--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could cut out my beating heart and…" description: "\"“If I could cut out my beating heart and put it in a box and forget about it, I would. Maybe I would pad the box with our photos of you, our love lette..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d68/jeffrey-a-white-18028_blue-sky_if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and_891745.jpg" --- # If I could cut out my beating heart and put it in a box… ![“If I could cut out my beating heart and put it in a box and forget about it, I would. Maybe I would pad the box with our photos of you, our love letters, a lock of your hair and that heart-shaped perfume bottle, the one that I gave you for your birthday. You always said it was your favorite. Maybe…” quote by Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d68/jeffrey-a-white-18028_blue-sky_if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and_891745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d68/jeffrey-a-white-18028_blue-sky_if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and_891745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d68/jeffrey-a-white-18028_blue-sky_if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and_891745.jpg) > ““If I could cut out my beating heart and put it in a box and forget about it, I would. Maybe I would pad the box with our photos of you, our love letters, a lock of your hair and that heart-shaped perfume bottle, the one that I gave you for your birthday. You always said it was your favorite. Maybe if I put the box up in the attic, some place out of sight and sound, I could forget you. (sigh) I force myself to look around my yard. The sun is brilliant against the bright blue sky, birds are singing out their borders and gathering twigs and grasses for nesting, and the late-season daffodils are bursting an egg-yolk yellow. I feel myself smile. For the first time this season, I spot a Peace rose, a sunshine-swelled bloom of yellow and pink flame. I inhale the bloom's faintly sweet fragrance, which floats delicate memories of you across my mind's eye — I am happy. Without thinking, I turn to the house to call you. If only It was that easy.”” [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator tries to compartmentalize grief by imagining a physical box for the heart, but nature’s beauty awakens lingering affection, showing that loss cannot be simply sealed away. **In simple terms:** Grief cannot be locked away; memories surface despite attempts to suppress them. Key Takeaway Accept that healing is gradual, not a single act. Themes grief memory healing nature love Mood melancholic hopeful reflective Type literary emotional philosophical When to use this quote - walking in a garden - seeing a flower - receiving a call - reflecting on past love Key Concepts psychology emotional resilience symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What small moments remind you of love after loss? - How can nature aid emotional recovery? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify the complexity of mourning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beating Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beating-heart/) [Blue sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-sky/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-letters/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) ## Related quotes > [When I think of you my heart stops, its like your locked inside my heart box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-oaks/when-i-think-of-you-my-heart-stops-its-like-your-locked-inside-my/) Josh Oaks > [“Letter 4 As I lay dreaming, Montezuma introduced himself and put his hand on my shoulder. The palm of the Aztec king felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-colbert/letter-4-as-i-lay-dreaming-montezuma-introduced-himself-and-put-his/) [Gregory Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-colbert/) > [There's a point when you're dating someone where you become aware of all the things you kind of thought you couldn't depart from. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/there-s-a-point-when-you-re-dating-someone-where-you-become-aware-of/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [I make music, I check the mix and if its right, Ill put it to bed and move on. The memories are all in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-make-music-i-check-the-mix-and-if-its-right-ill-put-it-to-bed-and/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [You can block me on Facebook but I know you cant block out the memories of me and you together in your mind ..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah/you-can-block-me-on-facebook-but-i-know-you-cant-block-out-the/) [Leah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah/) > [Just keep wonderful memories in your mind just throw every bad things that u ever got in your life :) so u can face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/just-keep-wonderful-memories-in-your-mind-just-throw-every-bad-things/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I erased the memories off my mind of people who doesnt respect my name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sr/i-erased-the-memories-off-my-mind-of-people-who-doesnt-respect-my-name/) SR > [Sometimes, I wish I could just erase all of those memories from my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/sometimes-i-wish-i-could-just-erase-all-of-those-memories-from-my-mind/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [“As I loved It was a moment of inner strife, Where everything clashed with every force of life, The feelings shielded the heart, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/as-i-loved-it-was-a-moment-of-inner-strife-where-everything-clashed/) [Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/) > [“If I close my eyes, plug my ears, and hold my tongue, all of this will cease to exist. I can pretend it never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hershkovich/if-i-close-my-eyes-plug-my-ears-and-hold-my-tongue-all-of-this-will/) [Leigh Hershkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hershkovich/) > [“I was not able to sleep that night. To be honest, I didn’t even try. I stood in front of my living room window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-diaz-granados/i-was-not-able-to-sleep-that-night-to-be-honest-i-didn-t-even-try-i/) [Alex Diaz-Granados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-diaz-granados/) > [Every now and then my heart wanders back in time and all those old feelings awaken the memories in my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fad-ibra/every-now-and-then-my-heart-wanders-back-in-time-and-all-those-old/) [Fad Ibra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fad-ibra/) > [“I carry all of my childhood memories in my mind. But maybe that’s not the best place for them. Well, you’ve got some extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-carry-all-of-my-childhood-memories-in-my-mind-but-maybe-that-s-not/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [We never forget our past, we only learn to live with the pain and scars. But those memories are always at the back of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/we-never-forget-our-past-we-only-learn-to-live-with-the-pain-and/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“It’s a cool morning, raining out, and you’re a thirty-eight-year-old woman who can’t remember a thing about her life. A strange amnesia, one you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-nicholson/it-s-a-cool-morning-raining-out-and-you-re-a-thirty-eight-year-old/) [Hope Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-nicholson/) ## More by Jeffrey A. White > [“Placing his snout on the edge of my bed, Boomer pricks up his ears and widens his smiling eyes when I turn my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/placing-his-snout-on-the-edge-of-my-bed-boomer-pricks-up-his-ears-and/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“Passion lights the flame; dedication keeps the flame burning brightly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/passion-lights-the-flame-dedication-keeps-the-flame-burning-brightly/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“Every empathic human heart seeks meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/every-empathic-human-heart-seeks-meaning/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“Stop, breathe, look around and embrace the miracle of each day, the miracle of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/stop-breathe-look-around-and-embrace-the-miracle-of-each-day-the/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“Your house has two colors," she said, while looking up at a corner of my ceiling and walls. "Yes," I replied. "Why is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/your-house-has-two-colors-she-said-while-looking-up-at-a-corner-of-my/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“I want to drive to the coast, away from city lights, and breathe in stars…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/i-want-to-drive-to-the-coast-away-from-city-lights-and-breathe-in/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“When a man finds a good thing, he wants to keep it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/when-a-man-finds-a-good-thing-he-wants-to-keep-it/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“I dream my poems and write my dreams. We can only write our own dreams, not the dreams of others, for our dreams speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/i-dream-my-poems-and-write-my-dreams-we-can-only-write-our-own-dreams/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“I heard a rapid alternation of notes, a vibrating staccato of an ancient instrument, nearly as old as nature herself, a cricket singing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/i-heard-a-rapid-alternation-of-notes-a-vibrating-staccato-of-an/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [When expectations exceed reality, frustration is the result..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/when-expectations-exceed-reality-frustration-is-the-result/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“The shortest path to peace is listening to understand, empathy and a willingness to compromise to alleviate suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/the-shortest-path-to-peace-is-listening-to-understand-empathy-and-a/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“Anybody Can Hate. Hate is Easy...Living Side by Side with Compassion, Tolerance and Respect Takes Real Courage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/anybody-can-hate-hate-is-easy-living-side-by-side-with-compassion/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“Let kindness reveal your humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/let-kindness-reveal-your-humanity/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“Compassion is a verb...It is the way you live your life every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/compassion-is-a-verb-it-is-the-way-you-live-your-life-every-day/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“We remember moments, not the blur of days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/we-remember-moments-not-the-blur-of-days/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) [Explore all 36 Jeffrey A. White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) ## More Blue sky quotes > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [My beloved like a jewel on my crown, In my vast and blue sky you are like a full-moon. I wish to stay entrapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjan-dey/my-beloved-like-a-jewel-on-my-crown-in-my-vast-and-blue-sky-you-are/) [Ranjan Dey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjan-dey/) > [As a female pilot, the sacred rose garden in my heart is the motherland's blue sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-yang/as-a-female-pilot-the-sacred-rose-garden-in-my-heart-is-the/) [Liu Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-yang/) > [I'm a New York kid, so when I saw that plane that hit the first building, I suspected it was terrorism - blue sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-keane/i-m-a-new-york-kid-so-when-i-saw-that-plane-that-hit-the-first/) [Jack Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-keane/) > [The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-lawrence-knowles/the-night-walked-down-the-sky-with-the-moon-in-her-hand/) Frederic Lawrence Knowles > [“She loved everything around, turquoise blue sky and calm sea, and the holy mountain, and fragrant woods on it, and monasteries and hermitages, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osyp-nazaruk/she-loved-everything-around-turquoise-blue-sky-and-calm-sea-and-the/) [Osyp Nazaruk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osyp-nazaruk/) > [I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/i-have-felt-a-presence-that-disturbs-me-with-the-joy-of-elevated/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“I turn and gaze at the bright blue sky, squinting. It’s like surfacing for air after giving up hope, after resigning to drown, suffocating”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-klein/i-turn-and-gaze-at-the-bright-blue-sky-squinting-it-s-like-surfacing/) [Katie Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-klein/) > [“All at once the hard, cold earth seemed to explode. The brown surface of the world dissolved and in its place was an impossible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/all-at-once-the-hard-cold-earth-seemed-to-explode-the-brown-surface/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When I look like this into the blue sky, it seems so deep, so peaceful, so full of a mysterious tenderness, that I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/when-i-look-like-this-into-the-blue-sky-it-seems-so-deep-so-peaceful/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“The stone will melt in tears Because I can’t remain closed to you forever. I can’t escape without being conquered. From the blue sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-stone-will-melt-in-tears-because-i-can-t-remain-closed-to-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Look at the bow in the cloud, in the very rain itself. That is a sign that the sun, though you cannot see it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/look-at-the-bow-in-the-cloud-in-the-very-rain-itself-that-is-a-sign/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [It's like my having to walk down thousands and thousands of white marble stairs...and nothing but a very very blue sky, very blue...and I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-sedgwick/it-s-like-my-having-to-walk-down-thousands-and-thousands-of-white/) [Edie Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-sedgwick/) > [A look from you is as blinding as the sun, As stunning as your eyes I lose myself in. A look from you is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charming-edwin/a-look-from-you-is-as-blinding-as-the-sun-as-stunning-as-your-eyes-i/) Charming Edwin > [We had no idea what we were in for when we started Blue Sky. We just had an idea of what we wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-wedge/we-had-no-idea-what-we-were-in-for-when-we-started-blue-sky-we-just/) [Chris Wedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-wedge/) [Browse all 498 Blue sky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-sky/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I could cut out my beating heart and put it in a box and forget about it, I would. Maybe I would pad the box with our photos of you, our love letters, a lock of your hair and that heart-shaped perfume bottle, the one that I gave you for your birthday. You always said it was your favorite. Maybe if I put the box up in the attic, some place out of sight and sound, I could forget you. (sigh) I force myself to look around my yard. The sun is brilliant against the bright blue sky, birds are singing out their borders and gathering twigs and grasses for nesting, and the late-season daffodils are bursting an egg-yolk yellow. I feel myself smile. For the first time this season, I spot a Peace rose, a sunshine-swelled bloom of yellow and pink flame. I inhale the bloom's faintly sweet fragrance, which floats delicate memories of you across my mind's eye — I am happy. Without thinking, I turn to the house to call you. If only It was that easy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey A. White" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and-put-it-in-a-box-and-forget/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blue sky" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and-put-it-in-a-box-and-forget/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d68/jeffrey-a-white-18028_blue-sky_if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and_891745.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d68/jeffrey-a-white-18028_blue-sky_if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and_891745.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d68/jeffrey-a-white-18028_blue-sky_if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and_891745.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I could cut out my beating heart and put it in a box and forget about it, I would. Maybe I would pad the…” — Jeffrey A. White", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeffrey A. White", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If I could cut out my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and-put-it-in-a-box-and-forget/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/if-i-could-cut-out-my-beating-heart-and-put-it-in-a-box-and-forget/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```