Death is a natural part of life and we must all accept it someday. While accepting and living with the certainty of the best death quotes can sometimes seem overwhelming, many have found wisdom in embracing its ultimate truth.

Here, we’ve collected some of the greatest quotes to ever capture our collective experience with death – from stoic philosophers to renowned writers and contemporary figures – reflecting on its power, beauty, mystery, acceptance, transformation and more.

Read on for a deeper understanding into facing mortality’s journey head-on in order to make life all the richer.

1. “Death is not the opposite of life but a part of it.” – Haruki Murakami

2. “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” – J.K. Rowling

3. “Death is nature’s way of telling you to slow down.” – Dick Sharples

4. “Death is not the extinguishing of the light; it is the putting out of the lamp because dawn has come.” – Rabindranath Tagore

5. “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” – Mark Twain

6. “Death is the dropping of the flower that the fruit may swell.” – Henry Ward Beecher

7. “Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.” – A. Sachs

8. “The goal of all life is death.” – Sigmund Freud

9. “Death is nature’s way of recycling humans.” – Unknown

10. “Death is simply a shedding of the physical body like the butterfly shedding its cocoon. It is a transition to a higher state of consciousness where you continue to perceive, to understand, to laugh, and to be able to grow.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross