35+ Condolences Quotes [Images, Tips, and FREE eBook]

Life is full of unexpected turns, many of them sad and full of pain. Loss is a part of life that we must all deal with sooner or later. It’s incredibly painful to lose someone you love or a close friend. Here is our list of sympathetic sayings, condolences quotes and images on the subject of loss in all of its forms. We hope these insights and messages can help bring you some peace and keep you strong in your times of trouble.

Sympathetic messages and images for your time of loss

Finding hope in times of despair can be incredibly difficult. If you can recover from your loss and grief faster than you may be able to help heal your pain along with those around you. Find a healthy way to share sadness with the ones you love.

1. Live to the fullest while you can.

condolences quotes "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." - Norman Cousins

Norman Cousins

Hold on to your memories and encourage your loved ones to do so too. While we will all experience loss in life, the love we hold for one another is one of the most important and valuable things we will ever possess. Our experiences may be the only thing we can ever truly hold on to in life.

2. With great happiness can also come great pain.

condolences quotes "There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery." - Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri

Share your fond memories with your grieving friends:

The loss you share with them is made worse by the amount of happiness you experienced together. Recalling these memories can ease the pain. Be thankful for your happy memories and cherish the moments that make the pain of loss worth it.

3. Be compassionate in times of grief.

condolences quotes "The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others." - Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer

Perform a selfless act:

We rely on one another to make it through periods of trial, loss, and grief. Strong social bonds ensure allow us to live on after any tragedy that may befall us. If you can try to do something today to make someone else happy, it can work to alleviate some of your own suffering.

4. Grief is a natural part of life

condolences quotes "There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief." - Aeschylus

Aeschylus

Fond memories hurt for a reason. The experience of grief can overwhelm anyone. Recall that grief is made worse by the goodness of he or she who was lost. Keep in mind that the pain will pass.

5. Don’t sink under the pressure of sorrow.

condolences quotes "We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression." - Confucius

Confucius

Everyone must grieve, but realize also that everyone must move on. We must honor those who have passed. But it would be a dishonor to his or her memory to drown in this grief and suffer more than is required by life.

6. Loss hurts, period.

condolences quotes "No matter how prepared you think you are for the death of a loved one, it still comes as a shock, and it still hurts very deeply." - Billy Graham

Billy Graham

Make yourself available for those dealing with the shock of grief. Loss can occur when we are least expecting it. This may completely upend the lives of anyone close to he or she who has passed on. Offer to help in any way that you can, keeping in mind that your friends are going through great pain.

7. True sympathy demands sacrifice.

condolences quotes "Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one's soul." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Allow sympathy to take place and empathize with those hurt around you. Loss can be an absolutely life-shattering event. You can provide amazing relief to a grieving friend by making yourself available and fully sympathetic to their plight.

8. Learn from your losses and grow with defeat.

condolences quotes "There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time." - Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Help your loved one to turn their loss into growth. After losing a loved one, it may seem difficult to simply continue with one’s daily routine. Help your grieving friend or family member become a better person for it.

9. Open your heart and take in everything.

condolences quotes "If our hearts are ready for anything, we can open to our inevitable losses, and to the depths of our sorrow. We can grieve our lost loves, our lost youth, our lost health, our lost capacities. This is part of our humanness, part of the expression of our love for life." - Tara Brach

Tara Brach

Harness the power of the human spirit. The same energies of the soul that allow us to love deeply suffer when that love is taken away. Reach out to a grieving friend, and you begin to fill this terrible void.

10. Don’t take the pain of loss out on yourself.

condolences quotes "It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Help your grieving friend get back on their feet. Loss subjects us to some of the worst suffering we will ever experience, and that can cause some to begin unhealthy habits. Once the appropriate period of grieving is over, help your friend reenter the life they once led.

11. When it rains, it pours.

condolences quotes "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions." - William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

When a friend loses somebody close to them, it may appear as a singular event from the outside, but internally, a host of sorrowful feelings are gripping his or her mind. Spend some time with your friend and help them deal with the incredible pain they’re going through.

12. Find your balance in both happiness and grief.

condolences saying "We must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living." - Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett

Stay rational as you endure this emotional loss. A terrible sensation grips anyone dealing with death, and it may lead them toward negative and irrational behavior. Show understanding, but help your grieving friend keep a clear head while dealing with their loss.

13. Be sympathetic to those you love.

condolences message "And whoever walks a furlong without sympathy walks to his own funeral drest in his shroud." - Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

Offer an understanding ear to your loved ones in their time of need. The worst disservice you can do to a friend in need is spurn them as they deal with grief. Offer yourself to their cause in any you can, and when yourself experience loss, they will be there for you.

14. Memories and experiences live forever.

condolences insight "What is lovely never dies, But passes into other loveliness." - Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Help shape your friend’s understanding of loss. While a loved one may pass on, and their heart ceases to pump, their physical presence will leave this earth, but they will never be truly gone. Remind your friend that their lost loved one lives through memory, lessons they imparted, and experiences they shared.

15. Remember the good times.

quote "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." - Khalil Gibran

Khalil Gibran

Help to frame loss for friends and family. Remind your grieving friend that their loss is deep because of how good their experience has been.

16. Love transcends space and time.

quote "Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality." - Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Provide some words of comfort for someone grieving. Love is a fire that burns forever. Show your friend you love them, and it will help to fill they gap left by their departed loved one.

17. Become stronger through your loss.

quote "Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind." - Marcel Proust

Marcel Proust

Help to nurture personal growth in times of suffering. While your friend will be in the midst of shock and deep emotional suffering, this experience will shape the of their lives. Help to make sure it is a positive moment that brings about personal development.

18. Life is hard. Learn to flow with your losses and move on.

quote "Life has never been easy. Nor is it meant to be. It is a matter of being joyous in the face of sorrow." - Dirk Benedict

Dirk Benedict

Help your friend place their loss in context. Every living being on this earth will one day pass on. That is a terrible truth, but if you confront it with your friend together, you will be able to enjoy the rich spoils of the earth.

19. Loss is a natural part of life.

quote "Grief is the price we pay for love." - Queen Elizabeth II

– Queen Elizabeth II

Help your friend reconcile himself or herself with loss. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Grief is made worse by the joys previously experienced. Reach out to your grieving friend and help them to understand the true meaning of their sorrow.

20. Live as yourself while you’re alive.

quote "It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not." – André Gide

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” – André Gide

Help your friend keep an open heart. Grief does terrible things to the best of people. Your grieving friend may need you to remind them of the benefits of loving with an open and accepting heart. You can see a list of romantic quotes to share with loved ones here.

21. Express your feelings and accept condolences.

grief quote "If you suppress grief too much, it can well redouble." - Moliere

Moliere

Help your friend grieve and support them if needed. Anyone with tough skin may seek to suppress their grief and hide it away. Encourage your friend to express their sadness in a positive way, lest it may simmer deep within them for years, unexpressed.

22. Don’t tarnish happy memories.

quote "A sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier times." - Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Dwell on the past, and when you are done, move on. Whenever a loved one passes on, the immediate reaction is to remember him or her, which only redoubles the grief. Encourage your friend to grieve, but provide respite when the pain grows unbearable.

23. Endure your sorrows.

quote "Bear and endure: This sorrow will one day prove to be for your good." - Ovid

Ovid

Remind your friend that, while their pain is great, one day, they will over come it and be better for it.

24. Find your peace through the darkness.

quote "Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us." - Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart

Help your friend realize the love within their sorrow. Loss is a curious, contradictory experience. Love causes sorrow. But even in the depths of that sorrow, love is always near.

25. Grief will always be a part of life.

quote "Grief changes shape, but it never ends." - Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves

Loss manifests itself in various ways. While you’ve helped your friend through their toughest times, understand that they may still rely on you for years to come. While they have surmounted their grief, they have not removed it.

26. Talking can help the grieving process.

quote "Sorrow is so easy to express and yet so hard to tell." - Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell

Remain open and communicative through your suffering. As your loved one struggles with their grief, help them to find the words that can easily evade their stormy minds.

27. Death is an inseparable part of life

quote "Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun." - Hilaire Belloc

Hilaire Belloc

Recall the good times when you lose a loved one. There can be no terrible loss without great love and joy. Lead your grieving loved one towards positive memories and laughter.

28. You have to allow yourself to move on.

quote "Great grief does not of itself put an end to itself." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Prepare for the difficulty of grieving as it can be a long road. Your loved one will struggle for weeks, months, even years to overcome the loss of someone close to them. Understand the difficulty of their struggle and help them in any way you can.

29. Don’t allow grief to destroy or weaken you.

quote "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength." - Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom

Suggest a positive distraction to give yourself, your friends, and your family a break from grieving. The process of grieving can become completely taxing. Consider distracting your loved one dealing with loss with a positive activity that will make them feel better and take their mind off their pain.

30. Loss can bring us together

quote "Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys." - Alphonse de Lamartine

Alphonse de Lamartine

Relate and act with empathy through hard times. There is no greater bond than commiseration and acting out of empathy. The suffering may be great, but it will pull you and your loved one closer together.

31. Be proactive with messages of condolences.

quote "The only cure for grief is action." - George Henry Lewes

George Henry Lewes

Be proactive and take action to alleviate your grief and console your friends. Invite your grieving loved one on a walk or out for dinner. Loss can grow overwhelming and sometimes, someone in mourning needs something to take their mind of the pain.

32. The cycle of life will continue

quote "From the end spring new beginnings." - Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder

The only thing certain in life is change. People will pass from life to memory. With every change comes a new beginning and a new potential.

33. Our legacy is eternal.

quote "Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men." - Quintus Ennius

Quintus Ennius

Translate loss into the affirmation of life. While our loved ones may die, they do not leave us completely. They reside in our memory, and because they have shaped us, through our words and our actions.

34. Loss is a very individual experience sometimes

quote "Grief can't be shared. Everyone carries it alone. His own burden in his own way." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Understand that grief is solitary in nature. Loss affects everyone differently. Help your friend to grieve, but give them space if they need it.

35. Make your way to the surface.

quote "The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Help your grieving friend or family member turn loss into gain. We are nothing but an amalgamation of our own experiences. Everyone will experience loss at some point. Help your loved one understand that their experience is inevitable and it will make them a better person.

Download Condolences Quotes eBook (No Sign-up Needed)

  • Get printable, high resolution PDF download
  • 35+ pages of handwritten quotes & beautiful images
  • Use these sayings to comfort a friend in painful times

Hope you can help sympathize with a friend today

We hope that these insights and quotes on condolences and loss can help you through some hard times. Loss and setbacks are never easy and are an inevitable part of life. We wish you the best through hard times and much success and happiness through better times.

Bb