"May their memory be a blessing" for non-Jews?
Hello all! I don't know if this is a silly question with an obvious answer or not, but I have been wondering about it for a while. I am not Jewish, I went to Catholic school and was raised in a secular household in the Midwest USA, so a culturally Christian area. Growing up I always heard "Sorry for your loss" or "May they rest in peace" as the usual sympathetic phrases, but they both always rang a little hollow. I didn't like the idea even as a kid of reminding someone of their loss. I have grown to realize that a celebration of someone's life feels just as meaningful to me as mourning their death.
The Jewish phrase "May their memory be a blessing" has resonated with me as a particularly lovely thing to say instead. After all, that person has passed, I don't know what's next for them, so the people who are remembering them are important to me here and now. I have been reading about it and I know it comes from Proverbs 10:7 and relates to the importance of memory in Jewish tradition. I know it's a respectful thing for me to say about Jewish people who have passed, but is it appropriate for me as a non-Jew to use it for anyone? Can I adopt this as my usual expression of sympathy, or is that stealing something culturally significant that should stay within the Jewish community?