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After a loss, the house can become very quiet. Mealtimes, evenings and weekends often feel the emptiest, because they were the times you shared most.
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Loneliness is not a weakness or a failure. Researchers who study it describe it as a signal, much like hunger or thirst — a sign that we need connection, not a sign that something is wrong with us. It tends to ease a little with small, regular contact: a weekly phone call, a nod to a neighbour, a familiar face at the shop or place of worship.
These quotes are reminders that you are less alone than it feels, and that solitude can sometimes become a place of rest as well as of ache.
If loneliness has settled in for a long time, consider telling your doctor. Many communities have befriending services, bereavement groups and telephone friendship lines specifically for people living alone after a loss.
Their chair may be empty, but the room is still full of what they gave.
— The Quiet LightGive sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.
— William Shakespeare, MacbethRejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
— Romans 12:15 (KJV)Anything that's human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.
— Fred RogersBetter than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.
— After the Dhammapada, 100A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.
— ProverbLift yourself up by your own self; do not let yourself sink. You can be your own truest friend.
— After the Bhagavad Gita, 6.5God is nearer to us than our own jugular vein.
— After Qur'an 50:16Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.
— Attributed to SenecaLanguage has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.
— Paul TillichMemories are the heart's way of keeping company with those we can no longer see.
— The Quiet LightEveryone can master a grief but he that has it.
— William Shakespeare, Much Ado About NothingHe will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
— Deuteronomy 31:8 (KJV)Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.
— Fred RogersThere is no house that loss has not visited. In grief, we join every family that has ever loved.
— After the parable of Kisa GotamiShared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.
— Swedish proverbOne who sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, no longer turns away from anything.
— After the Isha UpanishadIf we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
— Attributed to Mother TeresaAn empty house is not an empty life. Small connections still count.
— The Quiet LightThere is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love.
— Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis ReyBear ye one another's burdens.
— Galatians 6:2 (KJV)The bond with those we love does not end at death; it changes its shape and stays with us.
— After continuing-bonds researchJust as a mother would protect her only child with her life, so let us cultivate a boundless love toward all beings.
— After the Metta SuttaIf you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
— African proverbLoneliness is not a failure. It is a sign of how much belonging once meant.
— The Quiet LightThere is no grief like the grief that does not speak.
— Henry Wadsworth LongfellowI will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
— Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)One honest conversation can lighten a load that feels too heavy to carry alone.
— After social connection researchSay good morning to a neighbour, a bird, a plant. Connection can start very small.
— The Quiet LightNo man is an island, entire of itself.
— John DonneTwo are better than one… For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.
— Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 (KJV)Loneliness is a signal, like hunger: a sign that we need connection, not a sign that something is wrong with us.
— After research on lonelinessThe quiet can be heavy, but it can also be a place to rest. You may need both.
— The Quiet LightIn everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.
— Albert SchweitzerSomewhere tonight, another heart is carrying what you carry. You are less alone than it feels.
— The Quiet LightNo one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.
— Charles Dickens, Our Mutual FriendReaching out is not a burden on others. It is a gift of trust.
— The Quiet LightSit by a window. Watch the light change. Let the world move slowly for a while.
— The Quiet Light
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