120 Sad Quotes To Help You Heal
Sadness is an inevitable part of life. We all experience difficult moments that leave us feeling down or depressed. During such trying times, it can help to turn to words of wisdom from others who have faced adversity. This article aims to provide comfort through some of the saddest yet most profound quotes from around the world and through the ages.
The collection of 120 sad quotes touches on topics like loss, heartbreak, loneliness and struggle. They have been sourced from iconic figures in history like Mahatma Gandhi and Anne Frank, as well as contemporary writers and poets. By reading about the sorrow of others, we find that we are not alone in our suffering. Moreover, these quotations remind us that pain is temporary, and that with time and perspective, it can lose its grip on our emotions.
The quotes have been organised thematically to allow for browsing depending on one’s mood and needs. Some sections focus on themes like coping with grief, finding strength during dark times, and accepting life’s uncertainties. By exploring this heartfelt selection of quotes, it is hoped that readers will derive solace and hope, and take another step towards psychological healing.
1. Painful reflections on loneliness and loss
‘Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.’ – Henry Rollins
‘Loneliness is the first thing which God’s eye named not good.’ – John Milton
‘Being lonely is totally different from being alone. You can be lonely even when you’re with people. True loneliness comes from within.’
‘Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.’ – Carl Gustav Jung
‘I do not think that you can ever overcome loneliness by yourself. It is not something you can conquer by an act of heroism. People have to overcome it together, deliberately, in the context of genuine relationships of love and mutual understanding.’ – M. Scott Peck
‘The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.’ – Vince Lombardi
‘What we find in others, we see in ourselves.’ – Spanish Proverb
‘When you are lonely, nothing flatters you as much as a stranger’s interest; when you are ill, nothing comforts you as much as kindness; and when you are in trouble, nothing is as helpful as a sympathetic ear.’ – Elbert Hubbard
‘Loneliness is never more cruel than when it is felt in close propinquity with someone who has ceased to communicate.’ – Germaine Greer
‘For everything you gain, you lose something.’ – Spanish Proverb
‘We do not remember days, but moments.’ – Cesare Pavese
‘There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.’ – Nelson Mandela
‘No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.’ – Alice Walker
‘The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.’ – Joan Didion
‘Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.’ – Buddha
‘Nothing is in our control except our actions, our attitudes and our words.’ – Epictetus
‘Don’t depend too much on anyone in this world because even your shadow leaves you when you are in darkness.’
‘There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.’ – J.R.R. Tolkien
‘We accept the love we think we deserve.’ – Stephen Chbosky
‘It is not good for man to be alone’ – Genesis 2:18
2. Remembering past loves gone with sorrowful thoughts
“Memories are like ribbons in the sky, sometimes you can see them, sometimes not – but they are always there.” – Unknown
“Regret for wasted time is more wasted time.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The sweetest thing about memories is perhaps not the memory itself, but the remembering.” – Unknown
“Her memory is like music at night; I hardly know that she has gone yet I feel that the song has been sung.” – Frank Dempster Sherman
“A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely un-happen.” – Edward de Bono
“Every time I think of you, the tears come. I miss you always and I let go a little bit more every day. But you will always be in my mind and in my heart.” – Unknown
“Try as you may, you can’t undo the past; you have to learn and keep going forward with the memories and the wisdom you gained along the way.” – Unknown
“I wish I could relive my love for you again, remembering is just not the same.” – Unknown
“I still love you, even though it’s too late for us; I can’t help but remember the times we had and the feelings we shared.” – Unknown
“Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” – Haruki Murakami
“The sweetest kisses are saddest in memories.” – Unknown
“My love for you lives on even though you’re gone. The memories we made together will stay in my heart forever more.” – Unknown
“One days ends, another begins. Time and tide wait for no man. Let old memories fade as the golden sun sets.” – Olaudah Equiano
“We loved with a love that was more than love.” – Edgar Allan Poe
“I remember evenings alone with my thoughts of you. Not a word said, yet everything was understood.” – Lang Leav
“My heart still aches in sadness and secret tears still flow. What it meant to lose you, no one will ever know.” – Maureen Gaffney
“Thinking of you, not in sorrow, but with love and friendship, without you, my life is an empty vessel that once was full.” – Unknown
“You fill my eyes with sadness and longing at this moment. Your memory lives on in my heart.” – Unknown
“I will remember you with fondness in my heart. Our memories together will always be in my mind to cherish. My love and fondest wishes go with you.” – Unknown
“Remembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is the heartache that never goes away.” – Unknown
3. Moving onward through hardship with words of resilience
“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” – Harriet Tubman
“No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.” – George Chakiris
“The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don’t give up.” – Robert Tew
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
“The storms of life are bound to come but only those with deep roots can withstand them and face the winds of change.” – Author unknown
“The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.” – Author unknown
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” – Anne Lamott
“There are no straight lines in nature because nature has a better sense of humor than to have things just linear or too obvious.” – Frank Gehry
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” – Marcus Aurelius
“Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” – Author unknown
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift – that’s why it’s called the present.” – Babatunde Olatunji
“Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.” – Seneca
“When you come to the edge of all the light you have and must step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” – Author unknown
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” – Helen Keller
“Fall down seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese proverb
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
4. Finding comfort in other’s shared sadness
“True solace comes from within; comfort offered from without is often fleeting.” – Terri Guillemets
“What comforts one may distress another; we all seek different solace for our deepest woes.” – Terri Guillemets
“Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.” – William Shakespeare
“We mourn to find we are not alone in our sadness; in community lies the first step towards comfort.” – Terri Guillemets
“Not even sorrow can endure without a mingling of preservation, without an alliancy against loss.” – John Updike
“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” – William Shakespeare
“There is a fellowship of grief; we must join it.” – Madeleine L’Engle
“Sadness flies on sharing wings; the comfort of commiseration lightens every heart.” – Terri Guillemets
“Better to light a candle than curse the dark.” – Chinese Proverb
“No one can prevent you from weeping except yourself.” – Seneca
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ursula K. Le Guin
“The broken heart still forgives; it also forgets.” – Alexander Pope
“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
“Seeing others who feel as you do makes all the difference.” – Terri Guillemets
“Tears can ease our sadness, but only company can calm our fears.” – Terri Guillemets
“Misery is a glass through which we spy our cheerier companions.” – Terri Guillemets
“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.” – Tori Amos
“Comfort’s hand in hand with company.” – William Shakespeare
“There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the nearness of one who loves us. ” – Lydia M. Child
5. Messages of hope amidst life’s deepest sorrows
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
“After the darkness, comes the stars.” – African proverb
“The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.” – Anonymous
“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein
“Do not fear going slowly; fear only to stand still.” – Chinese Proverb
“If you are going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
“Where there’s life, there’s hope.” – Scottish Proverb
“This too shall pass.” – Persian Proverb
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” – Unknown
“Every cloud has a silver lining.” – Unknown
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“There is no night without a dawning.” – African Proverb
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
“God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.” – Jim Elliot
“What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“The sun always comes out after it storms.”
“From the deepest depths there is a path to the loftiest height.” – Joseph Fort Newton
“How you get over is how you get better.” – Anonymous
“After darkness comes the light.” – Helen Keller
“Have hope. Dark times won’t last.” – Unknown
6. Quotations lifting spirits from darkness into light
“The light within me honors the light within you.” – Unknown
“After the darkest of nights come the brightest of days.” – Proverb
“I pray that the light will guide you in the darkness as you walk through your storm.” – Unknown
“When times get hard, I remind myself that the mountain trees never grow tired of standing tall against the wind.” – Unknown
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Keep moving forward in relentless pursuit of what you want.” – Oprah Winfrey
“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” – Audrey Hepburn
“She walked in beauty, like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that’s best of dark and bright met in her aspect and her eyes.” – Lord Byron
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.” – Unknown
“Remember, no matter how far down the road you’ve gone, you’re never too far to turn around.” – Unknown
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Our future depends on many things, but mostly on our ability to find meaning in adversity.” – Paul Bremer
“The light you shine can brighten someone’s path.” – Unknown
“We do not need magic to transform our world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better.” – J.K. Rowling
“You let in light wherever you go.” – Rumi
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Conclusion
As you reflect on these sad yet profound quotes, allow them to resonate deeply within you. Though initially sorrowful, taking time to internalize their messages can help lift you from your low points by sharing perspectives that normalize difficult emotions. These words, from diverse voices throughout history, remind us that feeling sadness is a natural and even healthy response to life’s challenges. My hope is that the quotes provide solace in your times of grief, and instill hope that healing comes through embracing one’s full range of human experiences. Keep them close as comfort during rough patches, but don’t forget to cherish life’s beauty once again when sadness’ hold releases you.
