John

“To be a human being among people and to remain one forever, no matter in what circumstances, not to grow despondent and not to lose heart — that’s what life is all about, that’s its task.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Letters of Fyodor Dostoevsky to his family and friends

“How many thousands have I spent on perfume and alcohol, cigarettes and Turkish baths, disappointing trips and third-class movies; how many months in silent bars or parks, expecting, in a chair with a book not reading, or waiting in line, waiting in line? Who will tell me it’s a loss when I know life must be for pleasure? The parks were balanced by museums, the baths by oceans, bars by composition, and the dreaming chair by books finished. Nothing is waste that makes a memory.”
― Ned Rorem, The Paris Diary & The New York Diary, 1951–1961

“Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.”
― John O'Donohue, Walking in Wonder: Eternal Wisdom for a Modern World

“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”
― Elbert Hubbard, Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Vol. 3: American Statesmen