I recently lost my grandfather on February 2, 2016 to heart disease. As much as I would love to write about how much he means to me, I am far too early in my grieving process to put the magnitude of such an inspiring man into words. No words in any language will ever be good enough to encompass his splendor.

Instead, I will look to the words of those who have, sadly, known grief and loss before I’ve come to know my own. I am fully aware that anything anyone may say to me, or anything that anyone has said or will ever say to you, can never fill the void of losing somebody that you care about. Coping comes in steps, and this is a painful way, though decidedly less painful in my case, that I will try to cope. Words have always been my comfort. I guess that part of losing a loved one is recognizing that others may not know loss as you know it, but they recognize it and wish to remove it from your life as much as you would wish to remove pain from theirs if their heart was suffering.

“Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.”

- José N. Harris

“A great man is one who leaves others at a loss after he is gone.”

- Paul Valery

“Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life.”

- Anne Roiphe

"What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us."

- Helen Keller

“When we have joy we crave to share, we remember them.”

- Sylvan Kamens & Jack Riemer