--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...it was pointless to think how those…" description: "\"“...it was pointless to think how those years could have been put to better use, for he could hardly have put them to worse. There was no recovering th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/charles-frazier-3165_grief_it-was-pointless-to-think-how-those-year_842204.png" --- # ...it was pointless to think how those years could have… ![“...it was pointless to think how those years could have been put to better use, for he could hardly have put them to worse. There was no recovering them now. You could grieve endlessly for the loss of time and for the damage done therein. For the dead, for your own lost self. But what the wisdom…” quote by Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/charles-frazier-3165_grief_it-was-pointless-to-think-how-those-year_842204.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/charles-frazier-3165_grief_it-was-pointless-to-think-how-those-year_842204.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/charles-frazier-3165_grief_it-was-pointless-to-think-how-those-year_842204.png) > ““...it was pointless to think how those years could have been put to better use, for he could hardly have put them to worse. There was no recovering them now. You could grieve endlessly for the loss of time and for the damage done therein. For the dead, for your own lost self. But what the wisdom of the ages says is that we do well not to grieve on and on. And those old ones knew a thing or two and had some truth to tell, for you can grieve your heart out and in the end you are still where you were. All your grief hasn't changed a thing. What you have lost will not be returned to you. It will always be lost. You're left with only your scars to mark the void. All you can choose to do is go on or not. But if you go on, it's knowing you carry your scars with you.”” [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accepting loss means recognizing that grief cannot change the past, but we can decide whether to continue living with our scars. **In simple terms:** Grief doesn’t change what’s gone; we choose to move forward. Key Takeaway Live despite scars. Themes loss grief acceptance resilience Mood somber reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal tragedy - healing - daily routines - mental health - career setbacks Key Concepts impermanence meaning-making Questions to Reflect On - What would you do differently if you stopped grieving? - How can you honor loss without being stuck? A Different Perspective Grief can become a habit that prevents action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-grief-655315/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Hasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-hasn-655323/) [Grieve Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieve-old-655316/) [Recovering Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recovering-grieve-655318/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Says Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says-grieve-655320/) ## Related quotes > [“She fit her head under his chin, and he could feel her weight settle into him. He held her tight and words spilled out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/she-fit-her-head-under-his-chin-and-he-could-feel-her-weight-settle/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“...for you can grieve your heart out and in the end you are still where you were. All your grief hasn't changed a thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/for-you-can-grieve-your-heart-out-and-in-the-end-you-are-still-where/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“I become familiar with cold hard grounds. On a Friday night, I drink three too many glasses of wine and I call Finn. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-caldwell/i-become-familiar-with-cold-hard-grounds-on-a-friday-night-i-drink/) [Chloe Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-caldwell/) > [“Mr. Troutman ends the class by saying our role is a sacred one. 'We do what others can't,' he says, 'so that others can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-violi/mr-troutman-ends-the-class-by-saying-our-role-is-a-sacred-one-we-do/) [Jen Violi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-violi/) > [There is no end to grief. Nor no end to poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/there-is-no-end-to-grief-nor-no-end-to-poetry/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [“The only way to end grief was to go through it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/the-only-way-to-end-grief-was-to-go-through-it/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [“Grief isn't something you can finish; it isn't something with a beginning and an end. Grief is something you absorb, something you accept. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/grief-isn-t-something-you-can-finish-it-isn-t-something-with-a/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [“Grief is not a feeling it is a capacity. It is not something that disables you, we are not on the receiving end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jenkinson/grief-is-not-a-feeling-it-is-a-capacity-it-is-not-something-that/) [Stephen Jenkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jenkinson/) > [“Dropping into a thorn bush can lead to no end of grief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/dropping-into-a-thorn-bush-can-lead-to-no-end-of-grief/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) ## More by Charles Frazier > [ “They \[in the northern country\] had, as well, invented a holiday called Thanksgiving, which Ruby had only recently got news of, but from what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/they-in-the-northern-country-had-as-well-invented-a-holiday-called/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [He tried to name which of the deadly seven might apply, and when he failed he decided to append an eighth, regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/he-tried-to-name-which-of-the-deadly-seven-might-apply-and-when-he/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [All I can say is that we are mistaken to gouge such a deep rift in history that the things old men and old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/all-i-can-say-is-that-we-are-mistaken-to-gouge-such-a-deep-rift-in/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“Monroe had in fact preached that God was not at all such a one as ourselves, not one to be temperamentally inclined to tread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/monroe-had-in-fact-preached-that-god-was-not-at-all-such-a-one-as/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [Our worst pain is confined within our own skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/our-worst-pain-is-confined-within-our-own-skin/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [It's a good thing war is so terrible or else we'd get to liking it too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/it-s-a-good-thing-war-is-so-terrible-or-else-we-d-get-to-liking-it/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“Among themselves, they had figured out how to go about marriage so as to accomplish the least damage. The husbands lived two hours away...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/among-themselves-they-had-figured-out-how-to-go-about-marriage-so-as/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [The past is a stronger influence in the South. But I think everywhere you have this sense that the world changes faster than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/the-past-is-a-stronger-influence-in-the-south-but-i-think-everywhere/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [While writing 'Cold Mountain,' I held maps of two geographies, two worlds, in my mind as I wrote. One was an early map of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/while-writing-cold-mountain-i-held-maps-of-two-geographies-two-worlds/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“When Ada disappeared into the trees, it was like a part of the richness of the world had gone with her. He had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/when-ada-disappeared-into-the-trees-it-was-like-a-part-of-the/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [Verbs. All of them tiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/verbs-all-of-them-tiring/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [You never know when somebody will pull you to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/you-never-know-when-somebody-will-pull-you-to-them/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“If I had a brother in jail and one in Georgia, I'd try to bust the one out of Georgia first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/if-i-had-a-brother-in-jail-and-one-in-georgia-i-d-try-to-bust-the-one/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“His spells portrayed the spirit as a frail thing, contstantly under attack and in need of stength, always threatening to die inside you. Inman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/his-spells-portrayed-the-spirit-as-a-frail-thing-contstantly-under/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“At the first gesture of morning, flies began stirring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/at-the-first-gesture-of-morning-flies-began-stirring/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) [Explore all 138 Charles Frazier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...it was pointless to think how those years could have been put to better use, for he could hardly have put them to worse. There was no recovering them now. 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