--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The deepest sorrow, he thought. Where the…" description: "\"“The deepest sorrow, he thought. Where the only way to survive is to excavate everything.”\" — Michael Ondaatje" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/michael-ondaatje-940_grief_the-deepest-sorrow-he-thought-where-the_1428165.png" --- # The deepest sorrow, he thought. Where the only way to… ![“The deepest sorrow, he thought. Where the only way to survive is to excavate everything.” quote by Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/michael-ondaatje-940_grief_the-deepest-sorrow-he-thought-where-the_1428165.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/michael-ondaatje-940_grief_the-deepest-sorrow-he-thought-where-the_1428165.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/michael-ondaatje-940_grief_the-deepest-sorrow-he-thought-where-the_1428165.png) > ““The deepest sorrow, he thought. Where the only way to survive is to excavate everything.”” [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deep grief compels one to dig into memories and emotions to find a way to endure. **In simple terms:** Sorrow forces digging into the past to survive. Key Takeaway Allow yourself to explore painful memories. Themes grief survival memory self‑discovery Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - writing memoirs - grieving after loss - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology trauma resilience Questions to Reflect On - What hidden truths might you uncover? - How can you turn excavation into growth? A Different Perspective Excavating may prolong pain if not balanced with healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) ## Related quotes > [To excavate is to open a book written in the language that the centuries have spoken into the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spyridon-marinatos/to-excavate-is-to-open-a-book-written-in-the-language-that-the/) Spyridon Marinatos > [Poetry comes from the highest happiness or the deepest sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/poetry-comes-from-the-highest-happiness-or-the-deepest-sorrow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After a while, though, even the deepest sorrow faltered, even the most penetrating despair lost its scalpel edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-matheson/after-a-while-though-even-the-deepest-sorrow-faltered-even-the-most/) [Richard Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-matheson/) > [For he loved her, as you can only love someone who is an echo of yourself at your time of deepest sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/for-he-loved-her-as-you-can-only-love-someone-who-is-an-echo-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“When hearts speak, they touch each other and transform the deepest sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/na-ama-yehuda/when-hearts-speak-they-touch-each-other-and-transform-the-deepest/) [Na'ama Yehuda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/na-ama-yehuda/) > [It's funny, how one can look back on a sorrow one thought one might well die of at the time, and know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/it-s-funny-how-one-can-look-back-on-a-sorrow-one-thought-one-might/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [“When the child must be weaned, the mother too is not without sorrow at the thought that she and the child are separated more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/when-the-child-must-be-weaned-the-mother-too-is-not-without-sorrow-at/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Ah sorrow, I thought I was done with it for good about a year ago. but now I can tell its all just begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ah-sorrow-i-thought-i-was-done-with-it-for-good-about-a-year-ago-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes we think of the nations lying asleep, Curled blindly in impenetrable sorrow, And then the thought confounds us with its strangeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-muir/sometimes-we-think-of-the-nations-lying-asleep-curled-blindly-in/) [Edwin Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-muir/) > [“We kept walking, our shadows moving in shifting blobs over the ground. The sound of river rocks rattled under our feet. We turned along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-kept-walking-our-shadows-moving-in-shifting-blobs-over-the-ground/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the country whereto I go I shall not see the face of my friend Nor her hair the color of sunburnt grasses; Together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/in-the-country-whereto-i-go-i-shall-not-see-the-face-of-my-friend-nor/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [“There is no sorrow I have thought about more than that - to love what is great, and try to reach it, and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-is-no-sorrow-i-have-thought-about-more-than-that-to-love-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow, I had not a thought concealed from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-austen/she-was-the-sun-of-my-life-the-gilder-of-every-pleasure-the-soother/) Cassandra Austen > [“You pushed me down to the depths of my sorrow until I thought I wouldn’t see the light of day again. You expected me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayla-krantz/you-pushed-me-down-to-the-depths-of-my-sorrow-until-i-thought-i/) [Kayla Krantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayla-krantz/) > [There is no sorrow I have thought more about than that-to love what is great, and try to reach it, and yet to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-is-no-sorrow-i-have-thought-more-about-than-that-to-love-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More by Michael Ondaatje > [“In spite of this, our table's status on the Oronsay continued to be minimal, while those at the Captain's Table were constantly toasting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/in-spite-of-this-our-table-s-status-on-the-oronsay-continued-to-be/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [He will hear the rain before he feels it, a clicking on the dry grass, on the olive leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/he-will-hear-the-rain-before-he-feels-it-a-clicking-on-the-dry-grass/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would lean over and smell the skin at the base of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/whenever-her-father-was-alone-with-a-dog-in-a-house-he-would-lean/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“...those who had risked everything at a riverbend on a left turn and so discovered a fortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/those-who-had-risked-everything-at-a-riverbend-on-a-left-turn-and-so/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“All over the world there must be people like us, Anna had said then, wounded in some way by falling in love - seemingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/all-over-the-world-there-must-be-people-like-us-anna-had-said-then/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Her father had taught her about hands. About a dog's paws. Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [What is interesting and important happens mostly in secret, in places where there is no power. Nothing much of lasting value ever happens at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/what-is-interesting-and-important-happens-mostly-in-secret-in-places/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [There's more danger in the violence you don't face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-s-more-danger-in-the-violence-you-don-t-face/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [From this point on, she whispered, we will either find or lose our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/from-this-point-on-she-whispered-we-will-either-find-or-lose-our-souls/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“You know it is the most relaxed thing when you when you sit with a best friend and you know there is nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-know-it-is-the-most-relaxed-thing-when-you-when-you-sit-with-a/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“There was no control except the " mood of his power... and it is for this reason it is good you never heard him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-was-no-control-except-the-mood-of-his-power-and-it-is-for-this/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [You're getting everyone's point of view at the same time, which for me, is the perfect state for a novel: a cubist state, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-re-getting-everyone-s-point-of-view-at-the-same-time-which-for-me/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [I see the poem or the novel ending with an open door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/i-see-the-poem-or-the-novel-ending-with-an-open-door/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“The Time Around Scars: A girl whom I've not spoken to or shared coffee with for several years writes of an old scar. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/the-time-around-scars-a-girl-whom-i-ve-not-spoken-to-or-shared-coffee/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“- Daca ti-as incredinta viata mea, ai scapa-o pe jos. Nu-i asa?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/daca-ti-as-incredinta-viata-mea-ai-scapa-o-pe-jos-nu-i-asa/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) [Explore all 322 Michael Ondaatje quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) ## 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": "“The deepest sorrow, he thought. 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