Quotes about matter
page 14

“It's a full moon here tonight, which makes me think of you. Because, I know that no matter what I am doing or where I am, this moon will always be the same size as yours, half a world away.”

Nicholas Sparks book Dear John

Source: Dear John

World, Thinking

“There might be a God, Clary, and there might not, but I don't think it matters. Either way, we're on our own.”

Cassandra Clare The Mortal Instruments

Jace to Clary, pg. 257
The Mortal Instruments, City of Bones (2007)

God, Way, Thinking

“No matter how thin you slice it, there will always be two sides.”

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) Dutch philosopher

“The first rose on my rose-tree
Budded, bloomed, and shattered,
During sad days when to me
Nothing mattered.

Grief of grief has drained me clean;
Still it seems a pity
No one saw,—it must have been
Very pretty.”

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American poet

Source: Renascence and Other Poems

Sadness, Tree

“He was the mighty Fezzik, lover of rhymes, and you did not give up, no matter what.”

William Goldman book The Princess Bride

Source: The Princess Bride

Lovers

“No matter how honestly you open up to someone, there are still things you cannot reveal.”

Haruki Murakami book Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Source: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

“No matter what a woman's appearance may be, it will be used to undermine what she is saying and taken to individualize - as her personal problem - observations she makes about the beauty myth in society.”

Naomi Wolf (1962) American writer

Beauty, Problem, Appearance, Personality

“[No] matter what a waste one has made of one's life, it is ever possible to find some path to redemption, however partial.”

Charles Frazier book Cold Mountain

Source: Cold Mountain

Life

“No matter how qualified or deserving we are, we will never reach a better life until we can imagine it for ourselves and allow ourselves to have it.”

Richard Bach (1936) American spiritual writer

Life, Imagination

“When anything can happen, everything matters.”

Ian McEwan Saturday

Source: Saturday

“Hanajima: To truly love someone is to always put thier feelings before your own… No matter what.”

Natsuki Takaya (1973) Manga artist

Love, Feeling

“The further you go, the more you have to be proud of. At the same time, in order to come a long way, you have to be behind to begin with. IN the end, though maybe it's not how you reach a place that matters. Just that you get there at all.”

Sarah Dessen Lock and Key

Source: Lock and Key

Way, Time

“You must first of all think justly. Don’t sit in judgment over others when you don’t know the truth of the matter.”

Pramoedya Ananta Toer book Bumi Manusia

Source: Bumi Manusia

Truth, Thinking

“No matter how good somebody's life looks from the outside, you can be sure there's something about it you wouldn't want to have in your life.”

Jean Ferris (1939–2015) American children's writer

Source: Twice Upon a Marigold

Life

“Jump to the day we'll all be dead and none of this will matter. Jump to the day another house will stand here and the people living there won't know we ever happened.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Invisible Monsters

Source: Invisible Monsters

People, Housing, Dead

“Life is not a matter of creating a special name for ourselves, but of uncovering the name we have always had.”

Richard Rohr (1943) American spiritual writer, speaker, teacher, Catholic Franciscan priest

Source: Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self

Life

“We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what.”

George Santayana (1863–1952) 20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with Pragmatism

Life, Solitude, Holiday

“10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and the remaining 80 percent can be moved in either direction.”

Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist

“It doesn’t matter how old I get, but as long as I continue to live I’ll always discover something new about myself.”

Haruki Murakami book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Source: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

“One day I was talking to Cora. She prayed for me because she believed I was blind to sin, wanting me to kneel and pray too, because people to whom sin is just a matter of words, to them salvation is just words too.”

William Faulkner book As I Lay Dying

Source: As I Lay Dying

People

“But maybe you never really had someone, she thought now. Maybe, no matter how much you loved them, they could slip through your fingers like water, and there was nothing you could do about it.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Fallen Angels

Source: City of Fallen Angels

Love, Water

“No matter what those sex-ed teachers say about how great condoms are, there's not a condom in the world to protect you from heartbreak.”

Natasha Friend (1972) American writer

Source: For Keeps

World, Sex, Teachers

“When anybody, no matter how old they are, loses a parent, I think it hurts the same as if you were only five years old, you know? I think all of us are always five years old in the presence and absence of our parents.”

Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Source: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Thinking, Parent, Hurt

“The more I did it―the more it owned me. It made things matter. It put a spine into my spineless life and that spine spread, into backbone, ribs, collarbone, neck held high.
It was something. Don't say it wasn't.”

Megan Abbott book Dare Me

Source: Dare Me

Life

“Most of what matters in our lives takes place in our absence.”

Salman Rushdie book Midnight's Children

Source: Midnight's Children

“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.”

Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) African American boxer, philanthropist and activist

Hate, People, Color

“it doesn t matter if it takes a long time getting there; the point is to have a destination.”

Eudora Welty (1909–2001) American author

Time

“there's nothing in the human heart or mind, no place no matter how twisted or secret, that can't be endured - if you have someone to share it with.”

Spider Robinson book Callahan's Crosstime Saloon

Source: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon

Secret, Heart

“We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each othereverywhere.”

Tim McGraw (1967) American country singer

Variant: We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everyhwere.

Life

“Everything that happens to you matters to me.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Fallen Angels

Source: City of Fallen Angels

“No. No no no no. It is not easy. Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying you're friends is easy. Being friends is not.”

Rachel Cohn (1968) American writer

Source: Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

Love, Feeling, Happiness

“Love mattered, in the end. A house without love would always fall, maybe not today or tomorrow, but in the end without love nothing could endure.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book Bullet

Source: Bullet

Love, Housing

“Perhaps this is how you know you're doing the thing you're intended to: No matter how slow or how slight your progress, you never feel that it's a waste of time.”

Curtis Sittenfeld (1975) Novelist, short story writer

Source: The Man of My Dreams

Feeling, Time

“The future happens. No matter how much we scream.”

Derek Walcott (1930–2017) Saint Lucian–Trinidadian poet and playwright

Source: The Odyssey

Future

“Love demands everything, they say, but my love demands only this: that no matter what happens or how long it takes, you`ll keep faith in me, you`ll remember who we are, and you`ll never feel despair.”

Ann Brashares book My Name is Memory

Source: My Name Is Memory

Love, Faith, Feeling, Despair

“You matter.”

Suzanne Young

The Treatment

“I do not think much of ages. People are people. What does it matter how old or young they are? It is a category, and I do not like categories. It is a sort of pigeonhole or a label.”

Louis L'Amour (1908–1988) Novelist, short story writer

Source: The Lonesome Gods

People, Age, Thinking

“Is that your reason for fighting?! We're different!!! We fight for the sake of our injured friends!!! No matter if our opponents are humans, demons, or even gods!!!”

Hiro Mashima (1977) Japanese manga artist

God, Fight

“The moment she was cursed, I lost her. Once it wears off- soon- she will be embarrassed to remember things that she said, things she did, things like this. No matter how solid she feels in my arms, she is made of smoke.”

Holly Black book Red Glove

Source: Red Glove

Feeling

“Men," Thom murmured. "Men who shook the pillars of heaven and rocked the world on its
foundations." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Forget about them. They are dust now.”

Robert Jordan book The Eye of the World

Source: The Eye of the World

Men, World, Forgetting

“I've always sort of wondered: If everyone else's opinion is what matters, then do you ever really have one of your own?”

Jodi Picoult (1966) Author

“Time will perfect matter.”

Terence McKenna (1946–2000) American ethnobotanist

Time, Perfection

“There are no forbidden questions in science, no matters too sensitive or delicate to be probed, no sacred truths.”

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

Truth, Question, Science

“You knew the truth all along, Colie. That's all matters. You knew.”

Sarah Dessen book Keeping the Moon

Source: Keeping the Moon

Truth

“Don’t worry if they say you’re crazy. They said that about me and yet I was saner than all of them. I knew. No matter. You know. Insane or sane, you know. It’s a good thing to know - no matter what they call it.”

Anne Sexton (1928–1974) poet from the United States

“Hours of crisis often call for sacrifice. In matters of consequence, when have doubt and fear given the best advice? Why not heed faith, courage, and honor?”

Brandon Mull Fablehaven

Source: Fablehaven

Fear, Faith, Courage

“I'm dark matter. The universe inside of me is full of something, and science can't even shine a light on it. I feel like I'm mostly made of mysteries.”

Maria Dahvana Headley (1977) American writer

Source: Magonia

Feeling, Light, Universe, Science

“What did it matter to me? Did I think that by making you rational about one thing, I could make you rational about everything? Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to save you from your fears”

David Levithan The Lover's Dictionary

Source: The Lover's Dictionary

Fear, Thinking

“people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our most ordinary moments. They’re with us in the grocery store, as we turn a corner, chat with a friend. They rise up through the pavement; we absorb them through our soles.”

Christina Baker Kline (1964) American writer

Source: Orphan Train

People

“All that existed was Jace; all she felt, hoped, breathed, wanted, and saw was Jace. Nothing else mattered.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Glass

Source: City of Glass

Hope

“You need me? You yell. You want to leave? We go. I'll get you out of here, no matter what.”

Richelle Mead book The Golden Lily

Source: The Golden Lily

“He had found my worst weakness: I was one of those people who was desperate to be needed, to matter to someone.”

Lisa Kleypas (1964) American writer

Source: Blue-Eyed Devil

People

“No matter the truth, people see what they want to see..”

Cecily von Ziegesar Gossip Girl

Source: Gossip Girl

People, Truth

“In the end, I stopped worrying about how strange you seemed. I realized that it didn't really matter if I understood you, because I trusted you.”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Source: The Hero of Ages

“Islands are metaphors of the heart, no matter what poet says otherwise.”

Jeanette Winterson book Sexing the Cherry

Source: Sexing the Cherry

Heart

“No matter how many people care about you, she thought, if you can't be open with them about who you truly are, you're still alone.”

Diane Chamberlain (1950) American writer

Source: The Silent Sister

People

“I guess this is what marriage is, or was, or could be. You drop the mask. You allow the fatigue in. You lean across and kiss the years because they're the things that matter.”

Colum McCann book Let the Great World Spin

Source: Let the Great World Spin

Marriage, Kiss

“what's the matter?" he asked
"nothing"
"what do you want me to do for you?"
"i want you to be old. ten years older. twenty years older"
what she meant was: i want you to be weak. as weak as i am.”

Milan Kundera book The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Source: The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“I'm naive enough to think that love is always good no matter how long ago, no matter the circumstances.”

Anne Michaels book Fugitive Pieces

Source: Fugitive Pieces

Love, Thinking

“Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age
The child is grown, and puts away childish things.
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.
Nobody that matters, that is.”

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American poet

"Childhood Is the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies," lines 1-4, from Wine from These Grapes (1934)

Age, Birth, Childhood

“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”

Tom Schulman (1950) American film director, screenwriter

Variant: No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world
Source: Dead Poets Society

Business, World, Idea, Change

“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.”

Paulo Coelho book The Alchemist

Source: The Alchemist (1988), p. 158.

World, History, Personality

“As a matter of fact, we are none of us above criticism; so let us bear with each other's faults.”

L. Frank Baum book The Marvelous Land of Oz

Source: The Marvelous Land of Oz

“She was the kind of person who took care of things by herself. She’d never ask anybody for advice or help. It wasn’t a matter of pride, I think. She just did what seemed natural to her.”

Haruki Murakami book Norwegian Wood

Source: Norwegian Wood

Nature, Thinking, Help, Personality

“It doesn’t matter,” said Adrian, smiling. He rested a hand on my shoulder. “Some things are worth the trouble.”

Richelle Mead book The Indigo Spell

Variant: It doesn't matter,” said Adrian, smiling. He rested a hand on my shoulder. “Some things are worth the trouble.
Source: The Indigo Spell

Smile

“I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it sis my duty… This is my highest and best use as a human.”

Ben Stein (1944) actor, writer, commentator, lawyer, teacher, humorist

Life, Help

“It doesn't matter what people call you unless they call you pigeon pie and eat you up.”

Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) British writer

Part 2, Chapter 3
Brideshead Revisited (1945)
Source: Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder

People

“Well. Like I said, I dont want to fight anymore. I dont want us to hate each other. And… well… I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them. No matter how I fee about us… I want you to be happy”

Richelle Mead book Frostbite

Source: Frostbite

Hate, Fight, Happiness

“… dusk is the time when men whisper of matters about which they remain silent in the full light of the sun.”

Simon Raven (1927–2001) British writer

Men, Light, Time, Sun

“Raven: "You don't have a hot date, do you?"
Alexander: "Yes. I do, as a matter of fact."
Raven: "You do?"
Alexander: "Yes, and it is almost ending.”

Ellen Schreiber (1967) American writer

Source: The Coffin Club

“Chocolate is not a matter of life and death--it's more important than that.”

Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer

Source: At Last

Life, Death

“Adults are constantly telling teenagers that it's what's on the inside that matters. It's always painful to find out that adults have lied to you.”

Janette Rallison (1966) American writer

Source: My Fair Godmother

Pain

“Our story is never written in isolation. We do not act in a one-man play. We can do nothing that does not affect other people, no matter how loudly we say, "It's my own business.”

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer

Source: Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

People, Business

“It’s the same thing. Passion is passion. It’s the excitement between the tedious spaces, and it doesn’t matter where it’s directed.”

Nicholas Sparks book Dear John

Source: Dear John

Passion

“The truth is that, no matter what kind of game you find yourself in, no matter how good or bad the luck, you can change your life completely with a single thought or a single act of love”

Gregory David Roberts book Shantaram

Source: Shantaram

Love, Life, Truth, Game

“What I cannot forgive is dishonesty - and no matter what, or how hard, I would rather know the truth of which I today had such a clear & devastating vision from his mouth than hear foul evasions, blurrings and rattiness.”

Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) American poet, novelist and short story writer

Source: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Truth, Forgiveness

“Living a connected life ultimately is about setting boundaries, spending less time and energy hustling and winning over people who don’t matter, and seeing the value of working on cultivating connection with family and close friends.”

Brené Brown (1965) US writer and professor

Source: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Life, People, Family, Time

“We must assume every event has significance and contains a message that pertains to our questions… this especially applies to what we used to call bad things… the challenge is to find the silver lining in every event, no matter how negative.”

James Redfield book The Celestine Prophecy

Source: The Celestine Prophecy

Question

“Living like an empty shell is not really living, no matter how many years it may go on. The heart and flesh of an empty shell give birth to nothing more than the life of an empty shell.”

Haruki Murakami book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Life, Birth, Heart

“Come with me into the woods where spring is
advancing, as it does, no matter what,
not being singular or particular, but one
of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.”

Mary Oliver (1935–2019) American writer

Source: Dog Songs

Spring

“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.”

Vera Nazarian (1966) American writer

Source: The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Help

“Hope for the best, be prepared for the worse. Life is shocking, but you must never appear to be shocked. For no matter how bad it is it could be worse and no matter how good it is it could be better.”

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet

Life, Hope, Appearance

“Remember; no matter how desperate the situation seems, time spent
thinking clearly is never time wasted.”

Max Brooks book The Zombie Survival Guide

Source: The Zombie Survival Guide

Thinking, Time

“No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away.”

Haruki Murakami book Kafka on the Shore

Source: Kafka on the Shore (2002), Chapter 12
Context: Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through, is now like something from the distant past. We're so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past, like ancient stars that have burned out, are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about every day, too many new things we have to learn. New styles, new information, new technology, new terminology... But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone. And for me, what happened in the woods that day is one of these.

Moving On, Memory, Time