Richard Bach quotes

„The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)
Source: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

„The only obligation we have in any lifetime is to be true to ourselves.“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)
Variant: Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself.
Source: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
Context: Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.
Context: Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.

„Can miles truly separate you from friends… If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?“

—  Richard Bach

„A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.“

—  Richard Bach

„Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)
Source: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

„I’m here not because I am supposed to be here, or because I’m trapped here, but because I’d rather be with you than anywhere else in the world.“

—  Richard Bach

Source: The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story

„Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)

„Your conscience is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness.
Listen to it carefully.“

—  Richard Bach

Source: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

„You're never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.“

—  Richard Bach

Variant: You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.
Source: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

„Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.“

—  Richard Bach, book Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Source: Jonathan Livingston Seagull

„Perspective— Use It or Lose It. If you turned to this page, you're forgetting that what is going on around you is not reality. Think about that.“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)

„A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed, it feels an impulsion… this is the place to go now.
But the sky knows the reason and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)

„"There is no problem so big that it cannot be run away from."…
"You're quoting Snoopy the dog, I believe?"
"I'll quote the truth wherever I find it thank you."“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)

„Nothing happens by chance, my friend… No such thing as luck.“

—  Richard Bach, book Nothing by Chance

Nothing by Chance: A Gypsy Pilot's Adventures in Modern America (1969)
Context: Nothing happens by chance, my friend... No such thing as luck. A meaning behind every little thing, and such a meaning behind this. Part for you, part for me, we may not see it all real clear right now, but we will, before long.

„Laughing on the way to your execution is not generally understood by less advanced lifeforms, and they'll call you crazy.“

—  Richard Bach

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)
Context: You're going to die a horrible death, remember. It's all good training, and you'll enjoy it more if you keep the facts in mind.
Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to your execution is not generally understood by less advanced lifeforms, and they'll call you crazy.

„You have no birthday because you have always lived; you were never born, and never will die.“

—  Richard Bach

There's No Such Place As Far Away (1978)
Context: You have no birthday because you have always lived; you were never born, and never will die. You are not the child of the people you call mother and father, but their fellow-adventurer on a bright journey to understand the things that are.

„The only thing that matters, at the end of a stay on earth, is how well did we love, what was the quality of our love?“

—  Richard Bach, book The Bridge Across Forever

Source: The Bridge Across Forever (1984), Ch. 48
Context: The things we own, the places we live, the events of our lives: empty settings. How easy to chase after settings, and forget diamonds! The only thing that matters, at the end of a stay on earth, is how well did we love, what was the quality of our love?

„I do not exist to impress the world. I exist to live my life in a way that will make me happy.“

—  Richard Bach

Source: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

„An old maxim says that a professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit“

—  Richard Bach

A Gift of Wings (1974)