How To Write a Meaningful Sympathy Card  

It’s no secret that it is hard to talk about death. Even doctors have a hard time talking to patients that are terminally ill or dying. So how do you even begin to write a sympathy card, let alone one that is meaningful when it is so hard to talk about death, to begin with? If you are asking yourself that question, you are not alone.

There are many reasons why people find it so hard to talk about death. But that does not stop people from dying or your friends and family from looking to you for words of comfort when they are grieving. Whether it is because you are feeling existentially unprepared for the end of your own life, unsettled by the thought of death, or cautious in the anticipation of a mixed bag of certain family dynamics or potential drama, it can be really hard to express your feelings and write a meaningful sympathy message when someone close to you dies.

Writing a meaningful sympathy card does not have to be so hard. There are multiple strategies and resources you can utilize to help yourself better navigate a sensitive time or situation. There are three things that you can do right now that will make it easier for you to write a meaningful sympathy message to express your condolences. The first thing you can do is use quotes. The second is to keep it short. The third is to make it meaningful.

Use Quotes

Using quotes to write a sympathy card is the best place to start for many reasons. The first and foremost benefit of using quotes is that by using a good quote, you do not have to worry about the second or third tip provided here because the sympathy message you write and share will already be both short and meaningful. It is okay to use someone else’s words to express your feelings, especially when it comes to a topic that so many people have such a difficult time talking about already.

Popular Quotes and Sayings

• “Say not in grief ‘he is no more’ but in thankfulness that he was.” – Hebrew Proverb
• “Those we love and lose are always connected by heartstrings into infinity.” – Terri Guillemets
• “As long as I can I will look at this world for both of us, as long as I can, I will laugh with the birds, I will sing with the flowers, I will pray to the stars, for both of us.” – Author Unknown

• Thinking of you and wishing you moments of peace and comfort
• Holding you close in my thoughts and hoping you are doing ok.
• Today and always, may loving memories bring you peace, comfort, and strength.

Death is a touchy subject and quotes help you communicate your sympathy to those that are closest to you without the pain of searching for what to say, or wondering if what you said was okay. Plus, there are plenty of resources and lists of quotes that you can pull from to write your sympathy card. All you have to do is pull up your web browser and search “sympathy quotes” for a full list of quotes that you can use in place of writing your own sympathy message.

Keep It Short

Whether you use quotes or write your own message the next best thing you can do when writing a sympathy card is to make sure you keep your sympathy message short. It might feel counterintuitive to write a short message, but writing a short sympathy message does not make it any less meaningful than a long message. More often than not a short sympathy message in a sympathy card is actually more meaningful than a long one.

Most sympathy quotes you can find online have already been cut down to an appropriate length for writing a meaningful sympathy card. Think about it as if you were at a funeral and asked to say a few words, or you just ran into someone in the grocery store who you knew was grieving the death of a close friend or family member. Imagine for a moment what you think you might say at the funeral, or to the person you just ran into at the grocery store. Chances are the last thing you would do is babble on and on.

Make It Meaningful

There are a few things to consider when writing a sympathy card to ensure that your sympathy message is meaningful. Besides employing the strategies listed above of utilizing quotes in your sympathy card and making sure that you keep the sympathy message short, there are two more things to think about that will help you make sure that your sympathy message is meaningful. The first is motivations and the second is the effect.

When you’re writing a sympathy card and thinking about your sympathy message, it is important to identify the motivations behind why you are writing it to begin with. You want to make sure that you are not out to pour out your own feelings as much as you are trying to communicate your deepest sympathies. It is also just as important to think about the effect you want your sympathy card to have when it is read. Always aim for comfort. Just thinking about these two things will help you write a sympathy message that is more meaningful.

Now that you have reviewed the three things that you can do right now to write a meaningful sympathy card, here are some examples of a sympathy message that either uses one or all three of the strategies above to write a meaningful sympathy card. The first example showcases some different quotes that you can choose from to keep the sympathy message short and meaningful. The other example includes a few short messages that do not rely on quotes, but still communicate sympathy and bring comfort.

For more helpful tips like this on topics like writing an obituary, or even unique memorial gifts you haven’t thought of yet, you can visit the news section of our website to read more related articles. Writing a meaningful sympathy card is hard, but planning a funeral is a lot harder. Mountain View Funeral Home is here to help. We are located in Mesa, AZ, and provide funeral and cremation services in addition to having a beautiful cemetery on the property. You can reach us directly by phone at (480) 618-7864 or email us at wecare@mvfuneralhome.com.