Vishnu > Vishnu's Quotes

“Extinguish my eyes, I'll go on seeing you.
Seal my ears, I'll go on hearing you.
And without feet I can make my way to you,
without a mouth I can swear your name.

Break off my arms, I'll take hold of you
with my heart as with a hand.
Stop my heart, and my brain will start to beat.
And if you consume my brain with fire,
I'll feel you burn in every drop of my blood.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”
― Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

“The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves.”
― Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

“The more the drive toward life is thwarted, the stronger is the drive toward destruction; the more life is realized, the less is the strength of destructiveness. Destructiveness is the outcome of unlived life.”
― Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom

“Modern man lives under the illusion that he knows 'what he wants,' while he actually wants what he is supposed to want. In order to accept this it is necessary to realize that to know what one really wants is not comparatively easy, as most people think, but one of the most difficult problems any human being has to solve. It is a task we frantically try to avoid by accepting ready-made goals as though they were our own.”
― Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom

“And if there were a devil it would not be one who decided against God, but one who, in eternity, came to no decision. ”
― Martin Buber, I and Thou

“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. ”
― William James

“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.”
― William James

“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
― William James

“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.”
― William James

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
― William James

“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.”
― William James

“To change one’s life:
1. Start immediately.
2. Do it flamboyantly.
3. No exceptions.”
― William James

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
― William James

“Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.”
― William James

“Our culture sings an endless paean to romantic love. We hear it in our music. We see it on our screens. We read it in our books. When people haven’t been in love, they wonder if something is “wrong” with them. When relationships don’t have a “spark,” people complain that “something is missing.” When people “fall out of love,” they believe it’s grounds for divorce.”
― Orion Taraban, The Value of Others

“In general, people are not drawn to perfection in others. People are drawn to shared interests, shared problems, and an individual's life energy.

Humans connect with humans. Hiding one's humanity and trying to project an image of perfection makes a person vague, slippery, lifeless, and uninteresting.”
― Robert Glover, No More Mr. Nice Guy: A Proven Plan for Getting What You Want in Love, Sex, and Life

“There are no perfect relationships. There are no perfect partners. Relationships by their very nature are chaotic, eventful, and challenging.”
― Robert A. Glover, No More Mr. Nice Guy

“Fathers need to take their sons hunting and fishing, work on cars with them, take them to work, coach their teams, take them to ball games, work out with them, take them on business trips, and let them tag along with them when they go out with the guys. All of these activities help boys move successfully into the male world. This process is not just limited to a man's biological sons. Nice Guys can get involved with young relatives, scouts, sports teams, school activities, or big brothers.”
― Robert A. Glover, No More Mr. Nice Guy

“There exists in the world
a single path along which
no one can go except you:
whither does it lead?
Do not ask, go along it.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Untimely Meditations

“If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.”
― Rabindranath Tagore

“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but
for the heart to conquer it.”
― Rabindranath Tagore, Collected Poems and Plays of Rabindranath Tagore

“If my heart is breaking—let it break! That will not make the world bankrupt—nor even me; for man is so much greater than the things he loses in this life. The very ocean of tears has its other shore, else none would have ever wept.”
― Rabindranath Tagore, The Home and the World

“Cover mine eyes, O my Love!
Mine eyes that are weary of bliss
As of light that is poignant and strong
O silence my lips with a kiss,
My lips that are weary of song!
Shelter my soul, O my love!
My soul is bent low with the pain
And the burden of love, like the grace
Of a flower that is smitten with rain:
O shelter my soul from thy face!”
― Sarojini Naidu, The Golden Threshold

“Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realise it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.”
― Sarojini Naidu

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
― Rumi

“What you seek is seeking you.”
― Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

“And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”
― Khalil Gibran, Love Letters in the Sand: The Love Poems of Khalil Gibran

“Where are you now, my beloved? Do you hear my weeping
From beyond the ocean? Do you understand my need? Do you know the greatness of my patience?”
― Kahlil Gibran, Love Letters in the Sand: The Love Poems of Khalil Gibran

“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit”
― Kahlil Gibran, Love Letters in the Sand: The Love Poems of Khalil Gibran