Two interesting quotes by Roland

This quote said at the dinner party...
"God is talking to himself, pretending he is us"

At the very end of the movie, this quote....

"All my life, I've walked past the door marked ""This way to joy""...But in the end, this is the most blessed of lives: to realize we are the beauty; Everything else is just a story"

It seems that Roland is saying this as his soul soars over the mountains. I am assuming he has died at the end...I believe he had said earlier that he had cancer or some kind of illness that was in remission...