Internal Quotes

“Every man has inside himself a parasitic being who is acting not at all to his advantage.”
― William S. Burroughs

“Happiness is an undercurrent of sensitivity and leads a surreptitious life: it is an internal eventuality. We can feel it in stillness and it stands the test of time. Joy is an eruption of cheerful moments and we want to express it: it is an external eventuality. We might shout it out, as it conveys a dynamic of fleeting instants. Joy gives voice to “en-joy-ment”. ("The grass was greener over there")”
― Erik Pevernagie

“The exaggerated dopamine sensitivity of the introvert leads one to believe that when in public, introverts, regardless of its validity, often feel to be the center of (unwanted) attention hence rarely craving attention. Extroverts, on the other hand, seem to never get enough attention. So on the flip side it seems as though the introvert is in a sense very external and the extrovert is in a sense very internal - the introvert constantly feels too much 'outerness' while the extrovert doesn't feel enough 'outerness'.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“If we want to decode our community's deep-seated fibers, we must go and see the world and explore the significant distinctions and resemblances. To find out about the inner self and understand our internal murmurings, we must learn to reach out to the others. ("On a casual day without a tie")”
― Erik Pevernagie

“The pursuit of happiness is internal.”
― Akiah Watts, Fragments

“Peace is more of an internal settlement rather than what is visible on the external.”
― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

“Procrastination can wait for Tomorrrow.”
― Michelle Marie

“If one abuses or neglects internal powers, external forces will act accordingly.”
― T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph over Death and Conscious Encounters With the Divine Presence

“Anything outside yourself, this you can see and apply your logic to it," she said. "But it's a human trait that when we encounter personal problems, those things most deeply personal are the most difficult to bring out for our logic to scan. We tend to flounder around, blaming everything but the actual, deep-seated thing that's really chewing on us.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune

“While practicing Asanas with deep breathing, we come across the internal resistance. This internal resistance reflects in many areas of our lives. With regular Asana practice with deep breathing, this internal resistance diminishes and we encounter our biggest strengths. This is how regular Asana practice with deep breathing changes our internal body and mind composition.
Purvi Raniga”
― Purvi Raniga

“We are full of things that impel us outwards.

Our instinct makes us feel that our happiness must be sought outside ourselves. Our passions drive us outwards, even without objects to excite them. External objects tempt us in themselves and entice us even when we do not think about them. Thus it is no good philosophers telling us: Withdraw into yourselves and there you will find your good. We do not believe them, and those who do believe them are the most empty and silly of all.”
― Blaise Pascal, Pensées

“There is so much rot in police internal affairs!”
― Steven Magee

“My interactions with Denver Police internal affairs was comparable to Pima County Sheriff’s internal affairs, I could not get a complaint upheld.”
― Steven Magee

“Brahmatva (Brahmahood) is the state of smile, internal one, may or may not be visible externally.”
― Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma, Smiling Brahma

“External smile is for the world, internal one, for the soul. Brahma smile is the internal one, the smile of the soul.”
― Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma, Smiling Brahma

“The police will not let a member of the public report a police officer assaulting a person. Instead, they direct you to internal affairs. They will take an assault report on anyone else.”
― Steven Magee

“Reporting corrupt police departments to internal affairs is not how police corruption research works. It has to all be done online and in public view. Think George Floyd.”
― Steven Magee

“Internal affairs are adept at withholding police video recordings that show police officer misconduct.”
― Steven Magee

“Getting the police internal affairs runaround? Welcome to my world!”
― Steven Magee

“Getting the police internal affairs runaround is common in police corruption research.”
― Steven Magee

“It is well known to police corruption researchers that police internal affairs does not work.”
― Steven Magee

“Police officers do not fear police internal affairs, as they know it is designed to protect them from the misconduct they engage in with the public.”
― Steven Magee

“My problem was internal, something inside of me, but I didn’t know how to address it.”
― Michael J Heil, Pursued: God’s relentless pursuit and a drug addict’s journey to finding purpose

“When muscle breaks itself internally, it’s growth; when it’s broken by someone externally, it’s damage.”
― Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma, Rep By Rep

“External battles can be outsourced; not internal ones.”
― Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma, Rep By Rep

“English: "The manner of clouding our past interiority is similar to the manner of clouding the interiority of others."

Česky: „Způsob zamlžení našeho minulého nitra se podobá způsobu zamlžení nitra ostatních.”
― Sebastián Wortys

“Truth is found within, but often are we imprisoned searching for truth externally…”
― Elijah Santiago

“Whitepeople believed that whatever the manners, under every dark skin was a jungle. Swift unnavigable waters, swinging screaming baboons, sleeping snakes, red gums ready for their sweet white blood. In a way, he thought, they were right. The more coloredpeople spent their strength trying to convince them how gentle they were, how clever and loving, how human, the more they used themselves up to persuade whites of something N****** believed could not be questioned, the deeper and more tangled the jungle grew inside. But it wasn't the jungle blacks brought with them to this place from the other (livable) place. It was the jungle whitefolks planted in them. And it grew. It spread. In, through and after life, it spread, until it invaded the whites who had made it. Touched them every one. Changed and altered them. Made them bloody, silly, worse than even they wanted to be, so scared were they of the jungle they had made. The screaming baboon lived under their own white skin; the red gums were their own.”
― Toni Morrison, Beloved

“Reality is in secrecy, not in openness. Because anything can be reflected outwardly, it is open to manipulation. Whether that reflection is genuine or not can only be revealed when a deep relationship is developed with that person. The sacred hides. A genuine soul does not scream; it whispers. True connection, the kind that shakes the bones, requires mystery and unknowing. But modern culture, in its desperation for validation, has sterilized all tension; dating is now a checklist, or friendship is now a series of performed affirmations. Everyone is "relatable," and thus, no one is real.”
― Sov8840

“KISAH KAKTUS
(Dalam 6 Fragmentarium)

1. Fragmentarium Patah — Reruntuhan Melekat di Kulit Hijau

Kaktus tumbuh dari retakan
yang tidak pernah kita selesaikan.

Tubuhnya menyimpan
bekas-bekas gerak pecah:
duri sebagai kalimat yang patah,
bulu halus sebagai notulen
dari luka yang pernah tertunda.

Di pondok itu
waktu rebah dalam bentuk geometri rusak—
segitiga yang hilang satu sisi,
kotak yang kehilangan dinding.

Kaktus tidak mengenal kesedihan.
Tetapi setiap pagi
aku menemukan serpih hening
menempel di batangnya,
seperti ingatan yang gagal kembali
ke tubuh manusia.

2. Fragmentarium Gelap — Litani yang Bernafas dalam Kabut Hitam

Kabut menebal.
Mengubur halaman sajak
dengan logika yang tak ingin diingat.

Nenek itu datang,
menanam senja di ketiak kaktus,
menusuk dengan jarinya
seolah membuka pintu rahasia
yang sembunyi di antara lipatan
kulit hijau mengeras.

Dari ketiak itulah
waktu keluar:
hitam, pekat,
berbau dingin
seperti logam tua.

Orang-orang datang,
menjejali ruangan
dengan benda yang tak meminta dikasihi—
tembuni, seruling,
vas, cangkang,
kaos kaki basah.

Semua bergerak
di bawah cahaya gelap
yang memanjat batang kaktus
seperti doa yang tersesat.

3. Fragmentarium Dingin — Anatomi Luka yang Tidak Menginginkan Kehangatan

Cahaya masuk
lewat genting pecah.

Ia mengenai pot keramik,
dan gelas bening
menyimpan dinginnya
seperti rahim yang menolak
janin takdir.

Kaktus melihat bulan
dikunyah anjing
di pagi gerimis—
peristiwa itu menetes
ke dalam memori hijau
yang belum tahu arah.

Sebelum arti datang,
dingin menata dirinya
di jantung kaktus.

Ketika duri dicabut,
bukan darah yang jatuh,
melainkan partikel sepi
yang bergetar
seperti denting logam
di ruang operasi.

4. Fragmentarium Klinis — Manual Bedah dari Tubuh yang Tidak Mengerti Diri Sendiri

Setiap duri adalah instruksi.
Setiap bulu halus adalah catatan diagnostik.

Kaktus:
organ penyimpan air,
organ pengukur waktu,
organ yang mengganti fungsi rasa
dengan kalkulasi ketahanan.

Nenek itu memetik waktu
dari lipatan keriputnya—
gestur itu klinis,
seperti meraba denyut pasien
yang tidak ingin hidup
dan tidak ingin mati.

Waktu:
objek, bukan cerita.
Unit, bukan luka.

Sampai suara mikrofon pecah
di mulutnya,
memecahkan halaman sajak
menjadi angka-angka
yang tidak merindukan makna.

5. Fragmentarium Sunyi — Rongga yang Menghindari Semua Nama

Kaktus adalah rongga.
Yang tumbuh hanyalah sunyi.

Di tubuhnya
tidak ada kata yang menetap.
Hanya gema yang datang,
menyentuh sejenak,
lalu melesap
ke dalam dinding pondok
yang tidak mencatat siapa pun.

Bayangan duduk di sofa merah
dan tidak berkata apa-apa.
Bulan ikut duduk,
lebih diam dari bayangan itu.

Kaktus tidak memahami kesedihan.
Tetapi ia mengerti
betapa sunyi dapat menyamar
menjadi cahaya,
betapa cahaya dapat menyamar
menjadi air mata
yang tidak pernah menetes.

6. Fragmentarium Kosmologis — Topologi Duri, Cahaya, dan Takdir yang Melengkung

Kaktus meminum cahaya
dan menemukan bahwa kosmos
bukan langit di luar pondok,
melainkan ruang kecil
dalam jantungnya sendiri.

Duri adalah orbit.
Bayangan adalah rotasi lambat
dari waktu yang berbiak.

Ketika cahaya jatuh ke gelas,
kaktus melihat dirinya
sebagai serpih bintang
yang gagal meletus.

Ia meneguknya—
cahaya turun
seperti gravitasi retak.

Dan tiba-tiba ia paham:
rasa sakit
bukan milik tubuh,
melainkan milik semesta
yang menunda kelahiran.

Kaktus pun menyala,
dengan cara yang hampir tidak terlihat:
sebuah bintang hijau
yang memilih berputar
di dalam sumsum
tanpa memohon
untuk ditemukan.

Desember 2025”
― Titon Rahmawan