--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despair can come from deep grief, but it…" description: "\"“Despair can come from deep grief, but it can also be a defense against the risks of bitter disappointment and shattering heartbreak. Resignation and c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/desmond-tutu-442_disappointment_despair-can-come-from-deep-grief-but-it_1355273.jpg" --- # Despair can come from deep grief, but it can also be a… ![“Despair can come from deep grief, but it can also be a defense against the risks of bitter disappointment and shattering heartbreak. Resignation and cynicism are easier, more self-soothing postures that do not require raw vulnerability and tragic risk of hope. To choose hope is to step firmly…” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/desmond-tutu-442_disappointment_despair-can-come-from-deep-grief-but-it_1355273.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/desmond-tutu-442_disappointment_despair-can-come-from-deep-grief-but-it_1355273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/desmond-tutu-442_disappointment_despair-can-come-from-deep-grief-but-it_1355273.jpg) > ““Despair can come from deep grief, but it can also be a defense against the risks of bitter disappointment and shattering heartbreak. Resignation and cynicism are easier, more self-soothing postures that do not require raw vulnerability and tragic risk of hope. To choose hope is to step firmly forward into the howling wind, baring one's chest to the elements, knowing that, in time, the storm will pass.”” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope requires confronting pain and risk, unlike resignation which soothes but avoids vulnerability; choosing hope means facing hardship with courage. **In simple terms:** Hope is brave, not easy. Key Takeaway Embrace hope despite fear. Themes hope courage vulnerability resilience Mood inspirational determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal loss - relationship breakup - career setback - social injustice Key Concepts existential risk emotional defense optimism Questions to Reflect On - What fear holds you back from hoping? - How can you balance hope with realistic planning? A Different Perspective Hope can feel reckless when stakes are high. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) ## Related quotes > [“Despair will come and go but people that can overcome will last throught it. We must work with children to understand and deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/despair-will-come-and-go-but-people-that-can-overcome-will-last/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [Here is a truth, a truth by which to live: there is hope. There is always hope. If we choose to abandon it, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/here-is-a-truth-a-truth-by-which-to-live-there-is-hope-there-is/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/just-as-despair-can-come-to-one-only-from-other-human-beings-hope-too/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Despair was so familiar to me; it could be banished by the sight of a beautiful mannikin in the window. It could be dispelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/despair-was-so-familiar-to-me-it-could-be-banished-by-the-sight-of-a/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I hope you choose...to live by choice not by chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated not manipulated; to be useful not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-mcdaniel/i-hope-you-choose-to-live-by-choice-not-by-chance-to-make-changes-not/) Lily McDaniel > [Those who are heavy-laden with despair should come unto the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/those-who-are-heavy-laden-with-despair-should-come-unto-the-lord/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“Mediocrity is a choice. I hope you choose to say ‘NO!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/mediocrity-is-a-choice-i-hope-you-choose-to-say-no/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [I hope that I can choose the right man to be part of my life even though he is far from my side. Always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/i-hope-that-i-can-choose-the-right-man-to-be-part-of-my-life-even/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [“If you ever get the chance to treat them the way they treated you, I hope you choose to walk away and do better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najwa-zebian/if-you-ever-get-the-chance-to-treat-them-the-way-they-treated-you-i/) [Najwa Zebian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najwa-zebian/) > [“I’m holding two things in my hands right now. Hell and hope. It’s up to me which one I choose to follow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-harper/i-m-holding-two-things-in-my-hands-right-now-hell-and-hope-it-s-up-to/) [Elle Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-harper/) > [We must be willing to encounter darkness and despair when they come up and face them, over and over again if need be, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/we-must-be-willing-to-encounter-darkness-and-despair-when-they-come/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-sometimes-when-night-sets-in/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [More than just a moral issue, hope is a spiritual and even religious choice. Hope is not a feeling; it is a decision. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wallis/more-than-just-a-moral-issue-hope-is-a-spiritual-and-even-religious/) [Jim Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wallis/) > [“To relate oneself expectantly to the possibility of the good is to hope. To relate oneself expectantly to the possibility of evil is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard/to-relate-oneself-expectantly-to-the-possibility-of-the-good-is-to/) [Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard/) > [Will you keep going when you don't know why? When you can't get any answers that would make the pain go away, will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/will-you-keep-going-when-you-don-t-know-why-when-you-can-t-get-any/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Despair can come from deep grief, but it can also be a defense against the risks of bitter disappointment and shattering heartbreak. Resignation and cynicism are easier, more self-soothing postures that do not require raw vulnerability and tragic risk of hope. 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