This quote by William Faulkner captures a profound reflection on the human experience of loss and emotion. Faulkner suggests that even painful feelings, such as grief, are preferable to the void of numbness or emotional emptiness. Grief, though sorrowful, implies a connection to something meaningful—whether it be love, loss, or memory—whereas "nothing" represents a lack of feeling or engagement with life itself. The choice to embrace grief over nothingness speaks to the resilience of the human spirit and the value of experiencing life’s full spectrum of emotions, rather than retreating into emotional detachment or apathy.
William Faulkner’s quote highlights the value of experiencing deep emotions, even painful ones, over feeling numb or empty. Here are some examples of how this quote can be used in different contexts:
In a personal reflection:
After losing a loved one, I found myself torn between retreating into emptiness or confronting my pain head-on. I reminded myself of Faulkner’s words: “Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.” Embracing the pain was a step toward healing.
In a literary discussion:
Faulkner’s line, “Between grief and nothing, I will take grief,” underscores his exploration of human vulnerability and the complexity of emotional experience, showing that feeling something—even sorrow—is preferable to emotional void.
In a motivational speech:
When facing failure or loss, remember Faulkner’s insight: “Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.” It’s a powerful reminder that feeling disappointment means you cared deeply, which is the first step toward growth.
In mental health advocacy:
Acknowledging grief rather than suppressing it is crucial. As Faulkner said, “Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.” This encourages us to accept our emotions as valid and necessary.
In a social media post:
Life is messy, and pain is real. But as Faulkner reminds us, “Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.” Feeling deeply means we’re alive and connected.
“Because if memory exists outside of the flesh it won't be memory because it won't know what it remembers so when she became not then half of memory became not and if I become not then all of remembering will cease to be. -Yes he thought Between grief and nothing I will take grief.”
“There is no such thing as was—only is. If was existed, there would be no grief or sorrow.”
“...no man can cause more grief than the one clinging blindly to the vices of his ancesters.”
“Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.”
“She wasn’t too big, heroic, what they call Junoesque. It was that there was just too much of what she was for any one human female package to contain, and hold: too much of white, too much of female, too much of maybe just glory, I don’t know: so that at first sight of her you felt a kind of shock of gratitude just for being alive and being male at the same instance with her in space and time, and then in the next second and forever after a kind of despair because you knew there would never be enough of any one male to match and hold and deserve her; grief forever after because forever after nothing less would ever do. ”
“There is no such thing as was-only is. If was existed, there would be no grief or sorrow.”