Yuri

“And I feel I have something very serious and urgent to say to
you, my non-existent reader, and I feel I should say it as urgently
as if I were standing in the room with you. That life—whatever
else it is—is short. That fate is cruel but maybe not random. That
Nature (meaning Death) always wins but that doesn’t mean we
have to bow and grovel to it. That maybe even if we’re not always
so glad to be here, it’s our task to immerse ourselves anyway:
wade straight through it, right through the cesspool, while keeping
eyes and hearts open. And in the midst of our dying, as we rise
from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, it is
a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn’t touch.”
― Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch

“It takes a lot of courage to fight biases and oppressive regimes, but it takes even greater courage to admit ignorance and venture into the unknown. Secular education teaches us that if we don’t know something, we shouldn’t be afraid of acknowledging our ignorance and looking for new evidence. Even if we think we know something, we shouldn’t be afraid of doubting our opinions and checking ourselves again. Many people are afraid of the unknown, and want clear-cut answers for every question. Fear of the unknown can paralyse us more than any tyrant. People throughout history worried that unless we put all our faith in some set of absolute answers, human society will crumble. In fact, modern history has demonstrated that a society of courageous people willing to admit ignorance and raise difficult questions is usually not just more prosperous but also more peaceful than societies in which everyone must unquestioningly accept a single answer. People afraid of losing their truth tend to be more violent than people who are used to looking at the world from several different viewpoints. Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

“You're going to realize it one day-- that happiness was never about your job or your degree or being in a relationship. Happiness was never about following in the footsteps of all of those who came before you; it was never about being like the others.

One day, you're going to see it-- that happiness was always about the discovery, the hope, the listening to your heart and following it wherever it chose to go. Happiness was always about being kinder to yourself; it was always about embracing the person you were becoming.

One day, you will understand that happiness was always about learning how to live with yourself, that your happiness was never in the hands of others. It was always about you. It was always about you.”
― Bianca Sparacino, The Strength In Our Scars

“I don’t want to be work. I don’t want you to feel that I’m work.”
“Somewhere along the way your wires got crossed. Your brain decided that you’re not worth people’s time and effort, and that if you ask for anything, they won’t just say no, they’ll also leave you. That’s not how love works, Elsie.”
― Ali Hazelwood, Love, Theoretically