Speechless
Well I have the flu and I've lost my voice. I know I blogged yesterday, but I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing, so I'm going to write again. But about what?
Hmm.
I love quotes. They speak to things I'm unable to put words to. And since I literally don't have a voice right now, I figured it'd be a good time to go through my notebooks full of quotes and record the ones that speak to me when things get tough. So...for your reading pleasure...here they are :)
“We don’t seek the painful experiences that hue our identities, but we seek our identities in the wake of painful experiences. We cannot bear a pointless torment, but we can endure great pain if we believe it is purposeful.”
“You can never lose while you’re fighting. You only lose when you stop.”
“There is always a moment right before dawn, when the sun gathers itself for the new day and then it steps into the dark world and everything is so filled with light that whatever doubt there was in that long night is barely a memory and I hope you remember this in these days, because it is the way of all things that the night ends and the light returns. The light always returns.”
“Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.”
“What is stronger than the human heart which shatters over and over and still lives.”
“I lied and said I was busy. I was busy; but not in a way most people understand. I was busy taking deeper breaths. I was busy silencing irrational thoughts. I was busy calming a racing heart. I was busy telling myself I am okay. Sometimes, this is my busy—and I will not apologize for it.”
“All I can tell you is there are people who see how much love and care and heart it takes to bring your whole self back into the world and we will walk here beside you for as long as it takes.”
“‘You,’ he said, ‘are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world, and that, I believe, is why you are in so much pain.’”
“Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That’s its balance.”
“It is being honest about my pain that makes me invincible.”
“Come to me whole: with your flaws, your scars and everything you consider imperfect. Then let me show you what I see. I see galaxies in your eyes and fire in your hair. I see journeys in your palms and adventure waiting in your smile. I see what you cannot: you are absolutely, maddeningly, irrevocably perfect.”
“Now and then, when the world becomes too much, I see the wind and rain and lightening flash in your storm eyes and then it passes and for a moment I see you wonder if there should be an apology and how do I tell you there is only the wild and vast heart of you and there are those who cannot see what that demand, but I am not one of them.”
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”
Why do I like these quotes so much? They're not necessarily motivational. And they may not be inspiring in the traditional way. You may, in fact, view some of them as a downer. But to me they speak truth. Hope, even. They're real. Raw. Authentic.
A lot of them speak of pain. Scars. Sadness. Darkness. Life is laced with these things, after all. It's these things that drive me to seek out quotes, in fact. When I don't have the words to express these deep feelings of despair, it's comforting to know that others do. It makes me feel less alone. It reminds me that it's all part of the human experience. And I am, above all else, a human.
But these quotes also speak of happiness. Fight. Purpose. Love. Courage. Life is sprinkled with these things as well. It's easy to forget these things in the midst of the darkness. That's why I love these quotes so much. They blend the darkness with rays of light in a realistically elegant way.
They're realistic. With a hint of optimism. And I call myself a realistic optimist. So I guess it makes sense, eh?
Well that's it. That's all I've got. What about you? What quotes inspire you when times get tough?