My Favourite Quotes

40. It was the first dream of immortality. It fills the world with melody, for Music is the voice of Love. Love is the magician, the enchanter, that changes worthless things to joy and makes right royal kings and queens of common clay. It is the perfume of the wondrous flower -- the heart. And without that sacred passion, that divine swoon, we are less than beasts; but with it, earth is heaven, and we are Gods.

39. Love is a thing as free as any spirit; women naturally desire liberty, and not to be constrained like slaves; and so do men, if I shall tell the truth.

38. Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great.

37. I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another in a lovely constellation, where we will sparkle in the heavens forever.

36. Man has bought brains, but all the millions in the world have failed to buy love. Man has subdued bodies, but all the power on earth has been unable to subdue love. Man has conquered whole nations, but all his armies could not conquer love. Man has chained and fettered the spirit, but he has been utterly helpless before love. High on a throne, with all the splendor and pomp his gold can command, man is yet poor and desolate, if love passes him by. And if it stays, the poorest hovel is radiant with warmth, with life and color. Thus love has the magic power to make of a beggar a king. Yes, love is free; it can dwell in no other atmosphere.

35. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

34. How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?

33. If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.

32. Although the act of nurturing another's spiritual growth has the effect of nurturing one's own, a major characteristic of genuine love is that the distinction between oneself and the other is always maintained and preserved.

31. The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.

30. “I think she was afraid to love sometimes. I think it scared her. She was the type to like things that are concrete, like the ocean. Something you could point to and know what it was. I think that’s why she always struggled with trust. And I think that’s why she also struggled with love. She couldn’t touch it. She couldn’t hold on to it and make sure it never changed.” 

29. "I love those kind of nights that turn out unexpectedly good, great, and sometimes just all out amazing just because you didn’t really expect anything to happen at all. If only we could live just like that — with no expectations in mind. It’s possible we’d be much happier, with more memorable moments that would last us a lifetime."

28. "And we fall like shooting stars and autumn leaves, stay up later than the streetlights, promising what never could be."

27. "The sad truth of the matter is, I’ll never get over it, but I’m gonna try to get better and overcome each moment in my own way. I so want to get back on track, and I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it kills me."

26. "I fell for the promise of a life with a purpose, and I scream for the sunlight or a car to take me anywhere, just get me past this dead and eternal snow. I swear that I'm dying, slowly but it's happening. And if the perfect spring is waiting somewhere, just take me there. And lie to me, and say, it's going to be alright."

25. "You told me you can’t wait to see me and then you didn’t bother to even show up.

This whole situation is incredibly typical, I should have seen it all along."

24. "She's giving boys what they want, tries to act so nonchalant, afraid they'll see that she's lost her direction. She never stays the same for long, assuming that she'll get it wrong, perfect only in her imperfection."

23. "The reason it's so painful when someone disappears is you have to face the fact that the person you loved had probably left you a long time before he grabbed his coat and scrammed. The hard part is realizing that he was lying to you, in some way, before the moment of vanishing."

22. "As great as what we have has been, I think that I would be better off if I let you go. See, you know you have me, but I can't say the same for you. I don't know if I have you, or if I ever will. That's what breaks my heart. I can't spend my entire life waiting for you."

21. "I'm addicted to words but they're useless."

20. "Empty fields move me so much more than rooms filled up with friends. The way the trees look dead reminds me that there's more to life than living."

19. "It’s easy to take off all of your clothes and have sex. People do it all the time. But opening up your soul to someone, letting them into your spirit, thoughts, fears, future, hopes, dreams.. that’s being naked."

18. "She was always talking about these crazy things and I never understood a word she said. All I understood was that she was the girl I sat up every night thinking about, and when I'm with her I feel happy to be alive. Like I can do anything. So that's what I feel is love, when I'm better because she's here."

17. "What if I went and lost myself, would you know where to find me? If I forgot who I am, would you please remind me?"

16. "It felt like you and I were the greatest plan ever made and I had nothing to do with it. Being with you made me feel that maybe I didn’t have to keep planning anymore because it felt like I was actually living. And that for once in my life I wouldn’t have to work so hard at being happy. That it just could happen."

15. "I guess when you’re young, you just believe there will be many people with whom you’ll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times."

14. "At some point you will realize that you have done too much for someone, that the only next possible step to do is to stop. Leave them alone. Walk away. It's not like you're giving up, and it's not like you shouldn't try. It's just that you have to draw the line of determination from desperation. What is truly yours will eventually be yours, and what is not, no matter how hard you try, will never be."

13. "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." 

12. There are three classes of people: Those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see 

11. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

10. "Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give."

9. "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

8. "We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." 

7. "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." 

6. "What comes out of you when you are squeezed is what is inside you." 

5. "Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."

4. "All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire."

3. We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone - but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy

2. "Lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action."

1. "There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them."