The loss of a loved one to suicide is a profound, deeply personal experience that leaves many of us navigating a sea of complex emotions. In these moments, words can sometimes offer a glimmer of comfort, a sense of understanding, or a beacon of hope amidst the darkness. While no two journeys of grief are the same, finding solace in the shared experiences of others can be a small step toward healing. Below, you’ll find a collection of quotes aimed at providing a measure of peace and perspective for those coping with such a loss.
Contents
Finding Comfort in Memories
- “What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller
- “The memories of our loved ones carved in our hearts are the precious treasures that we hold dear forever.” – Unknown
Seeking Solace in Healing
- “Healing is not an overnight process; it is a daily cleansing of pain, it is a daily healing of your life.” – Leon Brown
- “Though the pain of loss is great, the joy of remembering is greater.” – Unknown
Embracing the Grief
- “Grief, no matter how you try to cater to its wail, has a way of fading away.” – V.C. Andrews
- “Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” – Vicki Harrison
Finding Strength to Move Forward
- “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
- “The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” – C.C. Scott
Hope Amidst Despair
- “When you believe beyond what your eyes can see, signs from heaven show up to remind you that love never dies.” – Unknown
- “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu
The Importance of Self-Care
- “Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first, it means me too.” – L.R. Knost
- “Be kind to your sleeping heart. Take it out into the vast fields of light… And let it breathe.” – Hafiz
Understanding the Unexplainable
- “Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.” – Unknown
- “Sometimes the hardest part of living is just surviving.” – Unknown
The Continuum of Grief
- “Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.” – Earl Grollman
- “Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.” – John Green, “The Fault in Our Stars”
Light in the Darkness
- “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” – Thomas Campbell
- “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
The Journey of Acceptance
- “Acceptance is not about liking a situation. It is about acknowledging all that has been lost and finding a way to live with that loss.” – Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler
- “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered.” – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
The Resilience of the Human Spirit
- “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran
- “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” – Robert Jordan, “The Fires of Heaven”
Nurturing Hope
- “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson
- “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’…” – Alfred Lord Tennyson
Sharing the Burden
- “Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.” – Unknown
- “Sometimes, just knowing that another person understands your feelings is enough to provide a measure of comfort.” – Unknown
The Power of Remembrance
- “Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch.” – Jack Thorne, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
- “To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die.” – Clyde Campbell
Growth Through Grief
- “Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot. All of that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.” – Jamie Anderson
- “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, a deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” – Washington Irving
The Importance of Self-Expression
- “What is expressed is managed. What is suppressed is endured.” – Unknown
- “Expressing your feelings is a sign of strength, not weakness.” – Unknown
The Path to Healing
- “Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are.” – Rachel Naomi Remen
- “Sometimes, healing consists in exposing the wound to air.” – Unknown
Embracing the Waves of Emotion
- “Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which one to surf.” – Jonatan Mårtensson
- “Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” – Vicki Harrison
The Solace in Nature
- “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu
- “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
Finding Strength in Community
- “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
- “The strength of a community is in its ability to rally around those in pain.” – Unknown
The Healing Power of Creativity
- “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
- “Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.” – Brené Brown
Wisdom Through Loss
- “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts
Cultivating Inner Peace
- “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha
- “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” – Dalai Lama
Rediscovering Joy
- “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” – Henri Nouwen
- “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” – E.E. Cummings
The Courage to Continue
- “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings
- “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'” – Mary Anne Radmacher
Embracing Change and Growth
- “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” – Mandy Hale
The Journey of Self-Discovery
- “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
- “The only journey is the journey within.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
The Power of Reflection
- “Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.” – Richard Carlson
- “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” – Søren Kierkegaard
Legacy of Love
- “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller
- “To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.” – Thomas Campbell
Mindfulness in Mourning
- “The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” – Sharon Salzberg
The Importance of Storytelling
- “Stories are a communal currency of humanity.” – Tahir Shah, in “Arabian Nights”
- “The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.” – Brandon Sanderson, “The Way of Kings”
This curated collection aims to provide a holistic view on the multifaceted process of coping with loss, emphasizing the universal themes of healing, community support, and personal growth. Each quote is selected to inspire and offer solace, highlighting the resilience of the human spirit in the face of grief.
