Noha Talaat

“Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is... suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.”
― Gillian Anderson

“Perhaps the greatest faculty our minds possess is the ability to cope with pain. Classic thinking teaches us of the four doors of the mind, which everyone moves through according to their need.

First is the door of sleep. Sleep offers us a retreat from the world and all its pain. Sleep marks passing time, giving us distance from the things that have hurt us. When a person is wounded they will often fall unconscious. Similarly, someone who hears traumatic news will often swoon or faint. This is the mind's way of protecting itself from pain by stepping through the first door.

Second is the door of forgetting. Some wounds are too deep to heal, or too deep to heal quickly. In addition, many memories are simply painful, and there is no healing to be done. The saying 'time heals all wounds' is false. Time heals most wounds. The rest are hidden behind this door.

Third is the door of madness. There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.

Last is the door of death. The final resort. Nothing can hurt us after we are dead, or so we have been told.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

“أكثر الناس ينتظرون شيئاً ما ليتغيروا، وآخرون يتغيرون عندما تحدث لهم صدمة، أو تتغير أدوارهم في الحياة. لكن أعظم التغيير هو التغير المقصود الواعي النابع من التأمل والإرادة والشعور بالمسؤولية”
― طارق السويدان

“عاشر الزمان وجها لوجه بلا شريك. بلا ملهاة ولا مخدر. واجهه في جموده وتوقفه وثقله. إنه شيء عنيد ثابت كثيف وهو الذي يتحرك في ثناياه كما يتحرك النائم في كابوس. إنه جدار غليظ مرهق متجهم. غير محتمل إذا انفرد بمعزل عن الناس والعمل. كأننا لا نعمل ولا نصادق ولا نحب ولا نلهو إلا فرارا من الزمن. الشكوى من قصره ومروره أرحم من الشكوى من توقفه.”
― نجيب محفوظ, الحرافيش