Haruki Murakami: Quotes about thinking

Haruki Murakami is Japanese author, novelist. Explore interesting quotes on thinking.
Haruki Murakami: 1310   quotes 136   likes

“Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely.”

Haruki Murakami book Dance Dance Dance

Source: Dance Dance Dance

Life , Way , Thinking , Sincerity

“When you fall in love, the natural thing to do is give yourself to it. That's what I think. It's just a form of sincerity.”

Haruki Murakami book Norwegian Wood

Source: Norwegian Wood

Love , Nature , Thinking , Sincerity

“Anyone who falls in love is searching for missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who's in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It's like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven't seen in a long time. It's just a natural feeling. You're not the person who discovered that feeling, so don't go trying to patent it, okay?”

Haruki Murakami book Kafka on the Shore

Kafka on the Shore (2002)

Love , Sadness , Feeling , Search

“What do you think? I'm not a starfish or a pepper tree. I'm a living, breathing human being. Of course I've been in love.”

Haruki Murakami book Kafka on the Shore

Source: Kafka on the Shore

Love , Thinking , Tree

“Which is why I am writing this book. To think. To understand. It just happens to be the way I'm made. I have to write things down to feel I fully comprehend them.”

Haruki Murakami book Norwegian Wood

Source: Norwegian Wood

Books , Way , Feeling , Understanding

“I dream. Sometimes I think that's the only right thing to do.”

Haruki Murakami book Sputnik Sweetheart

Source: Sputnik Sweetheart

Dreams , Thinking

“She waited for the train to pass. Then she said, "I sometimes think that people’s hearts are like deep wells. Nobody knows what’s at the bottom. All you can do is imagine by what comes floating to the surface every once in a while.”

Haruki Murakami book Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Variant: I sometimes think that people's hearts are like deep wells. Nobody knows what's at the bottom. All you can do is guess from what comes floating to the surface every once in a while.
Source: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

People , Imagination , Thinking , Waiting

“Don't you think it would be wonderful to get rid of everything and everybody and just go some place where you don't know a soul?”

Haruki Murakami
Soul , Thinking

“Most everything you think you know about me is nothing more than memories.”

Haruki Murakami book A Wild Sheep Chase

Source: A Wild Sheep Chase

Thinking , Memory

“If you think God’s there, He is. If you don’t, He isn’t. And if that’s what God’s like, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Haruki Murakami book Kafka on the Shore

Source: Kafka on the Shore (2002), Chapter 30, Colonel Sanders
Context: Listen- God only exists in people's minds. Especially in Japan, God's always been kind of a flexible concept. Look at what happened after the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being God, and he did, making a speech saying he was just an ordinary person. So after 1946 he wasn't God anymore. That's what Japanese gods are like-they can be tweaked and adjusted. Some American chomping on a cheap pipe gives the order and presto change-o - God's no longer God. A very postmodern kind of thing. If you think God's there, He is. If you don't, He isn't. And if that's what God's like, I wouldn't worry about it.

God , Thinking

“I'm often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I'm running? I don't have a clue.”

Haruki Murakami book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Source: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

People , Question , Thinking

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.”

Haruki Murakami book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Source: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Pain , Thinking , Reality , Suffering

“Possibilities are like cancer. The more I think about them, the more they multiply, and there's no way to stop them. I'm out of control.”

Haruki Murakami book Dance Dance Dance

Source: Dance Dance Dance

Way , Thinking

“I think that my job is to observe people and the world, and not to judge them. I always hope to position myself away from so-called conclusions. I would like to leave everything wide open to all the possibilities in the world.”

Haruki Murakami
People , World , Hope , Thinking

“What we see before us is just one tiny part of the world. We get in the habit of thinking, this is the world, but that's not true at all. The real world is a much darker and deeper place than this, and much of it is occupied by jellyfish and things.”

Haruki Murakami book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

World , Thinking , Parting

“You might think you made a new world or a new self, but your old self is always gonna be there, just below the surface, and if something happens, it'll stick its head out and say 'Hi.' You don't seem to realize that. You were made somewhere else.”

Haruki Murakami book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

World , Thinking

“What I saw wasn't a ghost. It was simply--myself. I can never forget how terrified I was that night, and whenever I remember it, this thought always springs to mind: that the most frightening thing in the world is our own self. What do you think?”

Haruki Murakami

Source: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: 24 Stories

World , Spring , Thinking , Night

“… most people in the world don't really use their brains to think. And people who don't think are the ones who don't listen to others.”

Haruki Murakami book 1Q84

Source: 1Q84

People , World , Thinking

“What I think is this: You should give up looking for lost cats and start searching for the other half of your shadow.”

Haruki Murakami book Kafka on the Shore

Source: Kafka on the Shore

Search , Cats , Thinking