--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm sorry he's dead but I am happier, by…" description: "\"“I'm sorry he's dead but I am happier, by far, that he lived.”\" — Walter Mosley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/walter-mosley-2810_dead_i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by_2168289.png" --- # I'm sorry he's dead but I am happier, by far, that he lived. ![“I'm sorry he's dead but I am happier, by far, that he lived.” quote by Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/walter-mosley-2810_dead_i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by_2168289.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/walter-mosley-2810_dead_i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by_2168289.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/walter-mosley-2810_dead_i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by_2168289.png) > ““I'm sorry he's dead but I am happier, by far, that he lived.”” [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledge loss but find joy in the fact that the person lived, not just in their death. **In simple terms:** Find happiness in life lived, not death. Key Takeaway Celebrate life’s value. Themes grief appreciation joy Mood somber hopeful Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - memorials - personal healing - storytelling Key Concepts existential reflection emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance grief with gratitude? - What does living well mean to you? A Different Perspective Joy may feel dismissive of sorrow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Happier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happier/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Then wilt thou not be loath To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess A Paradise within thee, happier far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/then-wilt-thou-not-be-loath-to-leave-this-paradise-but-shalt-possess/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“You sit around feelin' sorry for yourself and you're dead. Sittin' on your ass can get to be a disease worse than what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/you-sit-around-feelin-sorry-for-yourself-and-you-re-dead-sittin-on/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“I'm sorry," my dead wife mouthed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-m-sorry-my-dead-wife-mouthed/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I'm sorry, dead people generally vote for Democrats rather than Republicans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/i-m-sorry-dead-people-generally-vote-for-democrats-rather-than/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [“ Constance: Tell me, what happened to William's little maid? I never saw her again after that dinner. Mary Maceachran: Elsie? -- She's gone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-fellowes/constance-tell-me-what-happened-to-william-s-little-maid-i-never-saw/) [Julian Fellowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-fellowes/) > [“I’m just happy to have experienced life; to have had a beautiful son and to have loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/i-m-just-happy-to-have-experienced-life-to-have-had-a-beautiful-son/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“You should be alive as you can until you're totally dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/you-should-be-alive-as-you-can-until-you-re-totally-dead/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/the-world-would-be-happier-if-men-had-the-same-capacity-to-be-silent/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [You have to be fulfilled in order for everyone else to be fulfilled. I'm a way happier, more pleasant person to be around when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-dewan/you-have-to-be-fulfilled-in-order-for-everyone-else-to-be-fulfilled-i/) [Jenna Dewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-dewan/) > [Only surround yourself with positive people that bring out the best in you and you'll be surprised at how much happier you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-surround-yourself-with-positive-people-that-bring-out-the-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I do think everyone would be a lot happier if we laid eggs on our own and could just have friendship and didn't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ames/i-do-think-everyone-would-be-a-lot-happier-if-we-laid-eggs-on-our-own/) [Jonathan Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ames/) > [Things don't go on forever, and the quicker you accept that change is inevitable, the happier you're gonna be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-anastasio/things-don-t-go-on-forever-and-the-quicker-you-accept-that-change-is/) [Trey Anastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-anastasio/) > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, and my grandchildren, my mother, my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-am-happier-when-i-love-than-when-i-am-loved-i-adore-my-husband-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Smile and show him that life is still going on and is happier without him..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika/smile-and-show-him-that-life-is-still-going-on-and-is-happier-without/) [Bhumika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika/) > [“If we can focus on making clear what parts of our day are within our control and what parts are not, we will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/if-we-can-focus-on-making-clear-what-parts-of-our-day-are-within-our/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) ## More by Walter Mosley > [“It’s a continual revelation when you come to understand that the only thing you can expect in return for your own dignity is hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/it-s-a-continual-revelation-when-you-come-to-understand-that-the-only/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I think that it's important to try to keep reality. I think that Gabriel Garcia Marquez speaks a lot about reality in his magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-think-that-it-s-important-to-try-to-keep-reality-i-think-that/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [There's many things that I am. And all of those things come together at some point. If somebody wants to limit me, you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/there-s-many-things-that-i-am-and-all-of-those-things-come-together/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I'm almost completely without family and it's a very odd feeling in life. I have no children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-m-almost-completely-without-family-and-it-s-a-very-odd-feeling-in/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“I find books in used-book stores, chain and independent stores, on friends’ shelves and being read by some woman sitting opposite me on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-find-books-in-used-book-stores-chain-and-independent-stores-on/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“That was why so many Jews back then understood the American Negro; in Europe the Jew had been a Negro for more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/that-was-why-so-many-jews-back-then-understood-the-american-negro-in/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“If there's another writer, like Ross McDonald or Raymond Chandler, and all they're writing are mysteries, they won't be accepted," he said. "And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/if-there-s-another-writer-like-ross-mcdonald-or-raymond-chandler-and/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Losing my parents really set me adrift in more ways than one. It's not just losing them. It's losing the possibility of family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/losing-my-parents-really-set-me-adrift-in-more-ways-than-one-it-s-not/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I've always loved science fiction. I think the smartest writers are science fiction writers dealing with major things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-ve-always-loved-science-fiction-i-think-the-smartest-writers-are/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I believe that a writer has to tell what they think is the truth in a human experience. The truth of the human experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-believe-that-a-writer-has-to-tell-what-they-think-is-the-truth-in-a/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I laugh, that there's a certain kind of cyclical nature to life and that I don't have to worry because whatever isn't there right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-laugh-that-there-s-a-certain-kind-of-cyclical-nature-to-life-and/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [When I turned 59, I looked at that as the first day of my 60th year, so I've been 60 for the last 365…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/when-i-turned-59-i-looked-at-that-as-the-first-day-of-my-60th-year-so/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“The government isn't real," he replied. He might have been talking about Santa Claus or God. "I don't owe anything to anyone who in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/the-government-isn-t-real-he-replied-he-might-have-been-talking-about/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Susan Straight finds LA's secret heart in Between Heaven and Here and with a sleight of hand only the masters have, she creates an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/susan-straight-finds-la-s-secret-heart-in-between-heaven-and-here-and/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“Damn, Easy,” the intrepid sideman said. “Trouble got your name tattooed on the inside’a his eyelids. He be studyin’ you in his sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/damn-easy-the-intrepid-sideman-said-trouble-got-your-name-tattooed-on/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) [Explore all 149 Walter Mosley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) ## More Dead quotes > [I'm going to stay on stage until I drop dead. Then I'm going to have myself stuffed, like Trigger, and I'm going to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-m-going-to-stay-on-stage-until-i-drop-dead-then-i-m-going-to-have/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [I can't be a legend yet. I'm not dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-can-t-be-a-legend-yet-i-m-not-dead/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“I’m just–” She wanted to say “not in the mood,” but that was not only a cliché but a vast understatement. She was dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-mcintosh/i-m-just-she-wanted-to-say-not-in-the-mood-but-that-was-not-only-a/) [Will McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-mcintosh/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [When we dead awaken ... we see that we have never lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/when-we-dead-awaken-we-see-that-we-have-never-lived/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Rather be dead than cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/rather-be-dead-than-cool/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I intend to do the Penn & Teller show until they pry my cheesy magic wand from my cold dead fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-intend-to-do-the-penn-teller-show-until-they-pry-my-cheesy-magic/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > ['Misery' left a lasting mark on me. When I die, it will be 'Kathy 'Misery' Bates Is Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/misery-left-a-lasting-mark-on-me-when-i-die-it-will-be-kathy-misery/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [The only good Indian is a dead Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/the-only-good-indian-is-a-dead-indian/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) Browse all 3,376 Dead quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'm sorry he's dead but I am happier, by far, that he lived.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Mosley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by-far-that-he-lived/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by-far-that-he-lived/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/walter-mosley-2810_dead_i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by_2168289.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/walter-mosley-2810_dead_i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by_2168289.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/walter-mosley-2810_dead_i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by_2168289.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm sorry he's dead but I am happier, by far, that he lived.” — Walter Mosley", "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": "Walter Mosley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I'm sorry he's dead but I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by-far-that-he-lived/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-m-sorry-he-s-dead-but-i-am-happier-by-far-that-he-lived/#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 } } ] } ```