--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only consolation I can find in your…" description: "\"The only consolation I can find in your immediate presence is your ultimate absence.\" — Shelagh Delaney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/shelagh-delaney-26477_absence_the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your_2468845.png" --- # The only consolation I can find in your immediate presence… ![“The only consolation I can find in your immediate presence is your ultimate absence.” quote by Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/shelagh-delaney-26477_absence_the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your_2468845.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/shelagh-delaney-26477_absence_the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your_2468845.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/shelagh-delaney-26477_absence_the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your_2468845.png) > “The only consolation I can find in your immediate presence is your ultimate absence.” [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Presence can intensify the pain of someone's absence, making loss feel more immediate. **In simple terms:** Being near amplifies loss. Key Takeaway Cherish moments before they fade. Themes absence presence loss emotional paradox Mood melancholic poetic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - relationships - family gatherings - memorials - therapy - writing Key Concepts psychology of grief human connection existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does proximity affect mourning? - Can presence heal absence? A Different Perspective Might romanticize pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) ## Related quotes > [If the portraits of our absent friends are pleasant to us, which renew our memory of them and relieve our regret for their absence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-portraits-of-our-absent-friends-are-pleasant-to-us-which-renew/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let is walk ... joyously, dear souls, among the difficulties of this passing life ... These pains will have an end when our life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-is-walk-joyously-dear-souls-among-the-difficulties-of-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All consolation that does not come from God is but desolation; when the soul has learned to receive no comfort but in God only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/all-consolation-that-does-not-come-from-god-is-but-desolation-when/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [I have the consolation of leaving your kingdom in the highest degree of glory and of reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardinal-richelieu/i-have-the-consolation-of-leaving-your-kingdom-in-the-highest-degree/) [Cardinal Richelieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardinal-richelieu/) > [Solitude was my only consolation - deep, dark, deathlike solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solitude-was-my-only-consolation-deep-dark-deathlike-solitude/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seek and possess holiness, and consolation will follow, as assuredly as warmth follows the dispensation of the rays of the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cogswell-upham/seek-and-possess-holiness-and-consolation-will-follow-as-assuredly-as/) [Thomas Cogswell Upham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cogswell-upham/) > [The day has the color and the sound of winter. Thoughts turn to chowder...chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-paddleford/the-day-has-the-color-and-the-sound-of-winter-thoughts-turn-to/) [Clementine Paddleford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-paddleford/) > [Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/books-which-we-mistake-for-consolation-only-add-depth-to-our-sorrow/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [Perhaps the greatest consolation of the oppressed is to consider themselves superior to their tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/perhaps-the-greatest-consolation-of-the-oppressed-is-to-consider/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [It is part of God's plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/it-is-part-of-god-s-plan-for-us-that-christ-shall-come-to-us-in/) [Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/) > [I had thought that growing up's consolation was that you could escape from the arbitrariness of things, that somehow one acquired more control. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-galloway/i-had-thought-that-growing-up-s-consolation-was-that-you-could-escape/) [Janice Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-galloway/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) ## More by Shelagh Delaney > [“I dreamt about you last night. Fell out of bed twice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/i-dreamt-about-you-last-night-fell-out-of-bed-twice/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [Why don't you learn from my mistakes? It takes half your life to learn from your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/why-don-t-you-learn-from-my-mistakes-it-takes-half-your-life-to-learn/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [There aren't enough secrets to go round anymore. Some spies are having to invent secrets in order to earn a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/there-aren-t-enough-secrets-to-go-round-anymore-some-spies-are-having/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [A woman's got as much right -and more cause - to get drunk than any man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/a-woman-s-got-as-much-right-and-more-cause-to-get-drunk-than-any-man/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [ \[On England:\] In this country there are only two seasons, winter and winter. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/on-england-in-this-country-there-are-only-two-seasons-winter-and/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [You can remember the second and the third and the fourth time, but there's no time like the first. It's always there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/you-can-remember-the-second-and-the-third-and-the-fourth-time-but/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [Anything's hard to find if you go around looking for it with your eyes shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/anything-s-hard-to-find-if-you-go-around-looking-for-it-with-your/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [Women never have young minds. They were born three thousand years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/women-never-have-young-minds-they-were-born-three-thousand-years-old/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [I am here and I am safe and I am sick of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/i-am-here-and-i-am-safe-and-i-am-sick-of-it/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [“Oh! I must take my shoes off. Huh! Hell hath no fury like a woman's corns, has it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/oh-i-must-take-my-shoes-off-huh-hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-s/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [Nothing passes. Everything stays with you. Everything makes it’s mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/nothing-passes-everything-stays-with-you-everything-makes-it-s-mark/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [Life is a game - sometimes serious, sometimes fun - but a game that must be played with true team spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/life-is-a-game-sometimes-serious-sometimes-fun-but-a-game-that-must/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [My usual self is a very unusual self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/my-usual-self-is-a-very-unusual-self/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [I have heard people say that they drink to forget their sorrows but the more I drink the more sorrows I collect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/i-have-heard-people-say-that-they-drink-to-forget-their-sorrows-but/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) > [ “\[JO watches her go, leaning against the doorpost. Then she looks round the room, smiling a little to herself -- she remembers GEOF.\] JO:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/jo-watches-her-go-leaning-against-the-doorpost-then-she-looks-round/) [Shelagh Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) [Explore all 21 Shelagh Delaney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only consolation I can find in your immediate presence is your ultimate absence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shelagh Delaney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your-immediate-presence-is-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your-immediate-presence-is-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/shelagh-delaney-26477_absence_the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your_2468845.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/shelagh-delaney-26477_absence_the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your_2468845.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/shelagh-delaney-26477_absence_the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your_2468845.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only consolation I can find in your immediate presence is your ultimate absence.” — Shelagh Delaney", "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": "Shelagh Delaney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelagh-delaney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only consolation I can find...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your-immediate-presence-is-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelagh-delaney/the-only-consolation-i-can-find-in-your-immediate-presence-is-your/#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 } } ] } ```