Gail Tsukiyama > Quotes

“Sometimes you can’t let go of the past without facing it again.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There's no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, Dreaming Water

“Even a snail will eventually reach its destination.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“Everything seems simpler from a distance.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“Beauty exists where you least expect to find it.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“It is not an act of bravery to try to save your own village. It is an instinct to protect what you possess. Bravery is when you step in to help when you have nothing to lose.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“But how will I know it's my destiny?'

'Like love it will possess you... You can't help but know.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“The eyes mirror the heart of a person. An entire life can be seen through them. Love, sorrow, deceit, pain. If you look closely, it’s all there.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Language of Threads

“Don’t ever think that just because you do things differently, you’re wrong.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, Women of the Silk

“In the end, it doesn’t matter what words are said or unsaid. . . .Life’s mistakes are made whether you can see them or not. What counts is how we learn to live with them.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Language of Threads

“It takes greater courage to live.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“Just remember, Every day of your lives, you must always be sure what you’re fighting for.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“When you're young, you can excuse many things, hoping they will strengthen with time.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“To read and write will help you understand life. . .to sew and mend will help you survive it.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Language of Threads

“Do you think a champion is made out of thin air? It’s through the hardships you endure that you’ll gain real strength.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“We can’t run away from what defines our fates. Who we are and what we believe in grow from the roots of our past, no matter how much we might try to deny it.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Language of Threads

“...life is not just from within, it extends all around you, whether you wish it to or not.”
― Gail Tsukiyama

“Nothing ever stands still, and neither should you.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, Women of the Silk

“Sometimes things don’t work out as they’re planned, and there have to be sacrifices in order to make things better again.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, Women of the Silk

“To have strength without knowing how to use it means nothing.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“We live a short enough time on this earth. A man should do what he loves.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“The garden is a world filled with secrets. Slowly, I see more each day. The black pines twist and turn to form graceful shapes, while the moss is a carpet of green that invites you to sit by the pond. Even the stone lanterns, which dimly light the way at night, allow you to see only so much.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“Success is not handed to you. You must work hard for it and you must never dishonor what you’ve achieved.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“What wars really destroyed were families.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“Wei cleared his throat and said, “Have you heard the saying `The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher’? It seems I’ve been the pitcher most of my life. I’ve forgotten how to be fluid. It feels as if I’m finally learning now,” he said.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, A Hundred Flowers

“Sometimes the house is so quiet I feel like the only noise that fills my mind is what I've created myself. Remembered conversations come back to me as if my friends and family were right here in the room.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“The things you remember about a person when they're gone are funny. No two people will feel the same way, though usually it has to do with scent, or expression, the sound of a voice, an unusual gesture. For me, I can still see the colors of Keiko; the black of her hair against creamy pale skin, her dark blue kimono with white circles, the deep orange persimmons falling from the brown basket she carried. The ache in my heart grows larger every time I think of these colors, and how as each day passes they continue to fade from my eyes.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Samurai's Garden

“Just remember that life is made up of change. We can’t run away from it.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Language of Threads

“We’re stepping into a new world, and an entire way of thinking must be changed. But the old ideas can’t be easily discarded. Like a pendulum, new ways must swing to the other side before returning.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

“Don’t you think every face tells its own story? Like a book? More like a poem. If you study it long enough, you’ll soon find its meaning.”
― Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms