Yusuf Cornelius Otijenu quote: “It is not enough to understand time, rather; it is best you understand your own time.”

“If you don't understand other people in their time and why they did what they did, then you don't understand your own past. And when you lose your past, you lose some potential for your own future.”

C. J. Cherryh (1942) United States science fiction and fantasy author

The Camelot Project interview (1996)
Context: When the legend is retold, it mirrors the reality of the time, and one can learn from studying how various authors have attempted to retell the story. I don't think we have an obligation to change it radically. I think that if we ever move too far from the basic story, we would lose something very precious. I don't, for instance, approve of fantasy that attempts to go back and rewrite the Middle Ages until it conforms to political correctness in the twentieth century. That removes all the benefit from reading the story. If you don't understand other people in their time and why they did what they did, then you don't understand your own past. And when you lose your past, you lose some potential for your own future.

“There are some stories you can't hear enough. They are the same every time you hear them. But you are not. That's one reliable way of understanding time.”

Ann-Marie MacDonald book The Way the Crow Flies

Source: The Way the Crow Flies

“I'm afraid of time. I mean, I'm afraid of not having enough time. Not enough time to understand people, how they really are, or to be understood myself.”

Ann Brashares The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Source: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

“Be yourself, you might not understand it, others might not understand it, but someday, your purpose will be enough.”

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde (1978) Nigerian actress and singer

“You have to take seriously the notion that understanding the universe is your responsibility, because the only understanding of the universe that will be useful to you is your own understanding.”

Terence McKenna (1946–2000) American ethnobotanist

“You have to be in the right place at the right time and understand that and know when it is your time and how you react to it and how you respond to it.”

Anna Sui (1964) American fashion designer

CNN Interview (October 4, 2006)

“Life isn't long enough to enjoy and understand all at the same time. You have to decide which is more important”

Pedro Juan Gutiérrez (1950) Cuban writer

Source: Dirty Havana Trilogy

“Communication is — start by understanding — your own understanding about people. Even though you want them to understand you, you know, it is — unless you understand people, it is almost impossible.”

Shunryu Suzuki (1904–1971) Japanese Buddhist missionary

Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha lecture at the Zen Mountain Center (17 August 1971) http://suzukiroshi.sfzc.org/archives/index.cgi/710817V.html
Context: Communication is — start by understanding — your own understanding about people. Even though you want them to understand you, you know, it is — unless you understand people, it is almost impossible. Don't you think so? Only when you understand people, they may understand you. So even though you do not say anything, if you understand people there is some communication.

“We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.”

Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968) American politician and brother of John F. Kennedy

Speech on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968)
Context: Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black -- considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization -- black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love. [... ] But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.

“Hush now child and don't you cry;
Your folks might understand you by and by.
Move on up towards your destination;
You may find from time to time,
Complications.”

Curtis Mayfield (1942–1999) American singer, songwriter, and record producer

Move on Up, from Curtis (1970).
Song lyrics

“It is not enough to understand time, rather; it is best you understand your own time.”

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