Life and those who rear us teach lessons that break us. How…

“What a pity that in life we only get our lessons when they are of no use to us.”

Oscar Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan

Lady Windermere, Act IV
Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)

“Mistakes don't have to define us. They're how we learn and grow. They show us who and what we don't want to be. It's why they're mistakes.”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Infamous

“It is those of us who have been broken that become experts at mending.”

Steve Maraboli (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 148

“I think it's very hard to allow God to break us. I think it's very hard to be broken. And I think that who the Lord loves He chastens, and that if we'll never be broken we'll never be saved. And that God doesn't break us because He hates us, or because He's angry at us, but we have to be broken, just like you have to break a horse.”

Rich Mullins (1955–1997) American christian musician

Wheaton, Illinois http://www.kidbrothers.net/words/concert-transcripts/wheaton-illinois-sep1590-backup-copy.html (September 15, 1990)
In Concert

“What we now see in Afghanistan and Iraq must teach us a lesson. The Iranian problem has a peaceful solution to it.”

Reza Pahlavi (1960) Last crown prince of the former Imperial State of Iran

As quoted by Nadezhda Popova, Reza Pahalavi, Son Of The Last Shah Of Iran: “No War Is Needed – We Will Topple This Regime Ourselves” http://www.rezapahlavi.org/details_article.php?article=22&page=6, Izvetsiya, May 29, 2006.
Interviews, 2006

“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”

Umberto Eco book Foucault's Pendulum

Source: Foucault's Pendulum

“We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Heavenly Fire

Source: City of Heavenly Fire

“To look forward, to want life, means we have to be willing to look backwards and become more conscious of all those who have hurt us, all that is broken in us and that has brought us inner deaths, hurts that we may have hidden and stifled. It means that we acknowledge the story of our origins, of our own lives, see and accept our brokenness and the times we also have hurt others. When we have accepted who we are and what we need in order to grow in compassion and peacemaking, we can move forward to give life. To forgive is a gift of God that permits us to let go of our past hurts.”

Jean Vanier (1928–2019) Canadian humanitarian

Jean Vanier, Finding Peace, pp 47-48
From books

“All life battles teach us something, even those we lose”

Paulo Coelho book The Fifth Mountain

Source: The Fifth Mountain

“We are defined by how we use our power.”

Gerry Spence (1929) American lawyer

"The Rat Hole" (25 December 2003) http://www.gerryspence.com/the-rat-hole/

“Life and those who rear us teach lessons that break us. How we reassemble the broken pieces defines what we become.”

Related quotes

Related topics