Quotes

(stuff said or written by other people)

Here are a few quotes that have struck me or influenced me

"'Poet'

What you've always wanted to be. What scares you the most. You put your feelings down on paper and suddenly your soul is exposed to the entire fucking world. But the thing no one realizes as they disect your works is that this is YOU. This isn't some fucking poem, this isn't some fucking words on a paper. This is YOU. Your life, your soul, your body, your feelings. You."

Adam Lugibill, "You", from Adam's page, http://www.angelfire.com/pa/awesley/

"When all thoughts
Are exhausted
I slip into the woods
And gather
A pile of shepherd's purse.

Like the little stream
Making its way
Through the mossy crevices
I, too, quietly
Turn clear and transparent."

Ryokan, Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf p. 20

"Taa muuziiba, kas rudzu laukaa iet."

Translation: "Theat eternity, that goes in the field of rye."

I forget the name of the author. She is a Latvian poet who read her poems after my church in September of 2000, and I remember this line. I am not sure if it completely correct... but this is the idea that moved me.

"Keep your heart clear and transparent
And you will never be bound.
A single disturbed thought, though,
Creates ten thousand distractions."

Ryokan, Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf p. 94

"Give me the real thing
Through and through my veins."
Delirious?, "Gravity"

"Rejoyce always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything; hold fast to what is good, abstain from every form of evil."
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, 5:16-22

"The world owes me nothing."

Ryokan, Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf p. 12

"The best that I can do is live what I believe."
Small Town Poets, "Gloria"

"There's still an enormous amount of centripetal force left in our planet, Alyosha, my boy, so I want to live and go on living, even if it's contrary to the rules of logic."
Ivan Karamazov
Fyodor Dostoevski, The Brothers Karamazov p. 276

"Love should come before logic."
Alyosha Karamazov
Fyodor Dostoevski, The Brothers Karamazov p. 277

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
He makes my lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
A Psalm of David, Psalm 23

"There are many at the present day thus clinging to the customs and traditions of their fathers. When the Lord sends them additional light, they refuse to accept it, because, not having been granted to their fathers, it was not received by them. We are not placed where our fathers were; consequently our duties and responsibilities are not the same as theirs. We shall not be approved of God in looking to the example of our fathers to determine our duty instead of searching the word of truth for ourselves. Our responsibility is greater than was that of our ancestors. We are accountable for the light which they received, and which was handed down as an inheritance for us, and we are accountable also for the additional light which is now shining upon us from the word of God."
Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy p. 164

"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?"
Jesus Christ, as recorded in Mark 8: 34-37

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say, 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour."
Jesus answering John and Philip, as recorded in John 12:27