“
(..)Fate has always been a potent force in Russia, where, for generations, citizens have had little control over their own destinies. Fate can be a bitch, but, as Zaitsev, Dvornik, and Onofrecuk had discovered, it can also be a tiger.
”
”
John Vaillant (The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival)
“
Life is a series of decisions. Whether you make the correct decisions or not doesn’t matter. The important thing is to keep going forward. Years later, when you look back, perhaps you’ll find that the incorrect decisions you made… weren’t really incorrect. Similarly, the correct decisions… might not necessarily have been correct. Why struggle with frustration? Why proceed with confusion? In all things… resolution only comes from continuing to move forward. Following this line of reasoning, if there is no such thing as ‘incorrect,’ then how can the ‘correct’ exist? Similarly, if there is no ‘correct,’ then how can the ‘incorrect’ exist?
”
”
Er Gen (Nirvanic Rebirth. Blood Everywhere! (I Shall Seal the Heavens 我欲封天 #5))
“
You can never see me during my loneliest hours because I’m only lonely when you’re not around.
”
”
Er Gen (Famous in the Sea of Devils)
“
What is the meaning of life?”
“Snow will only appear during winter,” he said quietly, “and can only exist in the cold wind. Therefore, its life exists only during the depths of winter.” He pulled his hand back into the carriage and held it next to the copper oven. The snow began to melt, turning into water, which flowed through the creases of his palm.
“Snow can only live in the winter. When it nears a fire, it dies. That is its life. It may yearn for summer, but… it can only desire it. In my hand, the snow becomes water, because this is not its world….
”
”
Er Gen
“
if you torment someone to their limits and place them in the midst of despair, then give them a sudden scrap of hope, an opportunity to be extricated, then most people would not hesitate to grab that chance.
”
”
Er Gen (Fame That Rocks the Ninth Mountain. The Path to True Immortality (I Shall Seal the Heavens 我欲封天 #6))
“
[I] threw open the door to find Rob sitting on the low stool in front of my bookcase, surrounded by cardboard boxes. He was sealing the last one up with tape and string. There were eight boxes - eight boxes of my books bound up and ready for the basement!
"He looked up and said, 'Hello, darling. Don't mind the mess, the caretaker said he'd help me carry these down to the basement.' He nodded towards my bookshelves and said, 'Don't they look wonderful?'
"Well, there were no words! I was too appalled to speak. Sidney, every single shelf - where my books had stood - was filled with athletic trophies: silver cups, gold cups, blue rosettes, red ribbons. There were awards for every game that could possibly be played with a wooden object: cricket bats, squash racquets, tennis racquets, oars, golf clubs, ping-pong bats, bows and arrows, snooker cues, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks and polo mallets. There were statues for everything a man could jump over, either by himself or on a horse. Next came the framed certificates - for shooting the most birds on such and such a date, for First Place in running races, for Last Man Standing in some filthy tug of war against Scotland.
"All I could do was scream, 'How dare you! What have you DONE?! Put my books back!'
"Well, that's how it started. Eventually, I said something to the effect that I could never marry a man whose idea of bliss was to strike out at little balls and little birds. Rob countered with remarks about damned bluestockings and shrews. And it all degenerated from there - the only thought we probably had in common was, What the hell have we talked about for the last four months? What, indeed? He huffed and puffed and snorted and left. And I unpacked my books.
”
”
Annie Barrows (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society)
“
Every turn in the path leads to new scenery. My footprints exist on that path, and as to whether they are deep or shallow, it doesn’t matter. All the decisions were mine to make.
”
”
Er Gen (Five Color Paragon (I Shall Seal the Heavens 我欲封天 #4))
“
Yan’er, look at the clouds, the mountains, the sky, and the land. Remember this image. However grand your vision is, that is how grand your future can be. It is also how grand… your heart can be.
We cultivators cultivate, not the body, but the heart!
”
”
Er Gen (I Shall Seal the Heaven! (German Edition))
“
Remember one thing: having no talent isn’t terrifying, what is terrifying is laziness.
”
”
Er Gen (The Mediocre Youth)
“
Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to have sex and get pregnant as teens. But then they waited longer to reach full adulthood with careers and children. So GenX'ers managed to lengthen adolescence beyond all previous limits: they started becoming adults earlier and finished becoming adults later.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
Zu früh, befürcht ich; denn mein Herz erbangt
Und ahnet ein Verhängnis, welches, noch
Verborgen in den Sternen, heute Nacht
Bei dieser Lustbarkeit den furchtbarn Zeitlauf
Beginnen und das Ziel des läst'gen Lebens,
Das meine Brust verschließt, mir kürzen wird
Durch irgendeinen Frevel frühen Todes.
Doch er, der mir zur Fahrt das Steuer lenkt,
Richt' auch mein Segel!
I fear, too early. For my mind misgives
Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars,
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels, and expire the term
Of a despisèd life, closed in my breast,
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
But He that hath the steerage of my course
Direct my sail!
Romeo: Act I, Scene 4
”
”
William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet)
“
Gently, he leaned in and brushed his soft, generous lips against mine. It was awesome. I thought I might puke.
”
”
Storm Grant (Few Are Chosen)
“
Lord Turtle was just sleeping for a bit.
So what? Did ya miss me, fool?
Well, even if you did, it doesn't matter.
In fact, don't even talk to me. I'm germaphobic!
”
”
Er Gen (The Peak Of Life!)
“
iGen’ers are more likely than any generation before them to be raised by religiously unaffiliated parents.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
But, you place yourself on a pedestal. You believe yourself to be invincible. You saw no reason to talk reasonably with me. Well then, I might as well go to war!
”
”
Er Gen (Five Color Paragon (I Shall Seal the Heavens 我欲封天 #4))
“
Reasons Why I Loved Being With Jen
I love what a good friend you are. You’re really engaged with the lives of the people you love. You organize lovely experiences for them. You make an effort with them, you’re patient with them, even when they’re sidetracked by their children and can’t prioritize you in the way you prioritize them.
You’ve got a generous heart and it extends to people you’ve never even met, whereas I think that everyone is out to get me. I used to say you were naive, but really I was jealous that you always thought the best of people.
You are a bit too anxious about being seen to be a good person and you definitely go a bit overboard with your left-wing politics to prove a point to everyone. But I know you really do care. I know you’d sign petitions and help people in need and volunteer at the homeless shelter at Christmas even if no one knew about it. And that’s more than can be said for a lot of us.
I love how quickly you read books and how absorbed you get in a good story. I love watching you lie on the sofa reading one from cover-to-cover. It’s like I’m in the room with you but you’re in a whole other galaxy.
I love that you’re always trying to improve yourself. Whether it’s running marathons or setting yourself challenges on an app to learn French or the fact you go to therapy every week. You work hard to become a better version of yourself. I think I probably didn’t make my admiration for this known and instead it came off as irritation, which I don’t really feel at all.
I love how dedicated you are to your family, even when they’re annoying you. Your loyalty to them wound me up sometimes, but it’s only because I wish I came from a big family.
I love that you always know what to say in conversation. You ask the right questions and you know exactly when to talk and when to listen. Everyone loves talking to you because you make everyone feel important.
I love your style. I know you think I probably never noticed what you were wearing or how you did your hair, but I loved seeing how you get ready, sitting in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom while you did your make-up, even though there was a mirror on the dressing table.
I love that you’re mad enough to swim in the English sea in November and that you’d pick up spiders in the bath with your bare hands. You’re brave in a way that I’m not.
I love how free you are. You’re a very free person, and I never gave you the satisfaction of saying it, which I should have done. No one knows it about you because of your boring, high-pressure job and your stuffy upbringing, but I know what an adventurer you are underneath all that.
I love that you got drunk at Jackson’s christening and you always wanted to have one more drink at the pub and you never complained about getting up early to go to work with a hangover. Other than Avi, you are the person I’ve had the most fun with in my life.
And even though I gave you a hard time for always trying to for always trying to impress your dad, I actually found it very adorable because it made me see the child in you and the teenager in you, and if I could time-travel to anywhere in history, I swear, Jen, the only place I’d want to go is to the house where you grew up and hug you and tell you how beautiful and clever and funny you are. That you are spectacular even without all your sports trophies and music certificates and incredible grades and Oxford acceptance.
I’m sorry that I loved you so much more than I liked myself, that must have been a lot to carry. I’m sorry I didn’t take care of you the way you took care of me. And I’m sorry I didn’t take care of myself, either. I need to work on it. I’m pleased that our break-up taught me that. I’m sorry I went so mental.
I love you. I always will. I'm glad we met.
”
”
Dolly Alderton (Good Material)
“
Most churches do not grow beyond the spiritual health of their leadership. Many churches have a pastor who is trying to lead people to a Savior he has yet to personally encounter. If spiritual gifting is no proof of authentic faith, then certainly a job title isn't either.
You must have a clear sense of calling before you enter ministry. Being a called man is a lonely job, and many times you feel like God has abandoned you in your ministry. Ministry is more than hard. Ministry is impossible. And unless we have a fire inside our bones compelling us, we simply will not survive. Pastoral ministry is a calling, not a career. It is not a job you pursue.
If you don’t think demons are real, try planting a church! You won’t get very far in advancing God’s kingdom without feeling resistance from the enemy.
If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. Once a month I get away for the day, once a quarter I try to get out for two days, and once a year I try to get away for a week. The purpose of these times is rest, relaxation, and solitude with God.
A pastor must always be fearless before his critics and fearful before his God. Let us tremble at the thought of neglecting the sheep. Remember that when Christ judges us, he will judge us with a special degree of strictness.
The only way you will endure in ministry is if you determine to do so through the prevailing power of the Holy Spirit. The unsexy reality of the pastorate is that it involves hard work—the heavy-lifting, curse-ridden, unyielding employment of your whole person for the sake of the church. Pastoral ministry requires dogged, unyielding determination, and determination can only come from one source—God himself.
Passive staff members must be motivated. Erring elders and deacons must be confronted. Divisive church members must be rebuked. Nobody enjoys doing such things (if you do, you should be not be a pastor!), but they are necessary in order to have a healthy church over the long haul. If you allow passivity, laziness, and sin to fester, you will soon despise the church you pastor.
From the beginning of sacred Scripture (Gen. 2:17) to the end (Rev. 21:8), the penalty for sin is death. Therefore, if we sin, we should die. But it is Jesus, the sinless one, who dies in our place for our sins. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died to take to himself the penalty of our sin.
The Bible is not Christ-centered because it is generally about Jesus. It is Christ-centered because the Bible’s primary purpose, from beginning to end, is to point us toward the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the salvation and sanctification of sinners.
Christ-centered preaching goes much further than merely providing suggestions for how to live; it points us to the very source of life and wisdom and explains how and why we have access to him. Felt needs are set into the context of the gospel, so that the Christian message is not reduced to making us feel better about ourselves.
If you do not know how sinful you are, you feel no need of salvation. Sin-exposing preaching helps people come face-to-face with their sin and their great need for a Savior.
We can worship in heaven, and we can talk to God in heaven, and we can read our Bibles in heaven, but we can’t share the gospel with our lost friends in heaven.
“Would your city weep if your church did not exist?”
It was crystal-clear for me. Somehow, through fear or insecurity, I had let my dreams for our church shrink. I had stopped thinking about the limitless things God could do and had been distracted by my own limitations. I prayed right there that God would forgive me of my small-mindedness. I asked God to forgive my lack of faith that God could use a man like me to bring the message of the gospel through our missionary church to our lost city. I begged God to renew my heart and mind with a vision for our city that was more like Christ's.
”
”
Darrin Patrick (Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission)
“
iGen’ers’ drumbeats of growing up slowly, individualism, and safety all manifest themselves in their exceedingly cautious attitude toward relationships.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
iGen’ers are addicted to their phones, and they know it. Many also know it’s not entirely a good thing. It’s clear that most teens (and adults) would be better off if they spent less time with screens. “Social media is destroying our lives,” one teen told Nancy Jo Sales in her book American Girls. “So why don’t you go off it?” Sales asked. “Because then we would have no life,” the girl said.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
An die Freude
Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt*;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder*
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben
und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muß er wohnen.
”
”
Friedrich Schiller
“
Many iGen’ers are so addicted to social media that they find it difficult to put down their phones and go to sleep when they should. “I stay up all night looking at my phone,” admits a 13-year-old from New Jersey in American Girls. She regularly hides under her covers at night, texting, so her mother doesn’t know she’s awake. She wakes up tired much of the time, but, she says, “I just drink a Red Bull.” Thirteen-year-old Athena told me the same thing: “Some of my friends don’t go to sleep until, like, two in the morning. “I assume just for summer?” I asked. “No, school, too,” she said. “And we have to get up at six forty-five.” Smartphone use may have decreased teens’ sleep time: more teens now sleep less than seven hours most nights (see Figure 4.12). Sleep experts say that teens should get about nine hours of sleep a night, so a teen who is getting less than seven hours a night is significantly sleep deprived. Fifty-seven percent more teens were sleep deprived in 2015 than in 1991. In just the three years between 2012 and 2015, 22% more teens failed to get seven hours of sleep.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
In the three years I spent working on this book, making dozens of line graphs, reading campus newspapers, and listening to the stories and opinions of young people during in-depth interviews, I’ve realized this: iGen’ers are scared, maybe even terrified. Growing up slowly, raised to value safety, and frightened by the implications of income inequality, they have come to adolescence in a time when their primary social activity is staring at a small rectangular screen that can like them or reject them. The devices they hold in their hands have both extended their childhoods and isolated them from true human interaction. As a result, they are both the physically safest generation and the most mentally fragile.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
Yale tried to say something, but didn’t know how to begin. It had to do with a walk he once took with Nico and Richard around the Lincoln Park lagoon, the two of them sharing Richard’s Leica. It struck Yale that day how they both had a way of interacting with the world that was simultaneously selfish and generous—grabbing at beauty and reflecting beauty back. The benches and fire hydrants and manhole covers Nico and Richard stopped to photograph were made more beautiful by their noticing. They were left more beautiful, once they walked away. By the end of the day, Yale found himself seeing things in frames, saw the way the light hit fence posts, wanted to lap up the ripples of sun on a record store window. He said, “I get it, I do.
”
”
Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers)
“
Dear Jon,
A real Dear Jon letter, how perfect is that?! Who knew you’d get dumped twice in the same amount of months. See, I’m one paragraph in and I’ve already fucked this.
I’m writing this because I can’t say any of this to you face-to-face. I’ve spent the last few months questioning a lot of my friendships and wondering what their purpose is, if not to work through big emotional things together. But I now realize: I don’t want that. And I know you’ve all been there for me in other ways. Maybe not in the literal sense, but I know you all would have done anything to fix me other than listening to me talk and allowing me to be sad without solutions. And now I am writing this letter rather than picking up the phone and talking to you because, despite every thing I know, I just don’t want to, and I don’t think you want me to either.
I lost my mind when Jen broke up with me. I’m pretty sure it’s been the subject of a few of your WhatsApp conversations and more power to you, because I would need to vent about me if I’d been friends with me for the last six months. I don’t want it to have been in vain, and I wanted to tell you what I’ve learnt.
If you do a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet and join a gym, it will be a good distraction for a while and you will lose fat and gain muscle, but you will run out of steam and eat normally again and put all the weight back on. So maybe don’t bother. Drunkenness is another idea. I was in blackout for most of the first two months and I think that’s fine, it got me through the evenings (and the occasional afternoon). You’ll have to do a lot of it on your own, though, because no one is free to meet up any more. I think that’s fine for a bit. It was for me until someone walked past me drinking from a whisky miniature while I waited for a night bus, put five quid in my hand and told me to keep warm. You’re the only person I’ve ever told this story.
None of your mates will be excited that you’re single again. I’m probably your only single mate and even I’m not that excited. Generally the experience of being single at thirty-five will feel different to any other time you’ve been single and that’s no bad thing.
When your ex moves on, you might become obsessed with the bloke in a way that is almost sexual. Don’t worry, you don’t want to fuck him, even though it will feel a bit like you do sometimes.
If you open up to me or one of the other boys, it will feel good in the moment and then you’ll get an emotional hangover the next day. You’ll wish you could take it all back. You may even feel like we’ve enjoyed seeing you so low. Or that we feel smug because we’re winning at something and you’re losing. Remember that none of us feel that.
You may become obsessed with working out why exactly she broke up with you and you are likely to go fully, fully nuts in your bid to find a satisfying answer. I can save you a lot of time by letting you know that you may well never work it out. And even if you did work it out, what’s the purpose of it? Soon enough, some girl is going to be crazy about you for some undefinable reason and you’re not going to be interested in her for some undefinable reason. It’s all so random and unfair – the people we want to be with don’t want to be with us and the people who want to be with us are not the people we want to be with.
Really, the thing that’s going to hurt a lot is the fact that someone doesn’t want to be with you any more. Feeling the absence of someone’s company and the absence of their love are two different things. I wish I’d known that earlier. I wish I’d known that it isn’t anybody’s job to stay in a relationship they don’t want to be in just so someone else doesn’t feel bad about themselves.
Anyway. That’s all. You’re going to be okay, mate.
Andy
”
”
Dolly Alderton (Good Material)
“
In the three years I spent working on this book, making dozens of line graphs, reading campus newspapers, and listening to the stories and opinions of young people during in-depth interviews, I’ve realized this: iGen’ers are scared, maybe even terrified.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
All in all, iGen’ers are increasingly disconnected from human relationships—
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
Selig sind, die da Leid tragen,
denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
Die mit Tränen säen,
werden mit Freuden ernten.
Sie gehen hin und weinen
und tragen edlen Samen,
und kommen mit Freuden
und bringen ihre Garben
Denn alles Fleisch ist wie Gras
und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen
wie des Grases Blumen.
Das Gras ist verdorret
und die Blume abgefallen.
So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder,
bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.
Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet
auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde
und ist geduldig darüber, bis er empfahe
den Morgenregen und Abendregen.
Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.
Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wieder kommen,
und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen;
ewige Freude wird über ihrem Haupte sein;
Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen
und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen
Herr, lehre doch mich,
daß ein Ende mit mir haben muß,
und mein Leben ein Ziel hat,
und ich davon muß.
Siehe, meine Tage sind
einer Hand breit vor dir,
und mein Leben ist wie nichts vor dir.
Ach wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen,
die doch so sicher leben.
Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen,
und machen ihnen viel vergebliche Unruhe;
sie sammeln und wissen nicht
wer es kriegen wird.
Nun Herr, wess soll ich mich trösten?
Ich hoffe auf dich.
Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand
und keine Qual rühret sie an
”
”
Anonymous
“
Entering college students show the same trend: in 2016, only 37% said that “becoming successful in a business of my own” was important, down from 50% in 1984 (adjusted for relative centrality). So, compared to GenX college students, iGen’ers are less likely to be drawn to entrepreneurship. These beliefs are affecting actual behavior. A Wall Street Journal analysis of Federal Reserve data found that only 3.6% of households headed by adults younger than 30 owned at least part of a private company in 2013, down from 10.6% in 1989. All the talk about the young generation being attracted to entrepreneurship turns out to be just that—talk.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
“
At the same time, Meng Hao burst out from the thick forest, a worried expression on his face. Behind him were seven or eight psychic demonic apes. They were furious and extremely fast. They pursued Meng Hao with unbridled fury.
”
”
Er Gen (Patriarch Reliance (I Shall Seal the Heavens 我欲封天 #1))
“
John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, spoke to hundreds of young people for his 2022 book, Fight: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America. When asked to describe the U.S., he found, young Millennials in the mid-2010s used words like “diverse,” “free,” and “land of abundance.” A few years later, Gen Z’ers instead said “dystopic,” “broken,” and “a bloody mess.
”
”
Jean M. Twenge (Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future)
“
If you believe it to be a sea of bitterness, then a sea of bitterness it is. If you believe it to simply be scenery on the path of life, then scenery it is... The sea of bitterness never ends, but the scenery does.
”
”
Er Gen (Paragon's Might (I Shall Seal the Heavens 我欲封天 #5))
“
„Okay, also... du und ich, ja?“, fragt er vorsichtig.
„Du und ich“, bestätige ich. „Such dir ein Wort aus, das dir gefällt. Ich brauche keine Labels oder anderweitige Bestätigun gen, solange du bei mir bist, aber wenn du das brauchst, dann können wir über alles reden.“
„Eine Beziehung?“, fragt er mit geweiteten Augen, in denen die Hoffnung so deutlich geschrieben steht, dass es in meinem Magen unangenehm zieht.
„Ja“, stimme ich sofort zu. „Und zwar exklusiv. Das ist meine Bedingung. Es hat mir gereicht, dich vorhin so eng mit Dylan zu sehen.“ Ich schlinge meinen Arm um ihn, ziehe ihn an mich und senke die Stimme. „Und das hier gehört alles mir. Ich dachte, das wäre klar.“ -S. 292
”
”
Alessia Gold (Puck Mates: Gabe & Connor)
“
Loeser keek naar binnen. De man die had gesproken stond bij de experimenteertafel en zeepte de kranen met een doekje in. Loeser zag hem en profil, maar hij hàd helemaal geen profiel, dat wil zeggen, zijn gezicht was een plat vlak - zijn kin en voorhoofd waren zo verticaal als een muur en zijn neus was plat tegen zijn schedel gedrukt, hij had geen lippen en zijn ogen zaten zo ver naar voren dat ze schuins tegen elkaar hadden kunnen knipogen. Die configuratie zag er zo onnatuurlijk uit dat hij alleen gen gevolg van een gruwelijk ongeval bij de geboorte kon zijn, iets met een stalen tafel of een betonnen vloer. Hij droeg een ruime grijze overall en had sliertig zwart haar dat eruitzag alsof het een paar dagen kruislings over het doucheputje had gelegen voordat het uit zijn schedel was gegroeid.
”
”
Ned Beauman (The Teleportation Accident)
“
Zeit schwand sein gutes Aussehen bereits, und er wurde krank und kränker.« »War es einer von denen?« Der Mann studierte Monk aufmerksam, sein Gesicht düster, die Wangenknochen hervortretend, die Nase breit und die Augen vollkommen ausdruckslos. »Warum? Wollen Sie ihn umbringen?« »Nicht so schnell«, entgegnete Monk. »Es gibt da einen Polizeisergeant, der sich eine langsame Rache wünscht … getreu dem Gesetz.« »Und Sie würden es ihm sagen, damit er sie ausüben könnte?« »Ja, das würde ich. Wenn ich sicher wäre, den Richtigen gefunden zu haben.« »Ein Kunde von mir hatte eine Vorliebe für ihn gefasst und wollte ein Nein als Antwort nicht akzeptieren. Ich hätte ihn ja selbst grün und blau geschlagen, aber das kann ich mir nicht leisten. Wenn das bekannt wird, bin ich raus aus dem Geschäft und meine Jungs mit mir.« »Name?« »Garson Dalgetty. Vornehmer Fatzke, aber im Grunde ein anständiger Kerl. Warnte mich, er würde mich ruinieren, wenn ich Hand an ihn legte. Und dazu wäre er wahrhaftig fähig!« »Ich danke Ihnen. Ich werde nicht verlauten lassen, woher ich diese Information habe. Aber dafür erwarte ich einen Gefallen von Ihnen.« »Ach? Warum überrascht mich das nicht?« »Weil Sie kein Narr sind.« »Welchen Gefallen?« Monk grinste. »Nichts, was mit Ihrem Gewerbe zu tun hätte! Ich möchte wissen, ob Gilmer Ihnen von jemandem erzählte, der ihm Geld gab, um seine Schulden zu bezahlen, und ich meine als Geschenk und nicht als Bezahlung.« Der Mann wirkte überrascht. »Also wissen Sie davon?« »Ja, der Mann, der es ihm gab, erzählte es mir. Ich frage mich, ob es der Wahrheit entspricht.« »Oh, ja. Er war großzügig, wirklich.« Er rutschte ein wenig in seinem roten Sessel herum. »Ich habe nie gefragt, warum. Aber er zahlte noch, als Gilmer schon bei mir war, hörte erst auf, als er gestorben war.« Abrupt wurde Monk bewusst, was der Mann gesagt hatte. »Fuhr er denn fort, Schulden zu machen?« »Medikamente, Sie verstehen – der arme Kerl. Das konnte ich mir nicht leisten.« »Wer war der Mann?« »Sie sagten doch, Sie wüssten es.« »Ich weiß es. Aber wissen Sie es?« Das hässliche Gesicht des Mannes leuchtete plötzlich mit bitterem Vergnügen. »Erpressung, stimmt’s? Nein, ich weiß es nicht. Gilmer erzählte es mir nicht, und ich fragte nicht danach.« »Wer wusste davon?« »Ach, Gott und Teufel. Woher soll ich das wissen? Nehme nicht an, dass es schwierig wäre, das herauszufinden, wenn Sie sich bemühen. Ich hatte nie das Bedürfnis.« Monk blieb noch eine Weile, dann dankte er dem Mann und verabschiedete sich, wobei er es auf dem Weg nach draußen vermied, einen Blick nach links oder rechts zu werfen. Er hatte bei dem Mann Mitgefühl entdeckt, und er wollte von seinem Gewerbe nichts wissen. Der Mann hatte vollkommen Recht gehabt mit der Behauptung, dass es nicht schwer sein dürfte, die Zahlun- gen zurückzuverfolgen, jetzt, da Monk wusste, dass sie regelmäßig geleistet wurden. Er brauchte den Rest des Tages dazu und benötigte keinerlei Fähigkeiten, außer landläufigem Bankwissen und gesundem Menschenvers- tand. Jeder andere Mensch hätte dasselbe erreichen können. Überdies schrieb er Sergeant Walters eine kurze Depesche, dass der Name des Mannes, den er suchte, Garson Dalgetty sei. Als er Clerkenwell verließ, fragte er sich, warum Alberton nicht hatte verlauten lassen, dass er Gilmer monatlich eine Vergütung von fünf Guineen gewährt hatte. Dies war ein enormer Betrag. Er hatte ihm besseres Essen, genügend Sherry und Laudanum erlaubt, um das schlimmste Elend zu erleichtern, mehr aber auch nicht. Es war ein Akt der Barmherzigkeit, nichts, weswegen man sich hätte schämen müssen, eher im Gegenteil. Aber war es auch so, wie es schien? Er hielt sich nicht damit auf, etwaige Geldgeschenke Casbolts zurückzuverfolgen. Albertons Zuwendungen genügten seinen Zwecken. Wenn es ihm gelang, in der Richtung einen Erpresser ausfindig zu machen, konnte er sich immer noch mit C
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Anonymous
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La grotte
Pourquoi le Coran, décrivant l'état des jeunes hommes, indique qu'ils inspirent une telle crainte que "si tu les apercevais, tu leur tournerais le dos pour t'enfuir"? On explique habituellement la raison de leur aspect si terrible par leur chevelure, leurs barbes et leurs ongles qui auraient tellement poussé que ces jeunes ressembleraient aux hommes des cavernes. Cette explication n'est pas acceptable (...) quand ils sont revenus à eux-mêmes, à leur conscience normale, ils ne semblaient pas être choqués les uns par les aspects des autres et étaient persuadés de n'être restés plus d'une journée dans leur état d'inconscience. (...)
"Qu'est ce que ces jeunes faisaient dans la grotte? Est-ce qu'ils dormaient? Préserver la foi et la fortifier - principal but de cette retraite - peut il se réaliser simplement par un long et profond sommeil? Est ce que la "rahma" et le "rachad" que Dieu leur a promis se ramènent simplement à dormir?"
A aucun moment le texte coranique ne laisse entendre que ces gens étaient allongés. Le chien lui était allongé. Par contre ces gens, qui sont là - rappelons le- pour assumer leur "destin vertical" de liaison entre ciel et terre, semblent d'après la description du coran debout ou du moins assis. "Tu croirais qu'ils sont éveillés mais ils dorment" dit le Coran. Si les jeunes étaient allongés, tu ne croirais pas qu'ils sont éveillés. Par contre, si tu les trouves assis ou debout tu penserais qu'ils sont éveillés, surtout qu'ils ne cessent de bouger (nous les tournons à droite et à gauche). D'après la description du Coran nous imaginons une scène où des jeunes debout ou assis, remuant à droite et à gauche, apparemment ils sont donc éveillés, mais intérieurement ils sont dans un profond "sommeil" c'est à dire dans un état second, autrement dit un état extatique. C'est cet état très inhabituel qui provoquerait l'inquiétude d'un éventuel visiteur non averti, lequel penserait tout de suite qu'il s'agit d'un groupe de fous en plein délire
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Ben Rochd Er Rachid (Coran - Lecture soufie contemporaine)
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In our view, when women fight for the wage for domestic work, they are also fighting against this work, as domestic work can continue as such so long as and when it is not paid. It is like slavery. The demand for a domestic wage denaturalized female slavery. Thus, the wage is not the ultimate goal, but an instrument, a strategy, to achieve a change in the power relations between women and capital. The aim of our struggle was to convert exploitative slave labor that was naturalized because of its unpaid character into socially recognized work; it was to subvert a sexual division of labor based on the power of the masculine wage to command the reproductive labor of women, which in Caliban and the Witch I call “the patriarchy of the wage.” At the same time, we proposed to move beyond all of the blame generated by the fact that it was always considered as a female obligation, as a female vocation.
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Anonymous
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That last phrase is absolutely critical. If you’re leading people now, you might have to lead Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers, millennials, and Gen Z-ers at the same time. These are very different groups that require very different coaching styles.
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Trevor Moawad (Getting to Neutral)
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On est entré en France le 15 octobre 1984. Le 1er décembre 1984 on t'a amenée à la maternelle. Inutile de dire que j'y étais allée avant et que j'ai tout expliqué à la maîtresse: l'origine, la situation. J'avais surtout dit que nous sommes en France seuls, ton père et moi, qu'ici on n'a aucune, aucune famille, que l'enfant ne peut et ne doit être récupérée à l'école par personne d'autre que l'un de nous deux. Car on avait entendu des cas (réels ?paranoïa?) où des gens de la police politique roumaine se font passer pour des parents et volent l'enfant, le ramènent au pays et comme ça, les parents sont forcés de revenir sur place où ils sont jugés pour trahison et emprisonnés et l'enfant finit à l'orphelinat, oublié de tout le monde, à se balancer d'avant en arrière entre les barreaux d'un lit, fou de douleur et de solitude. Les dames de la maternelle m'ont assurée que personne ne volera ma fille tant qu'elle sera sous leur garde.
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Cristina Andreescu (Du communisme au capitalisme Lettre à ma fille (French Edition))
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Ik val elke dag, maar er is niemand die mij kan van gen
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Yuki Kempees (Cirkels zijn alleen mooi als ze rond zijn)
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Hoewel het kapitalisme mondiaal is en de hele wereld omvat, ondersteunt het een strikt genomen 'wereldloze' ideologische constellatie [...]. Het kapitalisme is de eerste sociaal-economische orde die de zin van haar totaliserende karakter ontdoet: het is niet mondiaal om vlak van zingeving (er bestaat geen mondiaal kapitalistisch wereldbeeld, gen eigenlijk kapitalistische beschaving - de fundamentele les van de globalisering is juist dat het kapitalisme zich aan alle beschavingen kan aanpassen, van de christelijke tot de hindoëstische of boeddhistische, van Oost tot West); zijn wereldomvattende schaal kan alleen geformuleerd worden op het vlak van waarheid-zonder-zin, als het 'Reële' van het mondiale marktmechanisme.
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Slavoj Žižek (Violence: Six Sideways Reflections)
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Es ist ein Verstoß gegen den natürlichen Lauf der Dinge“, sagt sie schließlich. „Im Glauben meines Volkes ist es nämlich so: Die Natur hat uns allen das Leben geschenkt. Dir und mir, den Vögeln, die in diesem Moment um uns herum singen, den Mäusen, die durch das Dickicht huschen, den Kräutern und den Bäumen. Aber dieses Geschenk ist eigentlich bloß eine Leihgabe. Irgendwann kommt der Tag, da holt sie es sich zurück. Dann verwandeln wir uns zu Staub und werden wieder eins mit ihr. Bis sie uns erneut auf die Reise schickt, uns Leben gibt, in einem anderen Körper und zu einer anderen Zeit. Wir sind Teil eines ewigen Kreislaufs der Energien, verstehst du? Und die Natur allein bestimmt, wie er zu verlaufen hat. So wie sie bestimmt hat, dass Pflanzen über der Erde wachsen, dem Licht entgegen. Dass sie nur zu bestimmten Zeiten im Jahr Früchte tragen. Dass Bäume jeden Herbst ihre Blätter verlie-ren, um in den Winterschlaf zu gehen. Wir Menschen mögen vielleicht zu klein und unbedeutend sein, um den Sinn hinter diesen Regeln zu verstehen. Wir mö-gen uns fragen, warum wir nicht immer Äpfel essen können, warum die Winter so kalt und die Sommer so heiß sind. Dennoch müssen wir uns dem beugen. Das nicht zu tun … so radikal einzugreifen in das, was unsere Natur uns geschenkt hat … das fühlt sich für mich an wie ein furchtbares Sakrileg.
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Eva Klocke (Immuna X (German Edition))
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Just as iGen’ers and Millennials are avoiding institutions such as religion and marriage, more and more of them are refusing to identify with the major political parties.
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Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
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iGen’ers bring new attitudes about communication. Many don’t understand why anyone uses email when texting is so much faster. “For a while, I thought email was what people meant when they referred to ‘snail mail,’ ” wrote 16-year-old Vivek Pandit in his book We Are Generation Z. “Eventually I realized that snail mail was the paper stuff that [takes] days to reach someone. I call that ‘ancient mail.
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Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
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In the three years I spent working on this book, making dozens of line graphs, reading campus newspapers, and listening to the stories and opinions of young people during in-depth interviews, I’ve realized this: iGen’ers are scared, maybe even terrified. Growing up slowly, raised to value safety, and frightened by the implications of income inequality, they have come to adolescence in a time when their primary social activity is staring at a small rectangular screen that can like them or reject them. The devices they hold in their hands have both extended their childhoods and isolated them from true human interaction. As a result, they are both the physically safest generation and the most mentally fragile. They are more focused on work and more realistic than Millennials, grasping the certainty that they’ll need to fight hard to make it. They’re exquisitely tolerant and have brought a new awareness of equality, mental health, and LGBT rights, leaving behind traditional structures such as religion. iGen’ers have a solid basis for success, with their practical nature and their inherent caution. If they can shake themselves free of the constant clutch of their phones and shrug off the heavy cloak of their fear, they can still fly. And the rest of us will be there, cheering them on.
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Jean M. Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us)
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»So bist Du also der Sohn Abul Abbas', des Sohnes Dawud al Gossarah?«
»Ja.«
»Und beide waren Pilger?«
»Ja.«
»Auch Du bist ein Hadschi?«
»Ja.«
»So waret Ihr alle Drei in Mekka und habt die heilige Kaaba gesehen?«
»Dawud al Gossarah nicht.«
»Ah! Und dennoch nennst Du ihn einen Hadschi?«
»Ja, denn er war einer. Er wohnte am Dschebel Schur-Schum und machte sich als Jüngling auf die Pilgerreise. Er kam glücklich über el Dschuf, das man den Leib der Wüste nennt; dann aber wurde er krank und mußte am Brunnen Trasah zurückbleiben. Dort nahm er ein Weib und starb, nachdem er seinen Sohn Abul Abbas gesehen hatte. Ist er nicht ein Hadschi, ein Pilger, zu nennen?«
»Hm! Aber Abul Abbas war in Mekka?«
»Nein.«
»Und auch er ist ein Hadschi?«
»Ja. Er trat die Pilgerfahrt an und kam bis in die Ebene Admar, wo er zurückbleiben mußte.«
»Warum?«
»Er erblickte da Amareh, die Perle von Dschuneth, und liebte sie. Amareh wurde sein Weib und gebar ihm Halef Omar, den Du hier neben Dir siehst. Dann starb er. War er nicht ein Hadschi?«
»Hm! Aber Du selbst warst in Mekka?«
»Nein.«
»Und nennst Dich dennoch einen Pilger!«
»Ja. Als meine Mutter todt war, begab ich mich auch auf die Pilgerschaft. Ich zog gen Aufgang und Niedergang der Sonne; ich ging nach Mittag und nach Mitternacht; ich lernte alle Oasen der Wüste und alle Orte Egypten's kennen; ich war noch nicht in Mekka, aber ich werde noch dorthin kommen. Bin ich also nicht ein Hadschi?«
»Hm! Ich denke, nur wer in Mekka war, darf sich einen Hadschi nennen?«
»Eigentlich, ja. Aber ich bin ja auf der Reise dorthin!«
»Möglich! Doch Du wirst auch irgendwo eine schöne Jungfrau finden und bei ihr bleiben; Deinem Sohne wird es ebenso gehen, denn dies scheint Euer Kismet zu sein, und dann wird nach hundert Jahren Dein Urenkel sagen: >Ich bin Hadschi Mustafa Ben Hadschi Ali Assabeth Ibn Hadschi Saïd al Hamza Ben Hadschi Schehab Tofaïl Ibn Hadschi Halef Omar Ben Hadschi Abul Abbas Ibn Hadschi Dawud al Gossarah,< und keiner von all diesen sieben Pilgern wird Mekka gesehen haben und ein ächter, wirklicher Hadschi geworden sein. Meinst Du nicht?«
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Karl May (Durch die Wüste (Through the Desert / Menjelajah Gurun))