"He who seeks does not find, but he who does not seek will be found."
"In the struggle between yourself and the world second the world."
"It is often safer to be in chains than to be free."
"Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable."
"Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book does not shake us awake like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? So that it can make us happy, as you put it? Good God, we'd be just as happy if we had no books at all; books that make us happy we could, in a pinch, also write ourselves. What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us. That is what I believe.”
All by Kafka.
"In the struggle between yourself and the world second the world."
"It is often safer to be in chains than to be free."
"Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable."
"Beyond a certain point there is no return. This point has to be reached."
"Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book does not shake us awake like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? So that it can make us happy, as you put it? Good God, we'd be just as happy if we had no books at all; books that make us happy we could, in a pinch, also write ourselves. What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us. That is what I believe.”
All by Kafka.
“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there. It doesn’t matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawn and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.”
"Time weighs down on you like an old, ambiguous dream. You keep moving, trying to slip through it. But even if you go to the ends of the earth, you won't be able to escape it. Still, you have to go there -- to the edge of the world. There's something you can't do unless you get there."
-Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami
calmMore than the devil, there is a crying god in this.
"Let us toast to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee, to unemployment insurance and library cards, to absinthe and good-hearted landlords, to music and warm bodies and contraceptives... and to the "good life", whatever it is and wherever it happens to be."
-Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
-Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
A pessimist is a man who has been compelled to live with an optimist. ~Elbert Hubbard, The Note-Book, 1927
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. ~Leonard Louis Levinson
An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~Bill Vaughan
It doesn't hurt to be optimistic. You can always cry later. ~Lucimar Santos de Lima
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2amtomorningIf you find yourself at the crossroads of insomnia and insanity, this is the place to channel those demons that keep you sleepless. Vivid pictures, poetry, ruminations, and confessions from the nether hours between dusk and dawn. Originally formed to celebrate the city at night, there's a strong urban theme.
green_futureDedicated to promoting global sustainability, this community offers a forum for discussing current environmental news, research, and issues with tips on how to make positive, pro-active changes to reduce carbon impact. You'll also find information on how to get involved in eco-activism and learn about events near you (i.e., act local; think global). Offering a wealth of data on earth-friendly products and practices, you'll be inspired to don an organic bamboo cape and save the planet.
wtf_sexismSelf-described as "a little community with a lot of rage," you can soak up impassioned vibes and read blistering exposes detailing sexist attitudes in the news, pop culture, and science! A must-join community if you are, or love, a feminist. (NB: the topic of whether a "man" can be a feminist is outside the scope of this spotlight, but will probably wind up on the Writer's Block.)
"'You see, there's a fundamental connection between seeming and being. Every Fae child knows this, but you mortals never seem to see. We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be.'
'That's basic psychology. You dress a begger in fine clothes, people treat him like a noble, and he lives up to their expectations.'
'That's only the smallest piece of it. The truth is deeper than that. It's... It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story. No, listen. I've got it now. You meet a girl: shy, unassuming. If you tell her she's beautiful, she'll think you're sweet, but she won't believe you. She knows that beauty lies in your beholding. And sometimes that's enough. But there's a better way. You show her she is beautiful. You make mirrors of your eyes, prayers of your hands against her body. It is hard, very hard, but when she truly believes you... Suddenly the story she tells herself in her own head changes. She transforms. She isn't seen as beautiful. She is beautiful, seen.'
'What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're just spouting nonsense now.'
'I'm spouting too much sense for you to understand'"
'That's basic psychology. You dress a begger in fine clothes, people treat him like a noble, and he lives up to their expectations.'
'That's only the smallest piece of it. The truth is deeper than that. It's... It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story. No, listen. I've got it now. You meet a girl: shy, unassuming. If you tell her she's beautiful, she'll think you're sweet, but she won't believe you. She knows that beauty lies in your beholding. And sometimes that's enough. But there's a better way. You show her she is beautiful. You make mirrors of your eyes, prayers of your hands against her body. It is hard, very hard, but when she truly believes you... Suddenly the story she tells herself in her own head changes. She transforms. She isn't seen as beautiful. She is beautiful, seen.'
'What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're just spouting nonsense now.'
'I'm spouting too much sense for you to understand'"
"Here is my hand, my heart,
my throat, my wrist. Here are the illuminated
cities at the center of me, and here is the center
of me, which is a lake, which is a well that we
can drink from, but I can’t go through with it.
I just don’t want to die anymore "
-Richard Siken
"Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn’t. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you! "
-John Irving
"My mother said our bodies could digest anything,
but that’s a lie. Sometimes, at night, I feel
the battlefield moving inside of me."
-Sandra Beasley
"Can you understand? Someone, somewhere, can you understand me a little, love me a little? For all my despair, for all my ideals, for all that - I love life. But it is hard, and I have so much - so very much to learn."
-Sylvia Plath
"I will always be happy in those places I have never been, neither I will ever be."
-Charles Baudelaire
"I will never say the things that I want to say to you. I know the damage it would do. I love you more than I hate my loneliness and pain."
-Henry Rollins
my throat, my wrist. Here are the illuminated
cities at the center of me, and here is the center
of me, which is a lake, which is a well that we
can drink from, but I can’t go through with it.
I just don’t want to die anymore "
-Richard Siken
"Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn’t. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you! "
-John Irving
"My mother said our bodies could digest anything,
but that’s a lie. Sometimes, at night, I feel
the battlefield moving inside of me."
-Sandra Beasley
"Can you understand? Someone, somewhere, can you understand me a little, love me a little? For all my despair, for all my ideals, for all that - I love life. But it is hard, and I have so much - so very much to learn."
-Sylvia Plath
"I will always be happy in those places I have never been, neither I will ever be."
-Charles Baudelaire
"I will never say the things that I want to say to you. I know the damage it would do. I love you more than I hate my loneliness and pain."
-Henry Rollins
"Somewhere someone is thinking of you. Someone is calling you an angel. This person is using celestial colors to paint your image. Someone is making you into a vision so beautiful that it can only live in the mind. Someone is thinking of the way your breath escapes your lips when you are touched. How your eyes close and your jaw tightens with concentration as you give pleasure a home. These thoughts are saving a life somewhere right now. In some airless apartment on a dark, urine stained, whore lined street, someone is calling out to you silently and you are answering without even being there. So crystalline. So pure. Such life saving power when you smile. You will never know how you have cauterized my wounds. So sad that we will never touch. How it hurts me to know that I will never be able to give you everything I have."
- Mood:
busy
Hi everyone! I know someone just requested quotes about not wanting to grow up...I have a similar request. I just activated my intent to graduate from Penn State and I'm extremely depressed about it. I was wondering if anyone had quotes on graduation, leaving friends, or growing up. Please post anything you think might help. Thank you so much!
( For your trouble... )
( For your trouble... )
a few I wanted to share with you all, from quote-book, a quotes tumblr I follow :)
"I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host."
-Dorothy Parker
"At least I’ve learned this much:
Life doesn’t have to be
all poetry and roses. Life
can be bus rides, gritty sidewalks,
electric bills, dishwashing,
chapped lips, dull stubby pencils
with the erasers chewed off,
cheap radios played too loud,
the rank smell of stale coffee
yet still glow
with the inner fire of an opal,
still taste like honey."
-Julie Alger
"We have the natural compulsion to feel empty spaces"
-Will Shortz
"I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host."
-Dorothy Parker
"At least I’ve learned this much:
Life doesn’t have to be
all poetry and roses. Life
can be bus rides, gritty sidewalks,
electric bills, dishwashing,
chapped lips, dull stubby pencils
with the erasers chewed off,
cheap radios played too loud,
the rank smell of stale coffee
yet still glow
with the inner fire of an opal,
still taste like honey."
-Julie Alger
"We have the natural compulsion to feel empty spaces"
-Will Shortz
From "Eleven Minutes"-
"Some people were born to face life alone, and this is neither good nor bad, it is simply life."
"Really important meetings are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other."
"Some people were born to face life alone, and this is neither good nor bad, it is simply life."
"Really important meetings are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other."
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." - Ray Bradbury
"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." - E.L. Doctorow
( Five more under the cut. )
"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." - E.L. Doctorow
( Five more under the cut. )
Page Summary
- quotes ::
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mariebethmiles : Kafka [+1] - quotes :: sixpoint_18 : ~quotes~ [+3]
- quotes :: magelet10 : Favorite Beatles Quotes? [+3]
- quotes :: gomusing : (no subject) [+3]
- quotes :: vongi28 : (no subject) [+0]
- quotes :: donniethedarko : (no subject) [+2]
- quotes :: baby_shakeitup : (no subject) [+3]
- quotes :: hope_betterdays : Love your enemies. It makes them so damned mad. ~P.D. East [+3]
- lj_spotlight :: ljspotlight : Homepage Spotlight 1/04/10 [+9]
- lj_spotlight :: ljspotlight : Homepage Spotlight 1/04/10 [+4]
- lj_spotlight :: ljspotlight : Homepage Spotlight 1/04/10 [+5]
- quotes :: chelseaspeaks : The Name of the Wind [+4]
- quotes :: hope_betterdays : Langston Hughes [+2]
- quotes :: fake_desire : Once I was beautiful, now I am myself [+6]
- quotes :: endorsements : Henry Rollins - Solipsist [+4]
- quotes :: try_my_heartest : Please help [+4]
- quotes :: baby_shakeitup : (no subject) [+4]
- quotes :: cantami : ... [+16]
- quotes :: resolutionfever : Paulo Coelho [+0]
- quotes :: yume_mori : On Writing [+0]