If, every day, I dare to remember that I am here on loan, that this house, this hillside, these minutes, are all leased to me, not given, I will never despair. Despair is for those who expect to live forever. I no longer do.
—Erica Jong
It was becoming clear to me that I shouldn’t become too attached to anything. Turn your back and you lose it. Just like that.
—Sarah Dessen in The Truth About Forever
That’s what life is about: People come and go.
—Cecelia Ahern in Love, Rosie
Maybe some people just aren’t meant to be in our lives forever. Maybe some people are just passing through. It’s like some people just come through our lives to bring us something: a gift, a blessing, a lesson we need to learn.
—Danielle Steel in The Gift
Not everything is supposed to become something beautiful and long-lasting. Sometimes people come into your life to show you what is right and what is wrong, to show you who you can be, to teach you to love yourself, to make you feel better for a little while, or to just be someone to walk with at night and spill your life to. Not everyone is going to stay forever, and we still have to keep on going and thank them for what they've given us.
—Emery Allen
For all things come from earth, and all things end by becoming earth.
—Xenophanes