the answer is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/i-m-old-enough-to-ask-myself-that-question-but-not-so-old-that-i-don/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“CREEP Other people have written about war. About how one plane sweeps over and the whole place is ablaze in minutes. About how a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/creep-other-people-have-written-about-war-about-how-one-plane-sweeps/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [My work as a painter has always been tied to Modernism. I read everything I could find related to art, from Paul Cézanne through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-askew/my-work-as-a-painter-has-always-been-tied-to-modernism-i-read/) [Ed Askew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-askew/) > [“I was on a par with the Creator of the Universe there in the dark in the cocktail lounge. I shrunk the Universe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-on-a-par-with-the-creator-of-the-universe-there-in-the-dark-in/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [For - to say a few words on technique - whereas the curved line was used predominantly for reasons of beauty, (Phidias, Michelangelo, Raphael,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-van-doesburg/for-to-say-a-few-words-on-technique-whereas-the-curved-line-was-used/) [Theo van Doesburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-van-doesburg/) > [Politics have always covered two distinct kinds of problems: problems of administrative routine, and those that may be called 'questions of the moment.' A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/politics-have-always-covered-two-distinct-kinds-of-problems-problems/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [Every painter must traverse for himself that distance from Paris to Aix (where Paul Cézanne worked a lot, fh) or from Venice to Toledo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/every-painter-must-traverse-for-himself-that-distance-from-paris-to/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [“The plan: to build a garden walkway made up of dozens of wooden squares. I decided I’d slice railroad ties into two-inch thick pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/editors-of-reader-s-digest/the-plan-to-build-a-garden-walkway-made-up-of-dozens-of-wooden/) [Editors of Reader's Digest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/editors-of-reader-s-digest/) > [My best songs were written very quickly. Just about as much time as it takes to write it down is about as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/my-best-songs-were-written-very-quickly-just-about-as-much-time-as-it/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/indeed-the-idea-that-doubt-can-be-heroic-if-it-is-locked-into-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The question before me, now that I am old, is not how to be dead, which I know from enough practice, but how to be alive, as these worn hills still tell, and some paintings of Paul Cezanne, and this mere singing wren, who thinks he's alive forever, this instant, and may be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old-is-not-how-to-be-dead-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old-is-not-how-to-be-dead-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/wendell-berry-236_alive_the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old_1977254.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/wendell-berry-236_alive_the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old_1977254.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/wendell-berry-236_alive_the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old_1977254.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question before me, now that I am old, is not how to be dead, which I know from enough practice, but how…” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The question before me, now that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old-is-not-how-to-be-dead-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-question-before-me-now-that-i-am-old-is-not-how-to-be-dead-which/#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 } } ] } ```