“They will stare. They will stand to the side and watch her be alone.”
“Solitude is very different from a ’time-out’ from our busy lives. Solitude is the very ground from which community grows. Whenever we pray alone, study, read, write, or simply spend quiet time away from the places where we interact with each other directly, we are potentially opened for a deeper intimacy with each other.”
“The science of psychology lies within your own head making complex decisions and showing different attitudes”
“Let s just enjoy it for ourselves. Dawn is such a private hour, don t you think? Such a solitary hour. One always hears that said of midnight, but I think of midnight as remarkably companionable—everyone together, sleeping in the dark. I am afraid I am interrupting your solitude, Anna said. No, no, the boy said. Oh, no. Solitude is best enjoyed in company. He grinned at her, quickly, and Anna smiled back. Especially the company of one other soul, he added, turning back to the sea. It s dreadful to feel alone and really be alone. But I love to enjoy the feeling when I m not.”
“Material wealth alone is not enough to build a great nation.”
“On the way we talked about the road sign Bridge Ices Before Road. I always wondered, If that s a problem, why don t they just build the bridge out of the same stuff they use to build the road? Drema explained that the bridge isn t made out of different material than the road, but that the bridge ices quicker because it s alone, hanging there without the land under it to keep it warm.”
“I have friends, they love me, the use me, they leave. This has always been a cycle. Until you came and ruined everything.”
“Many of us are destined to be alone, while most of us sentence ourselves to it.”
“I can’t help but imagine what that would be like—to be all alone on this island with eternity taunting me with loneliness. To say goodbye to the last human you will ever see—there is no crueler hand of fate.”
“A few birds sang in the distance; everything was still. We were truly alone. This was it, no turning back now. Even if we did, it was a long walk home.”
“If you often feel alone, ignored, or forgotten, think about this: closing the door and locking yourself in won t change anything—literally and figuratively.”
“Even fairy tales have limits, said Sophie. Three people can t have an Ever After. Not without me being alone.”
“She has never understood, nor been able to relate to a herd mentality. She doesn t get along with followers and avoids the bandwagon. She marches to her own tune and does it alone. She s despised by the weak-minded and respected by the strong. She ruffles the feathers of the flock because she champion s the defenseless and pick s on the mob. Does she wish she could not give a damn and live an ordinary life surrounded by nodding and needy ordinary people? At times...but she d be bored out of her mind when she s never bored alone, and because of that she s patient because a couple of times in a lifetime she s lucky enough to come across a memorable, magnetic and remarkable person - one worth knowing, even if just for the brevity of a conversation.”
“I wouldn t coax the plant if I were you. Such watchful nursing may do it harm. Let the soil rest from so much digging And wait until it s dry before you water it. The leaf s inclined to find its own direction; Give it a chance to seek the sunlight for itself. Much growth is stunted by too careful prodding, Too eager tenderness. The things we love we have to learn to leave alone.”
“Only in a crowded, diverse place like New York, surrounded by strangeness, do I come home to myself.”
“Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone. Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.”
“At the end of the life you have to live your day alone and vice-versa.”