Loss Quotes | Beyond Motive 2/5

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Loss Quotes

"One should never be sexually involved with anyone one genuinely cares for. A sexual relationship guarantees a loss."

"One should never be sexually involved with anyone one genuinely cares for. A sexual relationship guarantees a loss."

Mary Gordon, American Writer

36

"The breeze around them seemed to drop " dead " like a door to the best things had just closed."

"The breeze around them seemed to drop " dead " like a door to the best things had just closed."

Carla H. Krueger, American Author

Loss, Atmosphere, Emotion, End

36

"And it is exceedingly short, his galloping life. Dogs die so soon. I have my stories of that grief, no doubt many of you do also. It is almost a failure of will, a failure of love, to let them grow old-or so it feels. We would do anything to keep them with us, and to keep them young. The one gift we cannot give."

"And it is exceedingly short, his galloping life. Dogs die so soon. I have my stories of that grief, no doubt many of you do also. It is almost a failure of will, a failure of love, to let them grow old-or so it feels. We would do anything to keep them with us, and to keep them young. The one gift we cannot give."

Mary Oliver, American Poet

Loss, Grief, Love, Companionship

36

"He lost the great big outward thing, the good- looking package, and the real parts endured. They shine through like crazy, the brillian mind and humor, the depth of generosity, the intense blue yes, those beautiful hands."

"He lost the great big outward thing, the good- looking package, and the real parts endured. They shine through like crazy, the brillian mind and humor, the depth of generosity, the intense blue yes, those beautiful hands."

Anne Lamott, American Author

Loss, Love, Endurance, Mind

35

"I don't want Church to be like all those dead pets! she burst out, suddenly tearful and furious. I don't want Church to ever be dead! He's my cat! He's not God's cat! Let God have all the damn old cats He wants, and kill them all! Church is mine!"

"I don't want Church to be like all those dead pets! she burst out, suddenly tearful and furious. I don't want Church to ever be dead! He's my cat! He's not God's cat! Let God have all the damn old cats He wants, and kill them all! Church is mine!"

Stephen King, American Author

Loss, Regret, Truth, Today, Happiness

35

"The slaves of socialism are slaves, but they are no one's property and therefore no one's loss."

"The slaves of socialism are slaves, but they are no one's property and therefore no one's loss."

George Reisman, American Economist

Loss, Property, Socialism

34

"Staring out to sea, I finally forced myself to stop thinking of her as someone still somewhere, if only in memory, still obscurely alive, breathing, doing, moving, but as a shovelful of ashes already scattered; as a broken link, a biological dead end, an eternal withdrawal from reality, a once complex object that now dwindled, dwindled, left nothing behind except a l like a fallen speck of soot on a blank sheet of paper."

"Staring out to sea, I finally forced myself to stop thinking of her as someone still somewhere, if only in memory, still obscurely alive, breathing, doing, moving, but as a shovelful of ashes already scattered; as a broken link, a biological dead end, an eternal withdrawal from reality, a once complex object that now dwindled, dwindled, left nothing behind except a l like a fallen speck of soot on a blank sheet of paper."

John Fowles, English Novelist

Loss, Memory, Death, Acceptance

34

"How quickly he fell, how soon it was over."

"How quickly he fell, how soon it was over."

Donna Tartt, American Novelist

Loss, Fall, Speed, Tragedy

33

"Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things."

"Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things."

Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher

Loss, Values, Worth, Lesson

33

"What I learned from that loss, and also another loss that I'm going to talk about later, was that when you're there, it's not good enough to be there, when you're there, you better walk away with that ring."

"What I learned from that loss, and also another loss that I'm going to talk about later, was that when you're there, it's not good enough to be there, when you're there, you better walk away with that ring."

Don Shula, American Coach

32

"What loss feels he that wots not what he loses?"

"What loss feels he that wots not what he loses?"

William Broome, English Poet

32

"No amount of skill on the part of the actress can make up for the loss of youth."

"No amount of skill on the part of the actress can make up for the loss of youth."

Ellen Terry, English Actress

Loss, Skill, Youth

31

"It was a look that gave her a tingle, all right, but not in a good way. In that look she saw her silly bloody hopes as twisted and broken as she'd left that Lowlander's arm, and it was no one's fault but her own. She shouldn't have let herself hope, but hopes are like weeds: however often you root them out they keep on springing up."

"It was a look that gave her a tingle, all right, but not in a good way. In that look she saw her silly bloody hopes as twisted and broken as she'd left that Lowlander's arm, and it was no one's fault but her own. She shouldn't have let herself hope, but hopes are like weeds: however often you root them out they keep on springing up."

Joe Abercrombie, English Novelist

Loss, Hope, Emotion, Truth

30

"I remembered the pain as clearly as if I were shifting - the pain of loss. I felt the agony of the single moment that I lost myself. Lost what made me Sam. The part of me that could remember Grace's name."

"I remembered the pain as clearly as if I were shifting - the pain of loss. I felt the agony of the single moment that I lost myself. Lost what made me Sam. The part of me that could remember Grace's name."

Maggie Stiefvater, American Author

Loss, Pain, Memory, Identity

30

"I know why we try to keep the dead alive: we try to keep them alive in order to keep them with us. I also know that if we are to live ourselves there comes a point at which we must relinquish the dead, let them go, keep them dead. Let them become the photograph on the table. Let them become the name on the trust accounts. Let go of them in the water. Knowing this does not make it any easier to let go of him in the water."

"I know why we try to keep the dead alive: we try to keep them alive in order to keep them with us. I also know that if we are to live ourselves there comes a point at which we must relinquish the dead, let them go, keep them dead. Let them become the photograph on the table. Let them become the name on the trust accounts. Let go of them in the water. Knowing this does not make it any easier to let go of him in the water."

Joan Didion, American Author

Loss, Grief, Acceptance, Memory, Reflection

29

"The pain of retirement means loss."

"The pain of retirement means loss."

John Murray, American Publisher

Loss, Pain, Retirement

29

"There was the woman I was before my mom died and the one I was now, my old life sitting on the surface of me like a bruise."

"There was the woman I was before my mom died and the one I was now, my old life sitting on the surface of me like a bruise."

Cheryl Strayed, American Writer

Loss, Grief, Transformation, Identity

29

"When love has left us in the lurch and nothing ever strikes a chord anymore, we may come to realize a vacuum of the lost vibrations of happiness and an absence of the ethereal and exalting feel of harmony that we only become aware of, after time passes by and everything has expired. ['Amour en friche']"

"When love has left us in the lurch and nothing ever strikes a chord anymore, we may come to realize a vacuum of the lost vibrations of happiness and an absence of the ethereal and exalting feel of harmony that we only become aware of, after time passes by and everything has expired. ['Amour en friche']"

Erik Pevernagie, Belgian Author

Loss, Love, Happiness, Harmony

29

"But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them."

"But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them."

Dave Eggers, American Writer

Loss, Love, Impermanence

28

"Lightning. Once it has forked, hot-white, from sky to earth, there is no going back."

"Lightning. Once it has forked, hot-white, from sky to earth, there is no going back."

Ally Condie, American Author

Loss, Power, Nature, Force, Change

28

"I was infatuated once with a foolish, besotted affection, that clung to him in spite of his unworthiness, but it is fairly gone now - wholly crushed and withered away; and he has none but himself and his vices to thank for it."

"I was infatuated once with a foolish, besotted affection, that clung to him in spite of his unworthiness, but it is fairly gone now - wholly crushed and withered away; and he has none but himself and his vices to thank for it."

Anne Bronte, British Novelist

Loss, Love, Emotion, Reflection

28

"We might, in that indeterminate period they call mourning, be in a submarine, silent on the ocean's bed, aware of the depth charges, now near and now far, buffeting us with recollections. . . .Grief is different. Grief has no distance. Grief comes in waves, paroxysms, sudden apprehensions that weaken the knees and blind the eyes and obliterate the dailiness of life."

"We might, in that indeterminate period they call mourning, be in a submarine, silent on the ocean's bed, aware of the depth charges, now near and now far, buffeting us with recollections. . . .Grief is different. Grief has no distance. Grief comes in waves, paroxysms, sudden apprehensions that weaken the knees and blind the eyes and obliterate the dailiness of life."

Joan Didion, American Author

Loss, Grief, Observation, Emotion, Truth

27

"A leaf cannot return to the bud - bluestar to fireheart and greystripe"

"A leaf cannot return to the bud - bluestar to fireheart and greystripe"

Erin Hunter, British Author

Loss, Change, Nature, Transition

27

"He wasn't supposed to die,' he cried out, somewhat desperately, petulantly, like a spoiled child. But I could hear other thoughts racing between us.Neither are you.Neither am I."

"He wasn't supposed to die,' he cried out, somewhat desperately, petulantly, like a spoiled child. But I could hear other thoughts racing between us.Neither are you.Neither am I."

Patti Smith, American Musician

Loss, Death, Desperation, Emotion

27

"Loss has no friend, no allies, no benefit to the human spirit."

"Loss has no friend, no allies, no benefit to the human spirit."

Asa Don Brown, Canadian Author

Loss, Isolation, Emotion, Impact

25

"Oleander time, she said. Lovers who kill each other now will blame it on the wind."

"Oleander time, she said. Lovers who kill each other now will blame it on the wind."

Janet Fitch, American Author

Loss, Love, Poetry, Emotion

23

"You'd be surprised how little voice you have when you lose everything."

"You'd be surprised how little voice you have when you lose everything."

Alexandra Bracken, American Writer

Loss, Strength, Emotion, Pain

23

"I would never see her again, except in memory. She was here, and now she's gone. There is no middle ground. Probably is a word that you may find south of the border. But never, ever west of the sun."

"I would never see her again, except in memory. She was here, and now she's gone. There is no middle ground. Probably is a word that you may find south of the border. But never, ever west of the sun."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Loss, Memory, Presence, Absence

22

"The worst way to miss someone is to have them sitting right next to you and know you can never have them."

"The worst way to miss someone is to have them sitting right next to you and know you can never have them."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Loss, Love, Pain, Presence

22

"I had everything summed up in a nutshell unfortunately I lost the nut."

"I had everything summed up in a nutshell unfortunately I lost the nut."

Benny Bellamacina, British Author

Loss, Mistake, Regret, Life

22

"People have their own reasons for dying. It might look simple, but it never is. It's just like a rock. What's above ground is only a small part of it. But if you start pulling, it keeps coming and coming. The human mind dwells deep in darkness. Only the person himself knows the real reason, and maybe not even then."

"People have their own reasons for dying. It might look simple, but it never is. It's just like a rock. What's above ground is only a small part of it. But if you start pulling, it keeps coming and coming. The human mind dwells deep in darkness. Only the person himself knows the real reason, and maybe not even then."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Loss, Absence, Love, Life, Pain

22

"A friendship between a man and a woman was what you called it when one had been pursuing the other for a long time and never gotten anywhere."

"A friendship between a man and a woman was what you called it when one had been pursuing the other for a long time and never gotten anywhere."

Joe Abercrombie, English Novelist

Loss, Friendship, Gender, Expectation, Love

22

"I think we are all slightly down in the dumps after another loss. We may be in the wrong sign... Venus may be in the wrong juxtaposition with somewhere else."

"I think we are all slightly down in the dumps after another loss. We may be in the wrong sign... Venus may be in the wrong juxtaposition with somewhere else."

Ted Dexter, Italian Athlete

Loss, May, Wrong

22

"Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch.from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball ofgreen flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything....I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be gone."

"Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch.from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball ofgreen flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything....I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be gone."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Loss, Truth, Regret, Life

21

"How could I explain to this girl what Will and I had been to each other,the way I felt that no person in the world had ever understood me like he did or ever would again?How could she understand that losing him was like having a hole shot straight through me, a painful, constant reminder, an absence I could never fill?"

"How could I explain to this girl what Will and I had been to each other,the way I felt that no person in the world had ever understood me like he did or ever would again?How could she understand that losing him was like having a hole shot straight through me, a painful, constant reminder, an absence I could never fill?"

Jojo Moyes, British Novelist

Loss, Love, Memory, Pain

21

"I repeated: come with me, as if I were dying,and no one saw in my mouth the moon that was bleeding,no one saw the blood that was rising into the silence.Oh love, now let us forget the star with thorns!"

"I repeated: come with me, as if I were dying,and no one saw in my mouth the moon that was bleeding,no one saw the blood that was rising into the silence.Oh love, now let us forget the star with thorns!"

Pablo Neruda, Chilean Writer

Loss, Love, Poetry, Imagery

21

"I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is the leaving you all. I'm not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven."

"I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is the leaving you all. I'm not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven."

Louisa May Alcott, American Novelist

Loss, Heaven, Fear, Love, Separation

21

"All the new thinking is about loss, In this it resembles all the old thinking."

"All the new thinking is about loss, In this it resembles all the old thinking."

Robert Hass, American Poet

Loss, Old, Thinking

21

"Usually it is through loss that things come to be of value."

"Usually it is through loss that things come to be of value."

Steven Redhead, British Author

Loss, Values, Life, Appreciation

21

"No one will retrieve my lost heartamidst so many roots, in the bitter freshnessof the sun multiplied by the fury of the water,there the shadow lives that does not travel with me."

"No one will retrieve my lost heartamidst so many roots, in the bitter freshnessof the sun multiplied by the fury of the water,there the shadow lives that does not travel with me."

Pablo Neruda, Chilean Writer

Loss, Poetry, Isolation, Nature

20

"She's dead, you stupid cat. She's dead."

"She's dead, you stupid cat. She's dead."

Suzanne Collins, American Novelist

Loss, Death, Grief, Sadness

20

"Dare I say I miss him? I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love.I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart."

"Dare I say I miss him? I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love.I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart."

Yann Martel, Canadian Author

Loss, Longing, Grief, Heartbreak

20

"I don't really like this song," Emma had said."You told me it was your favourite.""It's beautiful. But it always makes me sad.""Why, love?" he'd asked gently. "It's about finding each other again. About someone coming home."Emma had lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him earnestly. "It's about losing someone, and having to wait until you're together in heaven.""There's nothing in the lyrics about heaven," he'd said."But that's what it means. I can't bear the idea of being separated from you, for a lifetime or a year or even a day. So you mustn't go to heaven without me.""Of course not," he had whispered. "It wouldn't be heaven without you."

"I don't really like this song," Emma had said."You told me it was your favourite.""It's beautiful. But it always makes me sad.""Why, love?" he'd asked gently. "It's about finding each other again. About someone coming home."Emma had lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him earnestly. "It's about losing someone, and having to wait until you're together in heaven.""There's nothing in the lyrics about heaven," he'd said."But that's what it means. I can't bear the idea of being separated from you, for a lifetime or a year or even a day. So you mustn't go to heaven without me.""Of course not," he had whispered. "It wouldn't be heaven without you."

Lisa Kleypas, American Novelist

Loss, Sadness, Love, Heaven

20

"Marriage destroyed my relationship with two wonderful men."

"Marriage destroyed my relationship with two wonderful men."

Marilyn Monroe, American Actress

Loss, Marriage, Relationship, Reflection

20

"Sometimes it takes you to lose something you rely have to learn the good of what you really had."

"Sometimes it takes you to lose something you rely have to learn the good of what you really had."

Auliq Ice, Ugandan Economist

Loss, Values, Gratitude, Reflection

19

"Well, finally, once you become an orphan, you're an orphan till the day you die. I keep having the same dream. I'm seven years old and an orphan again. All alone, with no adults around to take care of me. It's evening, and the light is fading, and night is pressing in. It's always the same. In the dream I always go back to being seven years old. Software like that you can't exchange once it's contaminated."

"Well, finally, once you become an orphan, you're an orphan till the day you die. I keep having the same dream. I'm seven years old and an orphan again. All alone, with no adults around to take care of me. It's evening, and the light is fading, and night is pressing in. It's always the same. In the dream I always go back to being seven years old. Software like that you can't exchange once it's contaminated."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Loss, Memory, Dream, Childhood

19

"When my brother called to inform me, on the morning of May 22, 2003, that our mother Caroline Oates had died suddenly of a stroke, it was a shock from which, in a way, I have yet to recover."

"When my brother called to inform me, on the morning of May 22, 2003, that our mother Caroline Oates had died suddenly of a stroke, it was a shock from which, in a way, I have yet to recover."

Joyce Carol Oates, American Novelist

Loss, Grief, Memory, Healing

19

"It was inevitable, of course, but somehow it didn't seem right to Alex that they would never remember the sound of Carly's laughter, or know how deeply she'd once loved them."

"It was inevitable, of course, but somehow it didn't seem right to Alex that they would never remember the sound of Carly's laughter, or know how deeply she'd once loved them."

Nicholas Sparks, American Author

Loss, Memory, Love, Truth

19

"My mother was informing me, by mail, that she was about to die, and would never see me again."

"My mother was informing me, by mail, that she was about to die, and would never see me again."

Thomas Merton, American Author

Loss, Life, Grief, Acceptance

19

"When something or someone you dearly love is snatched away from you, something of you go with it. You become emotionally amputated."

"When something or someone you dearly love is snatched away from you, something of you go with it. You become emotionally amputated."

Bangambiki Habyarimana, Rwandan Author

Loss, Love, Pain, Emotion

19

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