“Hatred is exhausting. You must constantly remind yourself why you hate someone and waste needless energy to keep hating them.Forgiveness; you only need to do it once!”

“Forgive people when they laugh at your dreams, I assure you, In a matter of time, they soon will start dreaming”

“A while ago?” Anaxantis asked. “Yes, he raped me a while ago. Exactly nine months and two days ago. What’s that? Nine months or nine minutes. It’s the same. And it is in the past, you say? Then why is it still happening, every day, every time I close my eyes? Every time I hear someone behind me, and I don’t know who it is? How is it that I get an almost irresistible urge to kill anyone who happens to touch me unexpectedly? Tell me, Hemarchidas, how do I forgive, let alone forget, something that is still happening, that keeps happening over and over? How? How do I do that?”

“To forgive is to love.”

“It’s in those quiet little towns, at the edge of the world, that you will find the salt of the earth people who make you feel right at home.”

“Those who achieve the extraordinary are usually the most ordinary because they have nothing to prove to anybody. Be Humble.”

“Just please understand that everyone is going through a rough time as well. Even if they are hiding behind money or a simple smile. We are all continuously stumbling as we go about our lives. If we had perfect lives we’d all be perfect people. Only thing we can learn to do is endure or we will not be happy and happiness is the closest thing to perfect.”

“He is sorry-For everything-For Prentisstown-For Viola-For Ben-For every failure and every wrong-For letting his pa down-And he’s looking up at me-And he’s begging me-He’s begging me-Like I’m the only one who can forgive him-Like it’s only me who’s got the power-Todd?-Please-And all I can say is “Davy-“And the fright and the terror in his Noise is too much-It’s too much-And then it stops.Davy slumps, eyes still open, eyes still staring back at me, eyes still asking (I swear) for me to forgive him.And he lies there, still.Davy Prentiss is dead.”

“After you hear and listen. First must come desire. Second must come willingness.Third should come understanding.Fourth should come progression and with progression will come more understanding.”

“Everything is temporary, almost like a passing fase, some of laughter Some of pain. What we would do, If we had the chance to explore What we had taken for Granted the very day before, Some would say I’m selfish, To hold a little sadness in my eyes, But they don’t feel the sorrow When I can’t do, all that helps me feel alive. I can express my emotions, but I can’t run wild and free, My mind and soul would handle it but hell upon my hip, ankle and knees, This disorder came about,as a friendship said its last goodbyes, Soooo this is what I got given for all the years I stood by? I finally stand still to question it, life it is in fact? What the fuck is the purpose of it all if you get stabbed in the back? And after the anger fills the air, the regret takes it places, I never wanted to be that girl, Horrid, sad and faded… So I took with a grain of salt, my new found reality, I am not of my pain,the disability doesnt define me. I find away to adjust, also with the absence of my friend,I trust the choices I make, allow my heart to mend. I pick up the piecesI retrain my leg, I find where I left off And I start all over again, You see what happens… When a warrior gets tested; They grow from the ashes Powerful and invested. So I thank all this heartache,As I put it to a rest, I move forward with my life And I’ll build a damn good nest.”

“Don’t cling to those things that hurt you and diminish you. Forgive and let it go to transform yourself to a wiser person.”

“I am always saddened by the death of a good person. It is from this sadness that a feeling of gratitude emerges. I feel honored to have known them and blessed that their passing serves as a reminder to me that my time on this beautiful earth is limited and that I should seize the opportunity I have to forgive, share, explore, and love. I can think of no greater way to honor the deceased than to live this way.”

“But if you forgive someone for something they did to you, it doesn’t mean you agree with what they did or believe it was right. Forgiving that person means you have chosen not to dwell on the matter anymore; you have moved on with your life.”

“My nature has always been to fight. My faith forces me to forgive.”

“Forgiveness isn’t something I’m preoccupied with — turning the other cheek isn’t my trip.”