Joss Sheldon > Quotes

“No thanky-you; you can't overcome hatred with more hatred. Force can kill the liar but not the lie, the hater but not the hate, and the violent but not the violence. Hate begets hate, violence begets violence, and war begets war.”
― Joss Sheldon, 'Involution & Evolution': A rhyming anti-war novel

“My parents, you see, were a little square. They cared more about being good parents in the general sense than being good parents for me. They wanted to appear normal; respectable and responsible. But they weren’t prepared to acknowledge my individual needs.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“Those drugs were either going to bring me nirvana or they were going to kill me. I was sure of it. And I was comfortable with it.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“Albert Einstein once said that ‘insanity’ was ‘Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting to achieve different results’. He was a clever chap, that Einstein fella. And, according to him, I must have been insane. Because I kept on working hard, and I kept on expecting to be rewarded, even though my hard work had never been rewarded before. I didn’t have any evidence to suggest that I’d be rewarded. It wasn’t a rational belief. It all came down to optimism. Blind, debilitating optimism.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“The creature who lives inside my brain suggested I do it,” I offered tentatively. “It was very convincing.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“I learned how to argue. They called it ‘Debate’. I learned how to worship. I learned how to become an eager worker and a passive consumer.
But I didn’t learn anything practical, like how to purify water, build a home, start a fire, grow food, or survive without the help of corporations.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“The most rebellious thing you can do is get educated. Forget what they told you in school. Get educated! I ain’t saying play by the rules. Get educated! Get educated! Get educated! Break the chains of their enslavement. Get educated! Even if you’re on the pavement. Get educated! What a weapon that your brain is. Get educated! Get educated! Get educated!”   AKALA”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“This is a story about understanding overcoming compulsion, love overcoming revulsion; and oneness overcoming abuse. About the rare sort of kind-geniality, and brave-morality; which we all possess but seldom use.

A story about detractors who will be defeated, challenges which will be completed; and principles which will be proclaimed. About acts of persecution, and threats of execution; which will all be constrained.

This is the beginning of Alfred Freeman's story, the beginning of a life full of glory; and the beginning of Alfred himself. Because Alfred is being born, in his human form; with peaceful-eyes and perfect-health.”
― Joss Sheldon, 'Involution & Evolution': A rhyming anti-war novel

“For real men serve their country with random acts of kindness, not vicious acts of violence. And real soldiers have one duty, and one duty only; they have a duty to mutiny!”
― Joss Sheldon, 'Involution & Evolution': A rhyming anti-war novel

“An hour seldom passed in which she didn’t either sneeze, pick her nose, or wipe a bogie onto her snot-encrusted sleeve. But she had such a lovely colour. That pink glow which comes with the flu used to engulf her like an aura. It suited her. She always looked so damn effervescent.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“Her face lit up; illuminated by the enlightenment of recognition and the innocence of surprise.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“Alfred is taken past this broom, and enters this room; which can only be described as 'piecemeal'. It is full of pieces of fish-market paraphernalia, pieces of military-regalia; and pieces of rusted-steel.
It is full of these spiky-hooks, fishmongery-books; and saline-scalers. These bayonet-blades, grenades; and dusty loud-halers.”
― Joss Sheldon, 'Involution & Evolution': A rhyming anti-war novel

“I spent an hour getting ready for work, an hour travelling to work, nine hours at work, and an hour travelling home. By the time I got back, I’d be so tired that I’d just eat my dinner, watch some dumbed-down television and browse the internet. I’d fall asleep. Then I’d wake up and repeat the whole process again the next day. Living”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“For me, dear reader, that place was purgatory incarnate; neither good nor bad, but a gateway to great rewards or even greater punishments.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“I liked all the children in my class. Back then, I think we all just tacitly assumed that we were equal. That we were all in the same boat. We didn’t really think about our different genders, races or classes. We just co-existed, like one big family.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“I wanted nirvana,” I explained. “I wanted death. I wanted release, any sort of release. And yet here I am, stuck in the material realm; neither enlightened, nor dead, nor free. And that hurts. It hurts so much.” It”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“I became a new person; sucked into the neutrality of the abyss, comforted by social norms, and set free from the burden of individuality.”
― Joss Sheldon, The Little Voice

“But this anti-war protest, is far from a success; it is just a placebo for the people. These peacemakers feel so satisfied, gratified; gay-gallant-and-gleeful. But they do not achieve anything acceptable, perceptible; or peaceful.”
― Joss Sheldon, 'Involution & Evolution': A rhyming anti-war novel

“God is British to the bone, and every fellow here knows it. You can't exploit him to save yourself, you blaspheming cadaverous-prig; you disgusting shambles of porcelain-skin, unwholesome-fat and puny-bones. Your blatant disregard for God's word shan't earn you any favours here!”
― Joss Sheldon, 'Involution & Evolution': A rhyming anti-war novel

“Communities which include the greatest number of the most sympathetic members will flourish.” CHARLES DARWIN”
― Joss Sheldon, INDIVIDUTOPIA: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia

“goose-pimples.”
― Joss Sheldon, Occupied

“Ruthie and Raymondo had tried to conceive, day and night, ever since they married, aged fourteen. On realising their predicament, they tried every remedy in the book. Raymondo was circumcised. He ate curds and meat. Aunt Ruthie tried vaginal steaming, using a brew of rosemary, lavender, oregano, marigold, basil and rose. They made love in the dark and beneath the glow of a hundred candles, inside and outside, in the presence of both northerly and southerly winds. Nothing worked. Raymondo was sure the blame lay with Ruthie, who was sure it lay with him. But both husband and wife were too kind to blame their partner. In fact, they each admitted fault, to soothe their spouse’s conscience. They each believed their partner’s confession, which confirmed their own belief in their innocence.”
― Joss Sheldon, Money Power Love

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It’s lethal.” PAULO COELHO”
― Joss Sheldon, INDIVIDUTOPIA: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia

“They walked down narrow roads, which turned into narrow alleys, as narrow houses crept forward on either side. The pastel coloured paint which adorned those buildings could not disguise their shabby state, although Protokian propaganda did hide patches of crumbling bricks. There were posters of Holy priests, etchings of Atamow, and spray-painted red suns.”
― Joss Sheldon, Occupied

“Money this, money that. Only when they've cut down the last tree, poisoned the last river, and caught the last fish; will they realise they cannot eat their money.”
― Joss Sheldon, Other Worlds Were Possible

“People don’t change. They reveal who they really are.” ANONYMOUS”
― Joss Sheldon, INDIVIDUTOPIA: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia

“Slavery) is to work and have such pay, as just keeps life from day to day.” PERCY SHELLEY”
― Joss Sheldon, INDIVIDUTOPIA: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia

“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules, but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.” BANKSY”
― Joss Sheldon, Money Power Love