Casey

“The realisation of our mortality came slowly, in dribs and drabs, until we bleakly acknowledged that everything was on loan to us for a short time—the world, our possessions, the people we knew and loved. But we could not spend our time dwelling on our mortality; we still had to behave as if the worst would not happen, for otherwise we would not do very much, we would be defeated and give up.”
― Alexander McCall Smith, The Double Comfort Safari Club

“The trouble with technology is that it’s dehumanised us – it’s removed the restraints of ordinary human interactions. So we lose the notion that the person with whom we’re dealing is a person like us, with failings and feelings. It’s exactly the same as in wartime. When people are engaged in conflict, they very easily lose sight of the humanity of the other. They become capable of doing things that they would never do in their ordinary lives.”
― Alexander McCall Smith, Bertie Plays the Blues

“The danger, of course, is that we spend time imagining that we would be happier elsewhere, and forget to cultivate happiness where fate has placed us.”
― Alexander McCall Smith, Sunshine on Scotland Street

“The unmerited dislike of another made one think less of oneself. We are enlarged by the love of others; we are diminished by their dislike.”
― Alexander McCall Smith