CS Lewis in his essay "A Grief Observed" clearly captures the reality when he says 

"…bereavement is not the truncation of married love but one of its regular phases--like the honeymoon." 

 Further down he states

"The less I mourn her the nearer I seem to her." 

 The beautiful words, “This too shall pass.”, can be the healing balm that eventually brings peace to one who seeks it, but only if they believe the words to be true. 

 It seems that when a person is emotionally overwhelmed, that all of the motivational quotes in the world fall on their temporarily “deaf ears”.  At best they can offer only a passing respite. But I believe that an exception can be made for the quote above.

 Bereavement, cannot be rushed, but its incapacitating effects will not last forever.  A new you and a new definition of happiness will eventually emerge.

 - eKim

“If there is light in your heart, you will find your way home.”  - Rumi

A hospice brochure reminded me that my priorities should change when supporting a palliative care patient.  The classic message of "Don't just stand there, do something" - changes to "Don't just do something, sit there".

And for the religious believers, I recently had the privilege of hearing a chaplain say:  "God gives us life at birth, and God receives life back at death."

The Sailing Ship modified from an original work by Bishop Charles Henry Brent

What is dying?

I am standing on the seashore

A ship sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean.

The ship is an object and I stand watching it

Till at last it fades from the horizon,

And someone at my side says, "The ship is gone!"  Gone where?

Gone from sight, that is all;

It is just as large in the masts, hull and spars as it was when I saw it,

And just as able to bear its load of living freight to its destination.

The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in the ship;

And just at the moment when someone at my side says, "The ship is gone",

There are others who are watching it coming,

And other voices take up a glad shout,

"There it comes"

And that is dying.

“We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten”

Katherine

“To be a palliative caregiver or volunteer, it takes...”

o  Generosity : a willingness to give your time to others.

o  Understanding: because their lives might be very different from your own.

o  Empathy: an ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and try feel what they must feel.                                         

o  Compassion: to truly care about making someone else's life better.

o  Patience: because the process doesn't always go as smoothly as it might.

o  Resilience: to be able to “bounce back” from upsetting events and continue on giving of oneself in the service of others.

o  Dedication: to stick with the project and see it through – a refusal to quit.

            - unknown