--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In sorrow we must go, but not in despair…" description: "\"In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/anonymous-1_circles_in-sorrow-we-must-go-but-not-in-despair_373113.jpg" --- # In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are… ![“In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/anonymous-1_circles_in-sorrow-we-must-go-but-not-in-despair_373113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/anonymous-1_circles_in-sorrow-we-must-go-but-not-in-despair_373113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/anonymous-1_circles_in-sorrow-we-must-go-but-not-in-despair_373113.jpg) > “In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that grief is inevitable, but despair is a choice; beyond life's cycles lies something greater than memory. **In simple terms:** Grief is certain, despair is optional; something beyond life exists. Key Takeaway Accept sorrow, avoid despair, seek meaning beyond. Themes grief hope existential resilience Mood somber reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - mental health counseling - philosophical contemplation - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate grief from despair? - What can you do to find meaning beyond loss? A Different Perspective Despair can become a self‑fulfilling prophecy if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Now, therefore, I will sleep. I speak no comfort to you, for there is no comfort for such pain within the circles of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-therefore-i-will-sleep-i-speak-no-comfort-to-you-for-there-is-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Memory is the grid of meaning we impose on the random and bewildering flux of the world. Memory is the line we pay out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/memory-is-the-grid-of-meaning-we-impose-on-the-random-and-bewildering/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“the child would ask him questions about the world that for him was not even a memory. He thought hard how to answer. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-child-would-ask-him-questions-about-the-world-that-for-him-was/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“A world without memory is a world of the present. The past exists only in books, in documents...A spinster sees the face of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/a-world-without-memory-is-a-world-of-the-present-the-past-exists-only/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Without stories there is nothing. Stories are the world’s memory. The past is erased without stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/without-stories-there-is-nothing-stories-are-the-world-s-memory-the/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Jewels of the World Memory Where everything gains, Where everything is lost, Where light sleeps and Darkness reins. Memory A footstep washed away, An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lacy-williams/jewels-of-the-world-memory-where-everything-gains-where-everything-is/) Lacy Williams > [By the time I was in sixth grade I could bound every country in the world from memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clyde-tombaugh/by-the-time-i-was-in-sixth-grade-i-could-bound-every-country-in-the/) [Clyde Tombaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clyde-tombaugh/) > [We are a vibrant first-world country, but we have a humbling third-world memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcaleese/we-are-a-vibrant-first-world-country-but-we-have-a-humbling-third/) [Mary McAleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcaleese/) > [“Connor has always been light to her. Pure light and hope in the face of sorrow and despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/connor-has-always-been-light-to-her-pure-light-and-hope-in-the-face/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I greet you from the other side of sorrow and despair, with a love so vast and shattered it will reach you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-greet-you-from-the-other-side-of-sorrow-and-despair-with-a-love-so/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Life—life—how cruel it is! Nothing but tears and sorrow and despair! Not a moment of happiness! Not a moment of joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyubov-dostoyevskaya/life-life-how-cruel-it-is-nothing-but-tears-and-sorrow-and-despair/) [Lyubov Dostoyevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyubov-dostoyevskaya/) > [I don't expect to live forever, nor do I repine over that, but I am weak enough to want to be remembered forever. -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-don-t-expect-to-live-forever-nor-do-i-repine-over-that-but-i-am/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Sorrow is God's plowshare that turns up and subsoils the depths of the soul, that it may yield richer harvests. If we had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/sorrow-is-god-s-plowshare-that-turns-up-and-subsoils-the-depths-of/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [There is prodigious strength in sorrow and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-is-prodigious-strength-in-sorrow-and-despair/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Tears hinder sorrow from becoming despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/tears-hinder-sorrow-from-becoming-despair/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Circles quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Maybe this is a way of gaslighting myself, but I think of it this way: In certain circles, my grandpa was considered to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-kazan/maybe-this-is-a-way-of-gaslighting-myself-but-i-think-of-it-this-way/) [Zoe Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-kazan/) > [All my life's a circle; But I can't tell you why; Season's spinning round again; The years keep rollin' by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/all-my-life-s-a-circle-but-i-can-t-tell-you-why-season-s-spinning/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [There's when a phrase circles in my head in a number of ways for any number of days, weeks, or months, and then that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/there-s-when-a-phrase-circles-in-my-head-in-a-number-of-ways-for-any/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The fight against syphilis demands a fight against prostitution, against prejudices, old habits, against previous conceptions, general views among them not least the false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-fight-against-syphilis-demands-a-fight-against-prostitution/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Tell them you came, and saw, and looked into my eyes and saw the shadow of the guard receding. Thoughts in time and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/tell-them-you-came-and-saw-and-looked-into-my-eyes-and-saw-the-shadow/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [ \[Wise men\] have tried to understand our state of being, by grasping at its stars, or its arts, or its economics. But, if there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/wise-men-have-tried-to-understand-our-state-of-being-by-grasping-at/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [You know Kim Jong Un, the evil dictator of North Korea? Apparently, a guy in his inner circle used his ashtray while smoking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/you-know-kim-jong-un-the-evil-dictator-of-north-korea-apparently-a/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [The Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in ... Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) [Browse all 1,860 Circles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. 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