--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To remember sometimes is a great sorrow…" description: "\"“To remember sometimes is a great sorrow, but when the remembering has been done, there comes afterwards a very curious peacefulness. Because you have ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/sebastian-barry-3654_grief_to-remember-sometimes-is-a-great-sorrow_3075857.png" --- # To remember sometimes is a great sorrow, but when the… ![“To remember sometimes is a great sorrow, but when the remembering has been done, there comes afterwards a very curious peacefulness. Because you have planted your flag on the summit of the sorrow. You have climbed it. And I notice again in the writing of this confession that there is nothing…” quote by Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/sebastian-barry-3654_grief_to-remember-sometimes-is-a-great-sorrow_3075857.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/sebastian-barry-3654_grief_to-remember-sometimes-is-a-great-sorrow_3075857.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/sebastian-barry-3654_grief_to-remember-sometimes-is-a-great-sorrow_3075857.png) > ““To remember sometimes is a great sorrow, but when the remembering has been done, there comes afterwards a very curious peacefulness. Because you have planted your flag on the summit of the sorrow. You have climbed it. And I notice again in the writing of this confession that there is nothing called long-ago after all. When things are summoned up, it is all present time, pure and simple. So that, much to my surprise, people I have loved are allowed to live again. What it is that allows them I don’t know. I have been happy now and then in the last two weeks, the special happiness that is offered from the hand of sorrow.”” [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Remembering sorrow can lead to a peaceful acceptance, allowing love to re‑emerge. **In simple terms:** Sorrow remembered brings peace and renewed love. Key Takeaway Embrace memory to heal and reconnect. Themes memory grief healing Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts psychology philosophy nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What does “planting a flag on sorrow” mean to you? - How can painful memories foster growth? A Different Perspective Sorrow may overwhelm if not processed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Present time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-time/) [Remember Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-great-1794848/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Remembering Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering-comes-608996/) [Sorrow Climbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-climbed-5224035/) [Sorrow Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-remembering-287211/) ## Related quotes > [“To remember sometimes is a great sorrow, but when the remembering has been done, there comes afterwards a very curious peacefulness. Because you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/to-remember-sometimes-is-a-great-sorrow-but-when-the-remembering-has/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [When we tell the story of our own conversion, I would have it done with great sorrow, remembering what we used to be, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-we-tell-the-story-of-our-own-conversion-i-would-have-it-done/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Remembering him comes in flash backs and echos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/remembering-him-comes-in-flash-backs-and-echos/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes Tell myself its time now, gotta let go But moving on from him is impossible When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/remembering-him-comes-in-flashbacks-and-echoes-tell-myself-its-time/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [There is no worse sorrow than remembering happiness in the day of sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/there-is-no-worse-sorrow-than-remembering-happiness-in-the-day-of/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [A sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/a-sorrow-s-crown-of-sorrow-is-remembering-happier-times/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The way to live in the present is to remember that "This too shall pass." When you experience joy, remembering that "This too shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-green/the-way-to-live-in-the-present-is-to-remember-that-this-too-shall/) [Joey Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-green/) > [“All you have to do is put one word after another, and remember how great it feels to be a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lennox/all-you-have-to-do-is-put-one-word-after-another-and-remember-how/) [Stephanie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lennox/) > [I remember the great atmosphere and the great stadium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zeiss/i-remember-the-great-atmosphere-and-the-great-stadium/) [Carl Zeiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zeiss/) > [You'd like people to remember you for these great times on the ice. In reality, you want them to forget because you're doing something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/you-d-like-people-to-remember-you-for-these-great-times-on-the-ice-in/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [“REMEMBER IS great pain for thoes who Remenber”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khan-tufail/remember-is-great-pain-for-thoes-who-remenber/) [Khan Tufail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khan-tufail/) > [I hope you'll always remember all the great memories we created, because I will...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hope-you-ll-always-remember-all-the-great-memories-we-created/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just give it a try and remember even a great man was once a beginner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-give-it-a-try-and-remember-even-a-great-man-was-once-a-beginner/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-that-great-love-and-great-achievements-involve-great-risk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just want everyone to remember me as a great wrestler, that's what I aim to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-kim/i-just-want-everyone-to-remember-me-as-a-great-wrestler-that-s-what-i/) [Gail Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-kim/) ## More by Sebastian Barry > [“As I do not seem able much to heal, then maybe I can simply be a responsible witness to the miracle of the ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/as-i-do-not-seem-able-much-to-heal-then-maybe-i-can-simply-be-a/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“In the darkness as we lie side by side John Cole's left hand snakes over under the sheets and takes a hold of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/in-the-darkness-as-we-lie-side-by-side-john-cole-s-left-hand-snakes/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“His people had hogs there till the bottom fell out of hogs. The bottom was always falling out of something in America far as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/his-people-had-hogs-there-till-the-bottom-fell-out-of-hogs-the-bottom/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“Spring comes into Massachusetts with her famous flame. God’s breath warming the winter out of things”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/spring-comes-into-massachusetts-with-her-famous-flame-god-s-breath/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [And whatever my life had been up to that day, it was another life after that. And that is the gospel truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/and-whatever-my-life-had-been-up-to-that-day-it-was-another-life/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“The knives opened the flesh like they were painting paintings of a new country, sheer plains of dark land, with the red rivers bursting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/the-knives-opened-the-flesh-like-they-were-painting-paintings-of-a/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“I suppose therefore God is the connoisseur of filthied hearts and souls, and can see the old, the first pattern in them, and cherish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/i-suppose-therefore-god-is-the-connoisseur-of-filthied-hearts-and/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“There is a craziness in it all that betokens a kind of delicious freedom. Notions are cast off. If only for a moment. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/there-is-a-craziness-in-it-all-that-betokens-a-kind-of-delicious/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [He loved telling stories. He had been everywhere in the world. The northwest frontier, the landscape of the Hindu Kush, was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/he-loved-telling-stories-he-had-been-everywhere-in-the-world-the/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“Our smiles mostly for each other, and every stranger a possible demon or bear, till they proved otherwise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/our-smiles-mostly-for-each-other-and-every-stranger-a-possible-demon/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“It is always worth itemizing happiness, there is so much of the other thing in a life, you had better put down the markers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/it-is-always-worth-itemizing-happiness-there-is-so-much-of-the-other/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“I wonder if I were to have an X-ray at the little hospital, would the machine see my grief? Is it like rust, arheum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/i-wonder-if-i-were-to-have-an-x-ray-at-the-little-hospital-would-the/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“No one says too much and what is said is only light-hearted and bantering because we want to preserve our advantage over fear. Fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/no-one-says-too-much-and-what-is-said-is-only-light-hearted-and/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“They say we are creatures raised by God above the animals but any man that has lived knows that’s damned lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/they-say-we-are-creatures-raised-by-god-above-the-animals-but-any-man/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“There is a moment in the history of every beaten child when his mind parts with hopes of dignity — pushes off hope like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/there-is-a-moment-in-the-history-of-every-beaten-child-when-his-mind/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) [Explore all 125 Sebastian Barry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) ## 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. 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