Quotes about being page 37

“The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.”

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) Dutch philosopher

Understanding, Learning

“Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.”

Gloria Naylor (1950–2016) American writer

People, Art, Silence, Time

“Next to being married, a girl likes being crossed in love a little now and again.”

Jane Austen book Pride and Prejudice

Source: Pride and Prejudice

Love, Girl

“Having chosen this foolishness, I was a free being. How could the world ever stop me, how could I betray myself, if I was not afraid?”

Annie Dillard (1945) American writer

Source: An American Childhood

World

“Sometimes this human stuff is slimy and pathetic… but better to feel it and talk about it and walk through it than to spend a lifetime being silently poisoned.”

Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist

“Henceforth, whenever we are threatened with being cast adrift upon love’s transcendent, golden shore, I want you to slap my face.”

Jayne Ann Krentz (1948) American novelist

Source: Scandal

“Surely being in love doesn't cause you to lose your sense of good taste. If I ever buy a gown with sequins on it, someone just shoot me.”

Laurell K. Hamilton (1963) Novelist

Love, Sense

“for some reason, dying men always ask the question they know the answer to. perhaps it's so they can die being right.”

Markus Zusak book The Book Thief

Source: The Book Thief

Men, Question

“You have to let other people be right' was his answer to their insults. 'It consoles them for not being anything else.”

André Gide book The Immoralist

Source: The Immoralist

“It's hard to give up the being together with someone.”

Lois Lowry book A Summer to Die

Source: A Summer to Die

“Things can turn out differently, Apollo. That's the nice thing about being human. We only have one life, but we can choose what kind of story it's going to be.”

Rick Riordan book The Hidden Oracle

Source: The Hidden Oracle

Life

“I simply believe that a book has a journey to make, and should not be condemned to being stuck on a shelf… Let’s leave our books free to travel, then, to be touched by other hands, and enjoyed by other eyes.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Books, Travel

“Human beings, viewed as behaving systems, are quite simple. The apparent complexity of our behavior over time is largely a reflection of the complexity of the environment in which we find ourselves.”

Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001) American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist

Source: 1960s-1970s, The Sciences of the Artificial, 1969, p. 53.

Behavior, Time

“Being afraid you'll look like a coward is the worst reason for doing anything.”

John Irving book The Cider House Rules

Source: The Cider House Rules

“Jonathan sighed. The price of being misunderstood, he thought. They call you devil or they call you god.”

Richard Bach book Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Source: Jonathan Livingston Seagull

God

“Thank you, sir, but I am perfectly content being the bride of death.”

Seth Grahame-Smith book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Source: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Death

“Most of the successful people in Hollywood are failures as human beings.”

Marlon Brando (1924–2004) American screen and stage actor

People, Failure, Success

“I am completely a loner. In my head I want to feel I can be anywhere. There is a sort of recklessness that being a loner allows me.”

Arundhati Roy (1961) Indian novelist, essayist

“I live in fear of being alive.”

Gabriel García Márquez book Of Love and Other Demons

Source: Of Love and Other Demons

Fear

“And then their voices stopped and their souls stood still and they ceased being who they had been. Because who they were had always been determined by him.”

Melina Marchetta book On the Jellicoe Road

Source: On the Jellicoe Road

Soul

“Language has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.”

Paul Tillich (1886–1965) German-American theologian and philosopher

Source: The Eternal Now

Pain, Solitude, Loneliness

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.”

E.L. Doctorow (1931–2015) novelist, editor, professor

“Every human being must find his own way to cope with severe loss, and the only job of a true friend is to facilitate whatever method he chooses.”

Caleb Carr (1955) Novelist, screenwriter, military historian

Way, Loss

“We are never so poor that we cannot bless another human being, are we? So it is that every evil, whether moral or material, results in good. You'll see.”

Louise Erdrich book The Round House

Source: The Round House

Evil

“Human beings are such knotted, desperate pieces of work-it's a rare thing to know one completely, to the core, and still love him.”

Dean Koontz book Your Heart Belongs to Me

Source: Your Heart Belongs to Me

“It's not easy being so frightened of everything. And when I think of how much I've improved in the last year, I wonder when I'll ever get finished with making changes and be really grown up.”

Paula Danziger book There's a Bat in Bunk Five

Source: There's a Bat in Bunk Five

Thinking, Change

“My father once told me that respect for truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. 'Something cannot emerge from nothing,' he said. This is profound thinking if you understand how unstable 'the truth' can be.”

Frank Herbert book Dune

Source: Dune

Truth, Understanding, Thinking

“Human beings are millions of things in one day.”

Nick Hornby book A Long Way Down

Source: A Long Way Down

“Perhaps its inevitable, perhaps one has to choose between being nothing at all and impersonating what one is.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Age of Reason

Source: The Age of Reason

“Mmm, he rumbled into my ear. I thought that being married meant that I never go to bed hungry.”

Patricia Briggs book River Marked

Source: River Marked

“Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice… No one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Source: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Freedom

“Love is a fire/It burns everyone/It disfigures everyone/It is the world's excuse for being ugly.”

Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter

Love, World

“I love being single. It's almost like being rich.”

Sue Grafton (1940–2017) American writer

“Being present means living without control and always having your needs met.”

Byron Katie (1942) American spiritual writer

Source: On Work And Money

“They wanted to have a good time, but they were like children playing in the street; they could see one after another of them being killed—run over, maimed, destroyed—but they continued to play anyhow.”

Philip K. Dick book A Scanner Darkly

Author’s Note (p. 276)
Source: A Scanner Darkly (1977)

Children, Time

“For as long as he could remember, he’d suffered from a vague nagging feeling of being not all there.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English writer and humorist

Source: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Feeling, Suffering

“That's the thing about being a victim; you start to think it'll happen to you on a regular basis. It's living with the reality of your own vulnerability, and it sucks.”

Dennis Lehane book A Drink Before the War

Source: A Drink Before the War

Thinking, Reality

“People sometimes get in the habit of being loyal to a mistake.”

Richard Russo book Mohawk

Source: Mohawk

“Though the funny thing about never being asked for anything is that after a while you start to feel like maybe you don’t have anything worth giving.”

Lev Grossman The Magician King

Source: The Magician King

“I don't understand the point of being together if you're not the happiest.”

Gillian Flynn book Gone Girl

Source: Gone Girl

Understanding

“I'd take a look at my own self in the mirror and wonder how it was possible that anybody could manage such an enormous thing as being what he was.”

Ken Kesey book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Source: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962), Ch. 17
Context: Later, hiding in the latrine from the black boys, I'd take a look at my own self in the mirror and wonder how it was possible that anybody could manage such an enormous thing as being what he was.

“Being employed is like being loved: you know that somebody's thinking about you the whole time.”

Thornton Wilder The Matchmaker

Source: The Matchmaker

Love, Thinking, Time

“Not being heard is no reason for silence.”

Victor Hugo book Les Misérables

Source: Les Misérables

Silence

“Being enough was going to have to be an inside job.”

Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist

“Human beings can't see anything without wanting to destroy it. That's original sin. And I'm going to destroy it. Death is going to die.”

Philip Pullman book Northern Lights

Variant: Human beings can’t see anything without wanting to destroy it, Lyra. That’s original sin.
Source: His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass (1995), Ch. 21 : Lord Asriel's Welcome

Death

“We all want things we can't have. Being a decent human being is accepting that.”

John Fowles book The Collector

Source: The Collector

“Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you haven't committed.”

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin (1881–1955) French philosopher and Jesuit priest

“Reading is entering into the consciousness of another human being.”

Gary Shteyngart (1972) american journalist and writer

Reading

“Remember, despite the fact that this book is being sold as a 'fantasy' novel, you must take all of the things it says extremely seriously, as they are quite important, are in no way silly, and always make sense.

Rutabaga.”

Brandon Sanderson Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Source: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Books, Way, Sense

“The real problem with being around James was that he was always the hero. And what did that make you? Either the sidekick or the villain.”

Lev Grossman The Magicians

Source: The Magicians

Problem

“The first of the
line is tied to a tree and the last is being eaten by the ants.”

Gabriel García Márquez book One Hundred Years of Solitude

Source: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Tree

“I love being with you. When we're not together, i wish we were”

Sylvia Day book Bared to You

Source: Bared to You

“There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one’s head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people’s pain.”

James Baldwin book Giovanni's Room

Source: Giovanni's Room

Pain, People, Way

“I don't want our relationship to end like this. You're one of the very few friends I have, and it hurts not being able to see you. When am I going to be able to talk to you? I want you to tell me that much, at least.”

Haruki Murakami book Norwegian Wood

Source: Norwegian Wood

Hurt

“Enthusiats are used to being mocked, maligned and misunderstood. We don't really mind.”

Stephen Fry (1957) English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist

Source: The Fry Chronicles

“… some people aren't worth the trouble of being kind to, because they have neither the brains nor the power to make something for themselves out of your kindness.”

Rob Sheffield (1966) American music journalist

Source: Love Is a Mix Tape

“We do not just risk repeating history if we sweep it under the carpet, we also risk being myopic about our present.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977) Nigerian writer

History

“I think the best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event, which is to say character-driven.”

Stephen King (1947) American author

Source: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

People, Thinking

“If it comes down to a choice between being unloved and being vulnerable and sensitive and emotional, then you can just keep your love.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Choke

Source: Choke

“There’s glory and honour in being chosen. But not much room for free will”

Elizabeth Wein book Code Name Verity

Source: Code Name Verity

“To me, there is no greater act of courage than being the one who kisses first.”

Janeane Garofalo (1964) comedian, actress, political activist, writer

standup performance, date unknown[citation needed]
Standup routines

Courage, Kiss

“I think how the world is still somehow beautiful even when I feel no joy at being alive within it.”

Loung Ung (1970) American academic

Source: First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers

World, Beauty, Feeling, Thinking

“being physically intimidating didn't keep you from getting your feelings hurt. Everyone's heart is the same size.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book Hit List

Source: Hit List

Feeling, Heart, Hurt

“Being a practiced liar doesn't mean you have a powerful imagination. Many good liars have no imagination at all;”

Philip Pullman book Northern Lights

Source: His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass (1995), Ch. 15 : The Dæmon Cages
Context: Being a practiced liar doesn't mean you have a powerful imagination. Many good liars have no imagination at all; it's that which gives their lies such wide-eyed conviction.

Imagination

“Being with you is the best thing that's ever happened to me, the one perfect decision I've made in a lifetime of fumbling and poor judgment. I'd go through it all again to be by your side. Never doubt that. Never doubt how I feel about you.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Source: The Ruby Circle

Feeling, Decision, Perfection

“There are all sorts of dream interpretations, Freud's being the most notorious, but I have always believed they served a simple eliminatory function, and not much more - that dreams are the psyche's way of taking a good dump every now and then.”

Stephen King book The Stand

Source: The Stand

Dreams, Way

“The key to being a warrior is not to be afraid of who you are.”

Tom Spanbauer (1946) American writer

Source: In the City of Shy Hunters

“Let us keep courage and try to be patient and gentle. And let us not mind being eccentric, and make distinction between good and evil.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)

Courage, Evil

“In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer - proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water.”

Markus Zusak book The Book Thief

Source: The Book Thief

Water, Evil

“Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful!”

Richard Dawkins (1941) English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author

When asked how the world had changed following the September 11, 2001 attacks <br class="br"> Has the world changed? http://books.guardian.co.uk/writersreflections/story/0,1367,567546,00.html, The Guardian (October 11, 2001)

People, Faith, Religion, Confidence

“But then I had long mistaken being spoiled for being strong, being defiant for being independent, being reckless for being brave.”

Tami Hoag (1959) American writer

Source: Dark Horse

Strong

“The vast majority of human beings dislike and even actually dread all notions with which they are not familiar… Hence it comes about that at their first appearance innovators have generally been persecuted, and always derided as fools and madmen.”

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English writer

Fools, Appearance

“I'll ride my bike all the stinkin' way to school for the rest of eternity if it means being with her.

-Bryce”

Wendelin Van Draanen Flipped

Source: Flipped

School, Way

“It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English - up to fifty words used in correct context - no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese.”

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science educator

Learning

“I’m not unsympathetic. But do you like me? Because this being gay business doesn’t mean you can just throw yourself at any guy and it’ll be fine because he’s not a girl. There are still people you like and people you don’t.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Ashes

Source: City of Ashes

People, Guy, Girl, Business

“I like the fact of John McCain's head being severed. Like that it will fit so much more nicely up George Bush's butt!”

Stephen Colbert (1964) American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor

“If there were an honorable way to get rich, I’d do it, even if it meant being a stooge standing around with a whip. But there isn’t an honorable way, so I just do what I like.”

Confucius book Analects

Source: Analects of Confucius

Way

“Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.”

Marian Wright Edelman (1939) American children's rights activist

Life, Children

“Believe me, Being gay is not a choice. Noone would choose to make life harder than it has to be.”

Jodi Picoult book Sing You Home

Source: Sing You Home

Life

“Despite everything, I can’t bear the thought of this ring being lost forever, any more than I can bear the thought of leaving you forever. And though I have no choice about the one, at least I can choose about the other.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Glass

Source: City of Glass

“Cosmic time is the same for everyone, but human time differs with each person. Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way.”

Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972) Japanese author, Nobel Prize winner

Way, Time, Personality

“She didn't like to be alone. Even more, she didn't like being with people. (148)”

Elizabeth Strout book Olive Kitteridge

Source: Olive Kitteridge