Jrobin > Jrobin's Quotes

“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”
― Victor Hugo

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

“the real "work" of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me.

To gently push aside and silence the many voices that question my goodness and to trust that I will hear the voice of blessing-- that demands real effort. ”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“I kept running around it in large or small circles, always looking for someone or something able to convince me of my Belovedness.

Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved". Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life...all of our life.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“First of all, you have to keep unmasking the world about you for what it is: manipulative, controlling, power-hungry, and, in the long run, destructive. The world tells you many lies about who you are, and you simply have to be realistic enough to remind yourself of this. Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: 'These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting belief.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“Our society is so fragmented, our family lives so sundered by physical and emotional distance, our friendships so sporadic, our intimacies so 'in-between' things and often so utilitarian, that there are few places where we can feel truly safe.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice. Our minds have great difficulty in coming to grips with such a reality. Maybe our minds will never understand it. Perhaps it is only our hearts that can accomplish this. Every time we hear about 'chosen people', 'chosen talents', or 'chosen friends', we almost automatically start thinking about elites and find ourselves not far from feelings of jealousy, anger, or resentment. Not seldom has the perception of others as being chosen led to aggression, violence, and war.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“Our lives are unique stones in the mosaic of human existence -- priceless and irreplaceable.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“Our greatest fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“We may be little, insignificant servants in the eyes of a world motivated by efficiency, control and success. But when we realize that God has chosen us from all eternity, sent us into the world as the blessed ones, handed us over to suffering, can't we, then, also trust that our little lives will multiply themselves and be able to fulfill the needs of countless people?”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“If it is true that we not only are the Beloved, but also have to become the Beloved; if it is true that we not only are children of God, but also have to become children of God; if it is true that we not only are brothers and sisters, but also have to become brothers and sisters . . . if all that is true, how then can we get a grip on this process of becoming? If the spiritual life is not simply a way of being, but also a way of becoming, what then is the nature of this becoming?”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“I am convinced that healing is often so difficult because we don’t want to know the pain.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“For me, God is the one who calls me the Beloved, and I have a desire to express to others how I try to become more fully who I already am.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
― Soren Kierkegaard

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
― Lao Tzu

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

“Don't love to be loved in return. Love for the sake of loving.”
― Connor Chalfant

“By loving all the parts of you that I dislike in myself, I am learning to love me too.”
― Kate McGahan

“Love is better than hate.
Faith is greater than fear.
Having positive vibes is better than holding on to negative ones. Learn to stay positive. Choose faith over fear and love over hate. Change your perspective. Change your life and change your world.”
― Kemi Sogunle

“Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.'

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby.
But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

“Once you are real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

“When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

“When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.”
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

“...because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit