Quotes

Don DeLillo photo
William Hazlitt photo
Edmund Waller photo

“The soul's dark cottage, battered and decayed,
Lets in new light through chinks that Time has made;
Stronger by weakness, wiser, men become
As they draw near to their eternal home.
Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view,
That stand upon the threshold of the new.”

Edmund Waller (1606–1687) English poet and politician

On the Divine Poems (1686). Compare: "To vanish in the chinks that Time has made", Samuel Rogers, Pæstum; "As that the walls worn thin, permit the mind
Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham (1857)

Maureen Shea photo

“[After becoming a vegetarian] My digestion is better, my thinking is better, and I'm calmer, stronger, and lighter. It's also easier to make weight. I'm not cutting calories though. Last month I went completely vegan, I don't eat anything with a heartbeat.”

Maureen Shea (1981) American boxer

“Interview: Outside the Ring With Boxer Maureen Shea (11 June 2007) http://animalliberationfront.com/Saints/Sports_Misc/MaureenShea.htm,” by Kelly Jad'on of Blogcritics.

Alfred Adler photo

“The striving for significance, this sense of yearning, always points out to us that all psychological phenomena contain a movement that starts from a feeling of inferiority and reach upward. The theory of Individual Psychology of psychological compensation states that the stronger the feeling of inferiority, the higher the goal for personal power.”

Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Medical Doctor, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Personality Theorist

From a new translation of "Progress in Individual Psychology" ("Fortschritte der Individualpsychologie", 1923), a journal article by Alfred Adler, in the AAISF/ATP Archives.

David Cameron photo
Fidel Castro photo

“You know my eyes are not very strong. So every day to make them stronger I force myself to look at the sun. I find it very hard. But do you know what I find harder? That is to look into the blue of your eyes.”

Fidel Castro (1926–2016) former First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Cuba

Early in 1976, speaking to Margaret Trudeau, according to page 317 of Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000 https://books.google.ca/books?id=ACC_G_kiR4cC&pg=PA317&lpg=PA317 by John English.

Jan van Riebeeck photo

“And as we are making our position stronger every day, it is to be hoped that they (Khoisan) will feel less inclined to disturb us, provided, however, that a strict watch be kept on everything and we remain on our guard in every direction, continuing with diligence at the fences and other defensive forts...”

Jan van Riebeeck (1619–1677) Dutch colonial governor

Precis of the Archives of the Cape of Good Hope, January 1659 - May 1662, Riebeeck's Journal, H. C. V. Leibrandt, Cape Town 1897, p. 86
On the 3rd of May 1658 Jan van Riebeeck gave further instructions to the men on Robben Island.

Hidilyn Diaz photo

“I believe that all the trials and challenges that God gives us are meant to make us stronger and to lead us to a better path in life. There are things that we can't control. We just have to accept them and do our best to survive and surpass the difficulties.”

Hidilyn Diaz (1991) Filipino Olympic weightlifter, Philippines' first Olympic Gold Medalist

Source: Olympian Hidilyn Diaz Talks About Rock Bottom And Her Battle To Win The Gold https://www.tatlerasia.com/the-scene/people-parties/olympian-hidilyn-diaz-talks-about-her-rock-bottom-and-her-battle-to-the-top (23 July 2020)

Joe Biden photo

“So often, our Armed Forces and the Department of Defense staff are how the rest of the world encounters America. And you all know as well as anyone that our country is safer and stronger when we lead not just with the example of our power, but with the power of our example.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

2021, February 2021, Remarks by President Biden to Department of Defense Personnel, February 10, 2021

Brian W. Aldiss photo
Mark Helprin photo
Neville Chamberlain photo

“I believe in a God, who, whether we understand it now or ever will, does the thing for us, which is the best thing for us — out of Love — even if it’s painful. And I think that’s the truth.”

Ysabella Brave (1979) American singer

"Pain & Suffering" (11 May 2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfjKx9AUp8k
Context: I believe in a God, who, whether we understand it now or ever will, does the thing for us, which is the best thing for us — out of Love — even if it’s painful. And I think that’s the truth. So, if you’re in a great pain, and if you’re suffering, remember that this is… in the middle… and that you’re on your way… some place…, and it’s beneficial to you… and even better than that, it might be beneficial to others… so, that what I have to say to that tonight… I know it’s… short… I hope it’s sweet, and… I’ll see you next time… so, good night.

David Dixon Porter photo

“When our familiar world falls apart, especially through the pain of death — of losing someone we love — we are shaken at our very core. We realize, perhaps for the first time, that there is no easy or quick way out. We must go through the process, which will be a little different for each of us — the common thread being pain.”

Richard Carlson (1961–2006) Author, psychotherapist and motivational speaker

Finding Life after Death http://richardcarlson.com/RC_Words/life_after_death.html
What About the Big Stuff (2002)
Context: When our familiar world falls apart, especially through the pain of death — of losing someone we love — we are shaken at our very core. We realize, perhaps for the first time, that there is no easy or quick way out. We must go through the process, which will be a little different for each of us — the common thread being pain.
In the midst of that inner struggle, however, something begins to happen. There are the moments that are most resisted — and there is extreme pain. Simultaneously, however, there are voluntary or involuntary bursts of letting go. Perhaps the pain is too much for the moment — the mind takes a break, shuts down, or wakes up, I’m not really sure. But in those moments, there is a release from the pain; an acknowledgment that although we don’t understand it, and it hurts like hell, the universe somehow knows what it’s doing.

John Travolta photo
Fyodor Dostoyevsky photo