Manar

“Yes, Eleanor loathed herself and yet required praise, which she then never believed.”
― Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia

“Marriage was an economic institution in which you were given a partnership for life in terms of children and social status and succession and companionship. But now we want our partner to still give us all these things, but in addition I want you to be my best friend and my trusted confidant and my passionate lover to boot, and we live twice as long. So we come to one person, and we basically are asking them to give us what once an entire village used to provide: Give me belonging, give me identity, give me continuity, but give me transcendence and mystery and awe all in one. Give me comfort, give me edge. Give me novelty, give me familiarity. Give me predictability, give me surprise. And we think it’s a given, and toys and lingerie are going to save us with that. Ideally, though, we’re lucky, and we find our soul mate and enjoy that life-changing mother lode of happiness. But a soul mate is a very hard thing to find.”
― Aziz Ansari, Modern Romance

“في هذي الدنيا كلنا سيلتقي بشخص لا تنساه الذاكرة
و العجيب أنه لن يكون لنا
ستعجب به .. ستكون به جميع المواصفات التي قد نقشها قلبك لعقلك
سيكون أنت في مكان آخر
ستعيش معه حياة مختلفة .. لن تقدر أن تقترب و لا أن تبتعد
هو مرة حبيبا و مرة صديقا و مرة أخرى غريبا
و تمضي الأيام .. تتمنى أن تجد سببا لتكرهه .. و لن تجد
تخشى التعلّق به .. و أنت فعلت حقا
أحيانا ستظنه لك ..
لكنك ستقبض على روحك بتنهيدة صامتة و تهمس " هو ليس لي”
― أحمد جابر, رحلة العشرين عاماً

“I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we are looking for- adventure, excitement, emotion, connection-we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we’re struggling with- sometimes ones so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them- we look for answers in stories.”
― Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers