Michael Leunig > Quotes

“God help us to live slowly:
To move simply:
To look softly:
To allow emptiness:
To let the heart create for us.
Amen.”
― Michael Leunig

“When the heart
Is cut or cracked or broken
Do not clutch it
Let the wound lie open
Let the wind
From the good old sea blow in
To bathe the wound with salt
And let it sting.
Let a stray dog lick it
Let a bird lean in the hole and sing
A simple song like a tiny bell
And let it ring
Let it go.
Let it out.
Let it all unravel.
Let it free and it can be
A path on which to travel.”
― Michael Leunig, The Prayer Tree

“We struggle, we grow weary, we grow tired. We are exhausted, we are distressed, we despair. We give up, we fall down, we let go. We cry, we are empty, we grown calm. We are ready. We wait quietly.
A small shy truth arrives. Arrives from without and within. Arrives and is born. Simple, steady, clear. Like a mirror, like a bell, like a flame. Like rain in summer. A precious truth arrives and is born within us. Within our emptiness.
We accept it, we observe it, we absorb it. We surrender to our bare truth. We are nourished, we are changed. We are blessed. We rise up. For this we give thanks.
"Short NotesS From The Long History Of Happiness”
― Michael Leunig

“Love one another and you will be happy, it is as simple and as difficult as that”
― Michael Leunig

“Life is offensive and refuses to apologise”
― Michael Leunig, The Essential Leunig: Cartoons From a Winding Path

“Come sit down beside me,
I said to myself,
And although it doesn’t make sense,
I held my own hand
As a small sign of trust
And together I sat on the fence.”
― Michael Leunig, Curly Verse: Selected Poems

“Each day is a lifetime. In the morning we are born. The day lies before us: vast and bright and new.”
― Michael Leunig, The Curly Pyjama Letters

“Each day is a lifetime.”
― Michael Leunig, The Curly Pyjama Letters

“It is at Easter that Jesus is most human, and like all humans, he fails and is failed. His is not an all-powerful God, it is an all-vulnerable God.”
― Michael Leunig

“Happiness is just a little thing;
Humans mostly are too large for it.
If you cannot feel the joy of spring
Shrink yourself and maybe then you'll fit.”
― Michael Leunig, Curly Verse: Selected Poems

“Sometimes I wonder if the semi-conscious agenda of the media is to get between people and their souls. It is the the soul with its myriad tiny nerve endings that notices the neglected pathos, poignancy and practicality that lies at the heart of life. It’s as if the media are somehow irritated and envious that anonymous people should have the quiet brilliance of their rich and sustainable inner lives...”
― Michael Leunig

“There are only two feelings.
Love and fear.
There are only two languages.
Love and fear.
There are only two activities.
Love and fear.”
― Michael Leunig