All Quotes By Tag: Past

“To greet the present is to part with the past and future.”

“Control is an illusion that you must give up.”

“Forgiveness is a skill gained by those willing to change.”

“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”

“Taking care of yourself will take care of more than yourself.”

“Jealousy, and attempting to match others in life and stride, is self-abandonment.”

“Surrendering is not giving up–it is gaining strength.”

“Find your bones. Believe in what you are.”

“If you take society’s definition of knowing oneself, you will become lost in the many translations.”

“Your actions show what you know, and your replies to obstacles give clarity into what you will learn.”

“Don’t let your past failure define your future”

“The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies heonly appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people tocry at his funeral. All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always willexist. The Tralfamadorians can look at all the different moments just that way we canlook at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. They can see how permanent allthe moments are, and they can look at any moment that interests them. It is just anillusion we have here on Earth that one moment follows another one, like beads on astring, and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever.’When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in a badcondition in that particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of othermoments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say whatthe Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is “so it goes.”

“A Hard Life With MemoryI’m a poor audience for my memory.She wants me to attend her voice nonstop,but I fidget, fuss,listen and don’t,step out, come back, then leave again.She wants all my time and attention.She’s got no problem when I sleep.The day’s a different matter, which upsets her.She thrusts old letters, snapshots at me eagerly,stirs up events both important and un-,turns my eyes to overlooked views,peoples them with my dead.In her stories I’m always younger.Which is nice, but why always the same story.Every mirror holds different news for me.She gets angry when I shrug my shoulders.And takes revenge by hauling out old errors,weighty, but easily forgotten.Looks into my eyes, checks my reaction.Then comforts me, it could be worse.She wants me to live only for her and with her.Ideally in a dark, locked room,but my plans still feature today’s sun,clouds in progress, ongoing roads.At times I get fed up with her.I suggest a separation. From now to eternity.Then she smiles at me with pity,since she knows it would be the end of me too.”

“Cassandra wondered at the mind’s cruel ability to toss up flecks of the past. Why, as she neared her life’s end, her grandmother’s head should ring with the voices of people long since gone. Was it always this way? Did those with passage booked on death’s silent ship always scan the dock for faces of the long-departed?”

“Wise is the one who flavors the future with some salt from the past. Becoming dust is no threat to the phoenix born from the ash.”