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They didn't have to believe in you. They didn't have to choose to die. But they didn't know that's what they was choosing They knew. We always know. We don't admit it to ourselves, not until the very moment of death, but in that moment, we see all the life before us and we understand how we chose, every day of our lives, the manner of our death

Orson Scott Card#517

TruthChoiceDeathTimeAwarenessChoicesDestiny

About this quote

What does it mean?
Everyone ultimately understands that daily choices lead to one's fate, even if unacknowledged until death.
In plain terms
We know our choices shape our end, but we ignore it until the last moment.
What can you take from it?
Life is a series of choices that define how we die.

Where it applies

  • end of life reflection
  • existential crisis
  • biographical analysis

Putting it to work

  • reflect on daily habits
  • accept responsibility
  • evaluate life path

Questions to consider

  • How have your daily choices shaped your life?
  • When do you finally admit the truth?

Another view

This assumes total agency when many factors constrain choice.

More from Orson Scott Card

  1. We've seen the worst that men can do, pa, and been the worst that men can be. But that don't mean that someday we wont see the best, too. And if we can never b…

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  2. Peggy couldn't tell the truth. She knew these folks too well. She knew what they all were scared of, what they all wanted, what they all had done that they'd k…

    Permalink to quote #518
  3. The funny thing was, you see, that Mike Fink didn't think of himself as a murderer. He thought of life as a contest, and dying was what happened to those who c…

    Permalink to quote #515

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