--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So maybe the experience of loss not only…" description: "\"“So maybe the experience of loss not only helps clarify what is important to us, but also helps us know where we are and the direction in which we want..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/martha-whitmore-hickman-47053_loss_so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only_2912921.png" --- # So maybe the experience of loss not only helps clarify… ![“So maybe the experience of loss not only helps clarify what is important to us, but also helps us know where we are and the direction in which we want to go. In” quote by Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/martha-whitmore-hickman-47053_loss_so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only_2912921.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/martha-whitmore-hickman-47053_loss_so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only_2912921.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/martha-whitmore-hickman-47053_loss_so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only_2912921.png) > ““So maybe the experience of loss not only helps clarify what is important to us, but also helps us know where we are and the direction in which we want to go.   In”” [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loss can sharpen our values and reveal our current position and future direction. **In simple terms:** Loss clarifies values and direction. Key Takeaway Reflect on what loss teaches you. Themes loss clarity growth Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - career planning - personal development - spiritual reflection Key Concepts self-awareness priorities direction Questions to Reflect On - How has loss reshaped your priorities? - What direction do you feel drawn toward now? A Different Perspective Loss may also cause paralysis or overwhelm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) ## Related quotes > [But maybe those things are like background noise if you’re from here. 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I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-cole-smith/you-can-t-show-somebody-what-it-s-like-to-experience-loss-but-you-can/) [Zachary Cole Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-cole-smith/) > [We all question our sanity. Everyone has had an experience of loss of control of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carpenter/we-all-question-our-sanity-everyone-has-had-an-experience-of-loss-of/) [John Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carpenter/) > [When you're starting up a show, you don't really know what direction it's going to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-dratch/when-you-re-starting-up-a-show-you-don-t-really-know-what-direction/) [Rachel Dratch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-dratch/) > [If a person is working toward a predetermined goal and knows where to go, then that person is successful. If a person does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/if-a-person-is-working-toward-a-predetermined-goal-and-knows-where-to/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [When you get a record deal, you got to be pretty headstrong, know your direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/when-you-get-a-record-deal-you-got-to-be-pretty-headstrong-know-your/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [“Sometimes when your life seems most out of control, you know there's a direction. I don't mean you can't have free will--in fact, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-ryan/sometimes-when-your-life-seems-most-out-of-control-you-know-there-s-a/) [Terry Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-ryan/) > [I know how to lead a room, but I also know how to take direction and be a contributor as an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-domingo/i-know-how-to-lead-a-room-but-i-also-know-how-to-take-direction-and/) [Colman Domingo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-domingo/) > [Life is funny isn’t it? Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, just when you finally begin to plan something, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/life-is-funny-isn-t-it-just-when-you-think-you-ve-got-it-all-figured/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) ## More by Martha Whitmore Hickman > [If we can choose where to cry, at home or with a few people who will be fully understanding, perhaps we will feel easier.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/if-we-can-choose-where-to-cry-at-home-or-with-a-few-people-who-will/) [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) > [Perhaps the reassuring thing about grieving is that the process will not be cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/perhaps-the-reassuring-thing-about-grieving-is-that-the-process-will/) [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) > [“Nothing could stop you. Not the best day. Not the quiet. Not the ocean rocking. You went on with your dying. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/nothing-could-stop-you-not-the-best-day-not-the-quiet-not-the-ocean/) [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) > [“...how gracious seem the small gifts that may come - a patch of sunlight on a cold floor, an unexpected gesture of friendship, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/how-gracious-seem-the-small-gifts-that-may-come-a-patch-of-sunlight/) [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) > [As for inflicting our sorrow on other people, one does not want to go around blathering and crying all the time. But perhaps it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/as-for-inflicting-our-sorrow-on-other-people-one-does-not-want-to-go/) [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) > [In a world of such beauty as birds in flight, surely I can come to feel at home again, even after my loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/in-a-world-of-such-beauty-as-birds-in-flight-surely-i-can-come-to/) [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) > [“It is a bittersweet joy, but real nonetheless—the way our lost loves are forever in our hearts and minds. They are, in fact, constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/it-is-a-bittersweet-joy-but-real-nonetheless-the-way-our-lost-loves/) [Martha Whitmore Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) [Explore all 8 Martha Whitmore Hickman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/) ## More Loss quotes > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [“Good morning,” one of the soldiers said. “I’m Captain Joseph Walker and this is Sergeant James Vanetten. We are members of the One-Hundred-and-First Airborne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shafter-bailey/good-morning-one-of-the-soldiers-said-i-m-captain-joseph-walker-and/) [Shafter Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shafter-bailey/) > [When you lose a person you love so much, surviving the loss is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristiano-ronaldo/when-you-lose-a-person-you-love-so-much-surviving-the-loss-is/) [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristiano-ronaldo/) > [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [My idea for 'BoneMan's Daughters' came from the loss of my own daughter when she left home to live with a monster at age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/my-idea-for-boneman-s-daughters-came-from-the-loss-of-my-own-daughter/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [A lost love. 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The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“...our loves ones truly are ever-present. We may bury their bodies or scatter their ashes, but their spirits are boundless and do not accompany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-slaughter/our-loves-ones-truly-are-ever-present-we-may-bury-their-bodies-or/) April Slaughter [Browse all 6,621 Loss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So maybe the experience of loss not only helps clarify what is important to us, but also helps us know where we are and the direction in which we want to go.   In”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha Whitmore Hickman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only-helps-clarify-what-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Loss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only-helps-clarify-what-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/martha-whitmore-hickman-47053_loss_so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only_2912921.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/martha-whitmore-hickman-47053_loss_so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only_2912921.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/martha-whitmore-hickman-47053_loss_so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only_2912921.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So maybe the experience of loss not only helps clarify what is important to us, but also helps us know where…” — Martha Whitmore Hickman", "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": "Martha Whitmore Hickman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-whitmore-hickman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So maybe the experience of loss...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only-helps-clarify-what-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-whitmore-hickman/so-maybe-the-experience-of-loss-not-only-helps-clarify-what-is/#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 } } ] } ```