Saying goodbye to a loved one is likely the hardest part of life. Many quotes on grief explain the pain and suffering involved with this. These quotes on grief can also help you find a way through the darkness and will help you smile again.

It can be easy to stay in the dark when you experience a loss, but it is important to find a way out. Through the wisdom and experience of others, these quotes on grief can help you get through it.

Saying goodbye doesn’t mean you are letting go of someone. You will always have your memories and feelings, and you can cherish these always. Instead, it means acknowledging that they will no longer be a part of your life.

Fifteen Quotes on Grief

When you have to say goodbye, remember these quotes on grief. While the quotes won’t take the pain away, they can give you hope for a brighter future. Plus, they will remind you that you aren’t alone and that you can get through this hard time.

quotes on grief
1. “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” – Unknown

The memories of your loved ones are something that can never be taken from you. They will be with you always, and they are something you can treasure. These memories tie you to the person you have lost and that feeling can never be lost.

2. “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. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.” – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Grief doesn’t end, even when you work through it. Getting over the death of someone you loved will never happen, but you will learn to adjust. As you heal, you will build a new life, always missing the person but learning to live without them.

3. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

Grief comes at the end of something spectacular. Not everyone experiences something so amazing, so smile at the memories that were created. Remind yourself that you were lucky to have had the experience instead of being sorrowful.

4. “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” – Winnie the Pooh

Similar to the previous quote, this one reminds you of how lucky you are to have loved someone so much. To love someone enough to grieve their loss means you had something truly amazing in your life. When you are grieving, make sure to spend time being thankful for having the person in your life.

5. “What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” – Helen Keller

Everything precious to you becomes a part of you. The time spent with a loved one and the love you felt for them can never be taken away. Those memories will always be with you, and their contributions to your life will stay with you always.

6. “Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us every day…unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear.” – Unknown

Just because you can’t see someone doesn’t mean their presence isn’t there. They played a role in the person you are today, so they are always walking with you.

7. “Although it’s natural to forget your power after you lose a loved one, the truth is that after a breakup, divorce, or death, there remains an ability within you to create a new reality.” – Louise Hay and David Kessler

No matter how you have lost the person you love, it can take a toll on your sense of power. Oftentimes, losing someone will leave you feeling out of control of your life, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Instead, work to create a new normal and build your life the way you want to do it. Then, you will be able to remember that you are in charge of your life. You have the power to create happiness for yourself, even if things seem unbearable right now.

8. “Deep grief sometimes is almost like a specific location, a coordinate on a map of time. When you are standing in that forest of sorrow, you cannot imagine that you could ever find your way to a better place. But if someone can assure you that they themselves have stood in that same place, and now have moved on, sometimes this will bring hope” – Elizabeth Gilbert

Grief can leave you feeling stranded, alone, and like there is no way out. You might feel like you can’t find a way to cope or move on, but you must find a way to do so.

One way to do this is to remind yourself that many others have been through the same thing before. They have lost people they love and still moved forward in life. You can do this too, so find your way out so that you can begin to heal.

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9. “When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” – Kahlil Gibran

The thing you are grieving for is likely one of the things that made you happiest. When the grief becomes too much, look in your heart, as Gibran says, and see the happiness, instead. All of the happy memories you made together will be right there whenever you need a reminder.

10. “You will survive and you will find purpose in the chaos. Moving on doesn’t mean letting go.” – Mary VanHaute

While saying goodbye to someone you love is hard, you will get through it. You will learn to live again and to move on. Moving on doesn’t mean letting go, however, because you will always carry the love you feel with you.

11. “And when great souls die, after a period, peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.” – Maya Angelou

While it may seem impossible now, you will experience peace again. Life will become normal, although it will be a new idea of normal, and you will be happy. With this will come the realization that if the person you love existed, then you can get through life and become better.

12. “I learned that, with grief, you have to take it one day at a time and learn how to find the happiness amid the heartbreak.” – Adrienne C. Moore

When you lose someone you love, it is only expected that you will feel heartbroken. There is no magic way to get over it and stop grieving, so you have to keep working on it. Find happy moments whenever you can, and eventually, it will all get easier.

13. “Tears have a wisdom all their own. They come when a person has relaxed enough to let go and to work through his sorrow. They are the natural bleeding of an emotional wound, carrying the poison out of the system. Here lies the road to recovery.” – F. Alexander Magoun

You must allow yourself to grieve and cry when the time is right. This may not happen right away, but once you begin to accept the situation, it will begin. Crying is good, though, because it means that you are healing.

14. “Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.” – Rumi

Good things can come from grief, even if that seems impossible right now. If you allow yourself to grieve, you will become wiser and find those who can help you through.

15. “This is not goodbye, my darling, this is a thank you. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy.” – Nicholas Sparks

Since it can be hard to say goodbye to someone you love, say thank you instead. You were blessed to have them in your life, and they left you with memories and love. For this, you should be thankful, and that will be easier to express than saying goodbye.

quotes on grief
Final Thoughts on Remember these Quotes on Grief When It’s Time to Say Goodbye

When you have to say goodbye to someone you love, you will inevitably experience deep grief. These quotes on grief can help you get through and will remind you of the good in your life. You have to allow yourself to grieve and grow in this situation.

Give yourself time and grace, and remember to take it one day at a time. Eventually, it will get easier, as these quotes on grief explained. Knowing you aren’t alone in this feeling can help, too, so try to find peace in the experiences of others.