“
How could he mean so much to me in such a short time?
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
“
Strange, how a moment of existence can cut so deeply into our being that while ages pass unnoticed, a brief love can structure and define the very topology of our consciousness ever after.
”
”
Steven L. Peck (A Short Stay in Hell)
“
The days passed in a dream. I pictured our reunion again and again, played it out in my mind over and over until I’d almost worn a groove in my thoughts, so deep that it seemed the only thing I could think of was our reunion. Anticipation is a gift. Perhaps there is none greater. Anticipation is born of hope. Indeed it is hope’s finest expression. In hope’s loss, however, is the greatest despair.
”
”
Steven L. Peck (A Short Stay in Hell)
“
It seemed funny that one day I would go to bed in her arms and the next not feel anything, like a switch had gone off. But no, that wasn’t honest either. This had been building for a long time. Our silences were getting longer. Our arguments more frequent. How do you stay with someone when there are no dreams to build? No purpose to accomplish? No meaning? No meaning —that was the monster that drove us away from one another in the end. Always.
”
”
Steven L. Peck (A Short Stay in Hell)
“
Connor; "Push me and you might just find yourself locked in the trunk of a car and on a ferry headed off to Nova Scotia. . .Again" he said Softly loving the way she practically shook with rage against him.
"I knew that was you, you bastard" She snarled, looking torn between going for his nipples again or just out right killing him.
"You deserved it", he felt obligated to remind her.
She scoffed. "I was twelve!"
"you super glued my shorts to my ass!"
the smile that teased her lips transformed her face from beautiful to breathtakingly beautiful in a matter of seconds. . .
She chuckled softly as she moved to put a little space between them. "I actually forgot about that".
”
”
R.L. Mathewson (Checkmate (Neighbor from Hell, #3))
“
Grandmama said that the cherry blossom was life. Sweet and beautiful, but so darn short. Too short not to do what you wanna do. Too short to not spend it with the people…you love.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Vicious (Sinners of Saint, #1))
“
When you settle for anything short of the best life God wants to offer you, then you have been tempted to remain safe and the accountability for not changing your life becomes your prison of regret.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
And I can't say it now. I can't say what I want to say. I hold you-- I-- I clutch you, because I love you so desperately, and time is so short, we have such a little time in which to live and be young, even at best, and I put my arms around you and hold you because I want to love you while I can and I want to know I'm loving you, only it doesn't mean anything because you aren't afraid. You aren't frightened so that you want to clutch it all while you can.
”
”
Madeleine L'Engle (Camilla (Camilla, #1))
“
I’ve missed you, Jas. You have no idea,” he continued, reaching toward me again but stopping short of touching me. “I thought about you every damn day. All I wanted was to get back to you and the clan. But mostly you. Always you.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (Bitter Sweet Love (The Dark Elements, #0.5))
“
If losing Sam had taught me anything, it was to seize life-seize everything it had to offer, including the tears, the anger and loss, but most of all, the laughter and the love.
To just seize life.
Because it was fleeting and it was fickle, and no one, not me or anyone I knew, had another day, let alone another second promised to them.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements, #3))
“
As an inmate of a concentration camp, Corrie Ten Boom heard a commotion, and saw a short distance away a prison guard mercilessly beating a female prisoner. “What can we do for these people?” Corrie whispered. “Show them that love is greater,” Betsie replied. In that moment, Corrie realized her sister’s focus was on the prison guard, not the victim she was watching. Betsie saw the world through a different lens. She considered the actions of greatest moral gravity to be the ones we originate, not the ones we suffer.
”
”
Terryl L. Givens (The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life)
“
He was done talking. Aiden came off the wall so fast the water reacted in a frenzy of bubbling. He—we—were in a frenzy. His arms crushed me to him, his mouth demanding, saying those three little words over and over again without speaking them. Aiden lifted me up, one hand burying deep in my hair, the other pressing into my lower back, fitting us together. He turned and my back was against the edge and he was everywhere all at once, stealing my breath, my heart, my soul. There was no coming up for air, no control or limits. There was no tottering on the edge. We both fell headfirst. In his arms, in the way the water bubbled and moved with our bodies, I may’ve lost track of time, but I gained a little part of me. I gained a part of him that U would hold close for the rest of my days, no matter how long or short that turned out to be.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (Apollyon (Covenant, #4))
“
Somethings worth having defy logic. They come with obstacles, challenges, battles and long periods of wandering in the dark. Your path won't make sense to your family or friends. People will weigh in with their life rules and fears, but in the end it is your life. That pull you feel is real and often your intuition. It nags at you everyday. Follow it for as far as it takes you because life is too short to dwell on indecision, while you forget to live. Take a chance because if you have a good heart God isn't going to abandon you. He will travel wherever you need to go, in order to find the missing pieces of your soul.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
A short while later, as I stare down at the bodies of the six men I have just killed, I cannot help but wonder: Do I love killing? Of a certainty, I love the way my body and weapons move as one; I revel in the knowledge of where to strike for maximum impact. And of a certainty, I am good at it.
But so is Beast. He is perhaps even better at it than I am, and yet for all that, he feels as bright and golden as a lion who roars in the face of his enemies and stalks them in broad daylight.
Whereas I—I am a dark panther, slinking unseen among the shadows, silent and deadly.
But we are both great cats, are we not? And do not even bright things cast a shadow?
”
”
R.L. LaFevers (Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, #2))
“
Come and let us live my Deare,
Let us love and never feare,
What the sowrest Fathers say:
Brightest Sol that dies to day
Lives againe as blithe to morrow,
But if we darke sons of sorrow
Set; o then, how long a Night
Shuts the Eyes of our short light!
Then let amorous kisses dwell
On our lips, begin and tell
A Thousand, and a Hundred, score
An Hundred, and a Thousand more,
Till another Thousand smother
That, and that wipe of another.
Thus at last when we have numbred
Many a Thousand, many a Hundred;
Wee’l confound the reckoning quite,
And lose our selves in wild delight:
While our joyes so multiply,
As shall mocke the envious eye.
”
”
Richard Crashaw
“
...in the lower self, love is neediness, “chemistry” or infatuation, possession, strong admiration, or even worship—in short, traditional romantic love. Many people who grew up in troubled homes and who experienced a stifling of their Child Within become stuck at these lower levels or ways of experiencing love.
”
”
Charles L. Whitfield (Healing the Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families)
“
I felt my soul overwhelmed with sorrow because, though I'm not in the least fond of dancing, I should have liked to dance with someone whom I adored with all my heart: I should have liked to have that someone there so that I could relieve my tension by telling him everything that I confided only to Fanchette or to my pillow (and not even to my diary) because I so wildly needed that someone, and this humiliated me, and I would never surrender myself except to the someone whom I should completely love and completely know - dreams, in short, that would never be realized!
”
”
Colette Gauthier-Villars (Sido ;Le Pur Et L'impur ; L'étoile Vesper ; Le Fanal Bleu)
“
They were all growing so fast. In just a few short years they would be all young men and women...youth tiptoe...expectant...a-star with its sweet wild dreams...little ships sailing out of safe harbor to unknown ports. The boys would go away to their life work and the girls...ah, the mist-veiled forms of beautiful brides might be seen coming down the old stairs at Ingleside. But they would still be hers for a few years yet...hers to love and guide...to sing the songs that so many mothers had sung...Hers...and Gilbert's.
”
”
L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, #6))
“
I’m going home to an old country farmhouse, once green, rather faded now, set among leafless apple orchards. There is a brook below and a December fir wood beyond, where I’ve heard harps swept by the fingers of rain and wind. There is a pond nearby that will be gray and brooding now. There will be two oldish ladies in the house, one tall and thin, one short and fat; and there will be two twins, one a perfect model, the other what Mrs. Lynde calls a ‘holy terror.’ There will be a little room upstairs over the porch, where old dreams hang thick, and a big, fat, glorious feather bed which will almost seem the height of luxury after a boardinghouse mattress. How do you like my picture, Phil?"
"It seems a very dull one," said Phil, with a grimace.
"Oh, but I’ve left out the transforming thing," said Anne softly. "There’ll be love there, Phil—faithful, tender love, such as I’ll never find anywhere else in the world—love that’s waiting for me. That makes my picture a masterpiece, doesn’t it, even if the colors are not very brilliant?"
Phil silently got up, tossed her box of chocolates away, went up to Anne, and put her arms about her. "Anne, I wish I was like you," she said soberly.
”
”
L.M. Montgomery (Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables, #3))
“
My decision to become a teacher suddenly seemed even more appropriate. Life had just become that much more unpredictably precarious and ill-suited to long-term planning, and it felt that much more necessary to spread love and knowledge to those who would one day have to manage this messy and painful world of ours"
Also in Zack Love's "Stories and Scripts: an Anthology
”
”
Zack Love (The Doorman)
“
Life was short, and I wanted to make Angel laugh every damn day of our lives.
”
”
J.L. Weil (Loving Angel (Divisa, #4))
“
But what worse fate could there be? To remember love and know it is unattainable?
”
”
Steven L. Peck (A Short Stay in Hell)
“
Here, her hand in mine was the one reality that severed us from the cold click-clack of Hell. I rubbed her hand and she sighed; wasn’t that meaning? Wasn’t that something we could cling to? I could be with this other. I could form no other relation, but maybe her hand in mine was enough, both sufficient and necessary. In Hell there was no sense of place, because all places were the same. Uniform monotony. A place without place. A place without context. But, here, now, I could rub her hand and she would sigh. She was a difference. Perhaps each person was the only difference in all these halls of unchanging ranks of books, kiosks, clocks, and carpet, and that, and that, at least, we had to hold to.
”
”
Steven L. Peck (A Short Stay in Hell)
“
He had no love for sleeping inside and wanted his horse near him. There was something about lying under the stars that was conducive to thought, and he had some thinking to do.
”
”
Louis L'Amour (The Chick Bowdrie Short Stories Bundle)
“
Life is too short to worry about the why, or the how or the what-ifs. Love is a risk, there are no guarantees. But in the end, it is always, always worth it.
”
”
J.L. Berg (Ready to Wed (Ready, #1.5))
“
Life was too short though to agonize over the little stuff; sometimes you had to do what was best for you and if your family loved you they would be happy regardless.
”
”
L.A. Fiore (Collecting the Pieces)
“
Life was too short to deprive yourself of spending time with those you love, something I'd learned the hard way.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Dirty Headlines)
“
We were young then, and the West was young, with the land broad and bright before us. We knew, whatever the truth was, that every horse could be ridden, every man whipped, every girl loved.
”
”
Louis L'Amour (The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories)
“
Jack sprung to his feet out of reach. "I'd prefer to finish this intact. "
"My apologies,” Cabal said, grinning viciously. "l keep forgetting, you're only human." His smile softened to full amusement as Jack raised his sword in challenge.
"Human or not," Jack said as he slowly approached him. "I carry the advantage of unworldly knowledge. "
" Is that what you're doing?" Cabal laughed; "Something unworldly?"
"I have a vast library of knowledge inside my head from my homeland."
"What knowledge could your world offer that would be useful here?"
"How about a toilet?" Jack winked at Nicole.
“Perhaps you should build one and leave us all in awe.” Cabal declared.
“People could call them ‘Jacks’ for short.” Nicole added to the conversation.
”
”
Alaina Stanford (When Magic Fails (Hypnotic Journey #2))
“
L'amore sopra ogni cosa. L'amore prima del tempo, dei battiti, dei pianti, dei sospiri, dei drammi, delle litigate, della rabbia che prende il sopravvento, degli ostacoli insormontabili, dei sacrifici. Un amore che cura. Un amore che ti mantiene in vita.
”
”
Elisa Fumis (Vendere un cuore al mercato nero e altri racconti)
“
I was very fond of strange stories when I was a child. In my village-school days, I used to buy stealthily popular novels and historical recitals. Fearing that my father and my teacher might punish me for this and rob me of these treasures, I carefully hid them in secret places where I could enjoy them unmolested. As I grew older, my love for strange stories became even stronger, and I learned of things stranger than what I had read in my childhood. When I was in my thirties, my memory was full of these stories accumulated through years of eager seeking. l have always admired such writers of the T'ang Dynasty as Tuan Ch'eng-shih [author of the Yu-yang tsa-tsu] and Niu Sheng [author of the Hsuan-kuai lu]. Who wrote short stories so excellent in portrayal of men and description of things. I often had the ambition to write a book (of stories) which might be compared with theirs. But I was too lazy to write, and as my laziness persisted, I gradually forgot most of the stories which I had learned. Now only these few stories, less than a score, have survived and have so successfully battled against my laziness that they are at last written down. Hence this Book of Monsters. I have sometimes laughingly said to myself that it is not I who have found these ghosts and monsters, but they, the monstrosities themselves, which have found me! ... Although my book is called a book or monsters, it is not confined to them: it also records the strange things of the human world and sometimes conveys a little bit of moral lesson.
”
”
Wu Cheng'en
“
I try to explain. “Every time I’m af-af-afraid of something—” I hiccup “—you just t-take it away.” “Sweetheart, what were you afraid of?” “That I l-love you. That I f-feel so much for you in such a short time and I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t met you. I honestly don’t.” I sniffle and look down at the soggy tissue in my hands. “I’m not explaining myself very well.
”
”
Brianna Hale (Little Dancer)
“
read slowly, moving his lips over the words. “Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered. “Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the universe loves nothing so much as to change things which are and to make new things like them. For everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be.” Lee glanced down the page. “Thou wilt die soon and thou are not yet simple nor free from perturbations, nor without suspicion of being hurt by external things, nor kindly disposed towards all; nor dost thou yet place wisdom only in acting justly.” Lee looked up from the page, and he answered the book as he would answer one of his ancient relatives. “That is true,” he said. “It’s very hard. I’m sorry. But don’t forget that you also say, ‘Always run the short way and the short way is the natural’—don’t forget that.” He let the pages slip past his fingers to the fly leaf where was written with a broad carpenter’s pencil, “Sam’l Hamilton.
”
”
John Steinbeck (East of Eden)
“
You better thank God that I have to go home and feed Storm. I’d wipe the floor with you otherwise.” “Till next time, short-ass.”
Keela casually strolled into the sitting room and stated, “I hate your boyfriend.”
I grabbed my chest. “That’s a shame, because I love yours.”
Keela’s lip twitched. “I’ll be back over tonight, I just have to go and feed—”
“The fat beast, I heard you.”
Keela growled. “You’d think being pregnant would make you sentimental and give Storm a chance, but no, you still rag on him.”
In Keela’s mind, Storm was her baby.
“He’d make a saint curse, Kay.
”
”
L.A. Casey (Aideen (Slater Brothers, #3.5))
“
Aideen snapped her fingers. “Oh my God, I've an idea.”
Angels began to sing from the Heavens at Aideen's declaration.
“There's a first time for everythin'.” I shrugged.
Aideen shoved me and it made me, and the girls laugh.
“Go on then Watson, enlighten me with your plan.”
Aideen smirked. “Accept the bet, then we use our bodies to make sure the only hard time that will be had is in the lads’ boxer shorts.”
That... that actually had promise.
“I love it,” Branna beamed and bumped fists with Aideen.
I raised my eyebrow and smiled. “I never thought I'd say this, but good thinkin'.”
Aideen bumped fists with me. “I'm much more than a pretty face with big tits, Sherlock.
”
”
L.A. Casey (Keela (Slater Brothers, #2.5))
“
We're all so happy you're feeling better, Miss McIntosh. Looks like you still have a good bump on your noggin, though," she says in her childlike voice.
Since there is no bump on my noggin, I take a little offense but decide to drop it. "Thanks, Mrs. Poindexter. It looks worse than it feels. Just a little tender."
"Yeah, I'd say the door got the worst of it," he says beside me. Galen signs himself in on the unexcused tardy sheet below my name. When his arm brushes against mine, it feels like my blood's turned into boiling water.
I turn to face him. My dreams really do not do him justice. Long black lashes, flawless olive skin, cut jaw like an Italian model, lips like-for the love of God, have some dignity, nitwit. He just made fun of you. I cross my arms and lift my chin. "You would know," I say.
He grins, yanks my backpack from me, and walks out. Trying to ignore the waft of his scent as the door shuts, I look to Mrs. Poindexter, who giggles, shrugs, and pretends to sort some papers. The message is clear: He's your problem, but what a great problem to have. Has he charmed he sense out of the staff here, too? If he started stealing kids' lunch money, would they also giggle at that? I growl through clenched teeth and stomp out of the office.
Galen is waiting for me right outside the door, and I almost barrel into him. He chuckles and catches my arm. "This is becoming a habit for you, I think."
After I'm steady-after Galen steadies me, that is-I poke my finger into his chest and back him against the wall, which only makes him grin wider. "You...are...irritating...me," I tell him.
"I noticed. I'll work on it."
"You can start by giving me my backpack."
"Nope."
"Nope?"
"Right-nope. I'm carrying it for you. It's the least I can do."
"Well, can't argue with that, can I?" I reach around for it, but he moves to block me. "Galen, I don't want you to carry it. Now knock it off. I'm late for class."
"I'm late for it too, remember?"
Oh, that's right. I've let him distract me from my agenda. "Actually, I need to go back to the office."
"No problem. I'll wait for you here, then I'll walk you to class."
I pinch the bridge of my nose. "That's the thing. I'm changing my schedule. I won't be in your class anymore, so you really should just go. You're seriously violating Rule Numero Uno."
He crosses his arms. "Why are you changing your schedule? Is it because of me?"
"No."
"Liar."
"Sort of."
"Emma-"
"Look, I don't want you to take this personally. It's just that...well, something bad happens every time I'm around you."
He raises a brow. "Are you sure it's me? I mean, from where I stood, it looked like your flip-flops-"
"What were we arguing about anyway? We were arguing, right?"
"You...you don't remember?"
I shake my head. "Dr. Morton said I might have some short-term memory loss. I do remember being mad at you, though."
He looks at me like I'm a criminal. "You're saying you don't remember anything I said. Anything you said."
The way I cross my arms reminds me of my mother. "That's what I'm saying, yes."
"You swear?"
"If you're not going to tell me, then give me my backpack. I have a concussion, not broken arms. I'm not helpless."
His smile could land him a cover shoot for any magazine in the country. "We were arguing about which beach you wanted me to take you to. We were going swimming after school."
"Liar." With a capital L. Swimming-drowning-falls on my to-do list somewhere below giving birth to porcupines.
"Oh, wait. You're right. We were arguing about when the Titanic actually sank. We had already agreed to go to my house to swim.
”
”
Anna Banks (Of Poseidon (The Syrena Legacy, #1))
“
My intention, this time, was to transfer a play to the screen while keeping its theatrical character. It was in some senses a matter of walking, invisibly, around the stage and catching the different aspects and nuances in the play, the urgency and the facial expressions that escape a spectator who cannot follow them in detail from a seat in the stalls.
Apart from that, I had noticed how effective a play becomes when you have a bird's-eye view from it, for example from the flies, that is to say from the viewpoint of a voyeur. The Audience is enclosed with the characters in a room lacking its fourth wall and listens to them on equal terms, without the element of my story conferred on scenes of intimacy by the whimsical shape of a keyhole.”
“L'aigle à deux têtes is not History. It is a story, an invented story lived out by imaginary heroes, and I should never have dared venture into the realistic world of cinema without being able to rely on the help of Christian Bérard. He has a genius for situating whatever he touches, for giving it a depth in time and space and an appearance of truth that are literally inimitable.” (...)
“A drama of this kind would be unacceptable, and almost impossible to tell, unless it was interpreted by superb actors who could instill grandeur and life into it. Edwige Feuillère and Jean Marais, applauded evening after evening in their parts in the play, surpass themselves on the screen and give of themselves, as I suggested above, everything that they cannot give us on the stage.”
“George Auric's music and the Strauss waltzes at the krantz ball make up the liquid in this drama of love and death is immersed.” (...)
“In L'aigle à deux têtes, I wanted to make a theatrical film.” (...)
“I know the faults of the film, but unfortunately the expense of the medium and the constraints of time that it imposes on us, prevent us from correcting our faults, Cinematography costs too much.” (...)
“In Les parents terribles (1948), what I determined to do was the opposite of what I did in L'aigle à deux têtes; to de-theatricalize a play, to film it in chronological order and to catch the characters by surprise from the indiscreet angle of the camera. In short, I wanted to watch a family through the keyhole instead of observing its life from a seat in the stalls.
”
”
Jean Cocteau (The Art of Cinema)
“
As everyone knows, Islam set up a social order from the outset, in contrast, for example, to Christianity. Islamic social teachings are so basic to the religion that still today many people, including Muslims, are completely unaware of Islam's spiritual dimensions. Social order demands rules and regulations, fear of the king, respect for the police, acknowledgement of authority. It has to be set up on the basis of God's majesty and severity. It pays primary attention to the external realm, the realm of the body and the desires of the lower soul, the realm where God is distant from the world. In contrast, Islamic spiritual teachings allow for intimacy, love, boldness, ecstatic expressions, and intoxication in the Beloved. All these are qualities that pertain to nearness to God. (...) In short, on the social level, Islam affirms the primacy of God as King, Majestic, Lord, Ruler. It establishes a theological patriarchy even if Muslim theologians refuse to apply the word father (or mother) to God. God is yang, while the world, human beings, and society are yin. Thereby order is established and maintained. Awe and distance are the ruling qualities. On the spiritual level, the picture is different. In this domain many Muslim authorities affirm the primacy of God as Merciful, Beautiful, Gentle, Loving. Here they establish a spiritual matriarchy, though again such terms are not employed. God is yin and human beings are yang. Human spiritual aspiration is accepted and welcomed by God. Intimacy and nearness are the ruling qualities. This helps explain why one can easily find positive evaluations of women and the feminine dimension of things in Sufism.
(...) Again, this primacy of yin cannot function on the social level, since it undermines the authority of the law. If we take in isolation the Koranic statement, "Despair not of God's mercy surely God forgives all sins" (39:53), then we can throw the Sharia out the window. In the Islamic perspective, the revealed law prevents society from degenerating into chaos. One gains liberty not by overthrowing hierarchy and constraints, but by finding liberty in its true abode, the spiritual realm. Freedom, lack of limitation and constraint, bold expansivenessis achieved only by moving toward God, not by rebelling against Him and moving away.
Attar (d. 618/1221) makes the same point more explicitly in an anecdote he tells about the great Sufi shaykh, Abu'l- Hasan Kharraqani (d. 425/1033): It is related that one night the Shaykh was busy with prayer. He heard a voice saying, "Beware, Abu'l-Hasan! Do you want me to tell people what I know about you so that they will stone you to death?" The Shaykh replied, "O God the Creator! Do You want me to tell the people what I know about Your mercy and what I see of Your generosity? Then no one will prostrate himself to You." A voice came, "You keep quiet, and so will I."
Sufism is concerned with "maintaining the secret" (hifz al-sirr) for more reasons than one. The secret of God's mercy threatens the plain fact of His wrath. If "She" came out of the closet, "He" would be overthrown. But then She could not be found, for it is He who shows the way to Her door.
”
”
Sachiko Murata (The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought)
“
As the most perfect subject for painting I have already specified inwardly satisfied [reconciled and peaceful] love, the object of which is not a purely spiritual ‘beyond’ but is present, so that we can see love itself before us in what is loved. The supreme and unique form of this love is Mary’s love for the Christ-child, the love of the one mother who has borne the Saviour of the world and carries him in her arms. This is the most beautiful subject to which Christian art in general, and especially painting in its religious sphere, has risen. The love of God, and in particular the love of Christ who sits at’ the right hand of God, is of a purely spiritual kind. The object of this love is visible only to the eye of the soul, so that here there is strictly no question of that duality which love implies, nor is any natural bond established between the lovers or any linking them together from the start. On the other hand, any other love is accidental in the inclination of one lover for another, or,’ alternatively, the lovers, e.g. brothers and sisters or a father in his love for his children, have outside this relation other conceI1l8 with an essential claim on them. Fathers or brothers have to apply themselves to the world, to the state, business, war, or, in short, to general purposes, while sisters become wives, mothers, and so forth. But in the case of maternal love it is generally true that a mother’s love for her child is neither something accidental just a single feature in her life, but, on the contrary, it is her supreme vocation on earth, and her natural character and most sacred calling directly coincide. But while other loving mothers see and feel in their child their husband and their inmost union with him, in Mary’s relation to her child this aspect is always absent. For her feeling has nothing in common with a wife’s love for her husband; on the contrary, her relation to Joseph is more like a sister’s to a brother, while on Joseph’s side there is a secret awe of the child who is God’s and Mary’s. Thus religious love in its fullest and most intimate human form we contemplate not in the suffering and risen Christ or in his lingering amongst his friends but in the person of Mary with her womanly feeling. Her whole heart and being is human love for the child that she calls her own, and at the same time adoration, worship, and love of God with whom she feels herself at one. She is humble in God’s sight and yet has an infinite sense of being the one woman who is blessed above all other virgins. She is not self-subsistent on her own account, but is perfect only in her child, in God, but in him she is satisfied and blessed, whether. at the manger or as the Queen of Heaven, without passion or longing, without any further need, without any aim other than to have and to hold what she has.
In its religious subject-matter the portrayal of this love has a wide series of events, including, for example, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth, the Flight into Egypt, etc. And then there are, added to this, other subjects from the later life of Christ, i.e. the Disciples and the women who follow him and in whom the love of God becomes more or less a personal relation of love for a living and present Saviour who walks amongst them as an actual man; there is also the love of the angels who hover over the birth of Christ and many other scenes in his life, in serious worship or innocent joy. In all these subjects it is painting especially which presents the peace and full satisfaction of love.
But nevertheless this peace is followed by the deepest suffering.
Mary sees Christ carry his cross, she sees him suffer and die on the cross, taken down from the cross and buried, and no grief of others is so profound as hers. Mary’s grief is of a totally different kind. She is emotional, she feels the thrust of the dagger into the centre of her soul, her heart breaks, but she does not turn into stone.
”
”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
“
We’re not called to judge our spouses—ever; we are called to love them. We are not called to recount their failures in a Pharisaic game of “I’m holier than you”; we’re called to encourage them. We are not called to build a case against them regarding how far they fall short of the glory of God; we are called to honor and respect them.
”
”
Gary L. Thomas (Devotions for a Sacred Marriage: A Year of Weekly Devotions for Couples)
“
crosskisses FW 111.17 n. xxx’s at the end of a letter to signify touches with the lips as a sign of love or kisses. (“must now close it with fondest to the twoinns with four crosskisses for holy paul holey corner holipoli whollyisland pee ess from”) These “crosskisses” come at the end of one of a number of versions of the famous letter from Boston that the hen pecks out of the kitchen midden and even appear much later in Finnegans Wake with “X.X.X.X.” (See anomorous.) cruelfiction FW 192.19 n. 1. Fiction that delights in causing pain and suffering to to the extent that readers feel they have been put to death by being fastened to a cross, becoming victims of the cruel torture of crucifixion. Most critics have labeled Finnegans Wake as a prime example of “cruelfiction.” Readers will have their own candidates for this label, usually novels they were assigned to read for a book report in high school. 2. Fiction that’s subject is cruelty, such as almost any novel by the Marquis de Sade or short stories and novels that deal honestly with the treatment of Native Americans by the government of the United States. (“O, you were excruciated, in honour bound to the cross of your own cruelfiction!”)
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
The segregation of the girls would have served to localize the psychic infection, and the girls themselves, exposed to the wayward streak of poetry in Mather's composition, would almost certainly have found their fantasies deflected to the more normal preoccupations of adolescence. They would, in short, like a large proportion of the female members of his congregation at at given time, have fallen in love with him. Infatuation is not any guarantee against hysteria; quite the contrary. But in this case such a development might have diverted the antics of the girls to less malignant forms.
”
”
Marion L. Starkey (The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Enquiry Into the Salem Witch Trials)
“
Who can say that the desert does not live? Or that the dark, serrated ridges conceal no spirit? Who can love the lost places, yet believe himself truly alone in the silent hills? How can we be sure the ancient ones were wrong when they believed each rock, each tree, each stream or mountain possessed an active spirit?
”
”
Louis L'Amour (The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories)
“
I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you.
”
”
Michelle L Geldenhuys (A Guide to Shadow Work: A short and powerful guide to healing (Shadow Work Series))
“
Pope Benedict XVI offered a highly suggestive definition of soul in one short line: “Soul is nothing other than man’s capacity for relatedness with truth, with love eternal.”17 To be properly related to love eternal, we must come to terms with the truth, both about God and about other people, including ourselves. As we come to terms with truth and let love eternal have his way in our lives, we experience fully the salvation of our souls.
”
”
Jerry L. Walls (Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most)
“
Don’t thank me just yet. There is much more to come for us. You can thank me when we’re old and grey.
”
”
Olivia L. Thomas (Lucky: A Love Lane Romantic Short)
“
Life can be short and it’s meant to be cherished and treasured—every second, every moment. Now, I’ll love harder. I’ll love fiercer. And I will not be afraid.
”
”
M.L. Rodriguez (Leap of Faith (La Flor Series, #1))
“
Did your childhood circumstances teach you to believe, “Nobody loves me”? Then you are sure to be lonely. Even when you bring a friend or relationship into your life, it will be short-lived.
”
”
Louise L. Hay (You Can Heal Your Life)
“
The only unchanged by psyheeL :-
It rains it dries the world rotate
They come and they go it's a common fate
Human love is a colored silk , it must fade
And even it's darkest of shade
Misery and joy it's a constant change but
Between sorrows and jollity something unchanged
Nature, my love ; It remains the same.
”
”
PSYHEEL
“
Getting your love callously thrown out by guy after guy like a waded up fast food wrapper tended to turn you into a cynical, heartless bitch who would end up in a sad nursing home, old and alone. The nursing staff that drew the short straw would have to take her wing for the day and listen to her pitiful tales of woe.
”
”
K.L. Kreig (Surrendering (Regent Vampire Lords, #1))
“
Well, “I have cake” was also three short, powerful words, but hearing Seth say he loved me was like a thousand hopes and dreams come true at once.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (The Struggle (Titan, #3))
“
I can’t deny the hand that’s been played. I would have never thought my first job back would lead me to lo—” I catch myself. Not even two days, I’m quick to remind myself. It would be absurd to think love happens that fast. Even more absurd to tell a guy that I love him after such a short time.
”
”
S.L. Scott (Never Have I Ever)
“
People like love. Marriage. And babies are cute.”
I let out a short breath of laughter. “Oh, so we’re already at marriage and children, then?”
Adrian smirked, just one twitch of the corner of his lip. “If you’d let me. But no, let’s start with dating.
”
”
Rory L. Scott (For the Gods' Sake (Tempt the Gods, #3))
“
Did I know her only for so short a time? Strange, how a moment of existence can cut so deeply into our being that while ages pass unnoticed, a brief love can structure and define the very topology of our consciousness ever after.
”
”
Steven L. Peck (A Short Stay in Hell)
“
Hey, doll face…”
“Haidyn?” I yank the phone from Kashton’s hands and look at the screen to see it’s a video. He’s sitting on my couch, dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans. The phone is propped up against something on the coffee table.
I place my hand over my mouth to hold in my sob at the sight of him. This was last night…when I saw my phone on the coffee table when he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in my living room.
“This isn’t how I wanted to tell you goodbye. But in our life, we rarely get what we want.” A soft smile tugs at his lips. “You were my exception.”
He bows his head, his right hand twirling his wedding ring around his finger as he looks at it. “I knew that you were too good for me the moment I first saw you. That I’d never live up to the man you’d deserve. So I let you go…but when you were placed back in my life, I couldn’t stop myself.” He looks back at the phone and gives a soft smile.
Back in his life?
“I’ve done a lot of unforgivable shit in my life, but the best thing I ever did was make you my wife. I wish I could have done it differently. You deserved so much more than what I gave you. I should have gotten down on one knee and begged you to spend the rest of your life with me. I should have told you how much you changed me. That you showed me what being alive truly felt like. I always felt like I was missing something…my life was boring. Same thing over and over. And then you walked into my life with that amazing smile and when I looked into your eyes—I saw a future that I never thought existed…not for a man like me, anyway.”
A lump forms in my throat, and I blink to clear the tears from my eyes so I can see him on the screen.
“I knew you’d never give a man like me the chance at forever. So I forced your hand. I had to have Adam help me.” I look up at Adam, and his green eyes are already on mine. Blinking the fresh tears away, I drop mine back to the phone. “Because I knew that’d be the only way I’d ever get you. And I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be your husband.” He looks away from the camera as if he can’t look at me, and my chest tightens.
How dare he leave me this memory? Why break my heart twice? When I found him in the living room and asked if he regretted marrying me…he had just left me this video. He knew then exactly what he was going to do.
His blue eyes come back to the screen, meeting mine once again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the forever you deserved, doll face. But I promise I gave you all I had left to offer.”
The knot grows in my throat, and I can’t hold back the sob anymore as I remember what he said when I told him I chose to be with him forever. To some, forever is only a matter of seconds.
“Please know that I loved you more than anything in this world…and when I walk out this door, I’m leaving a piece of myself behind with you because nothing short of forever would have been enough." He smiles, and I try to catch my breath. "You'll be safe at Carnage and my brothers will protect you." He leans forward and picks up the phone before speaking. "I love you, Charlotte.
”
”
Shantel Tessier (Madness (L.O.R.D.S., #6))
“
If you thought your mind had a monopoly on screwing you over, you were sorely mistaken. Your body seems to be in cahoots with the boss upstairs and has its very own contributions to that lovely beast we call anxiety. Don't worry if you are one of those lucky people who seem to have anxiety that is primarily driven by physical symptoms. You're not S.O.L. We just need to approach things a little differently. Physical anxiety symptoms vary from person to person, but there are some that tend to be pretty consistent: ● Pounding heartbeat ● Shakiness ● Shortness of breath or hyperventilation ● Sour stomach ● Headache ● Dizziness ● Feeling of pressure on chest ● Sweating ● Feeling of choking ● Chills or hot flashes I bet you’ve felt a few of those suckers before. Maybe you’ve even had a panic attack, which is a sudden surge of fear that involves many of those symptoms and makes you feel out of control. Panic attacks and physical anxiety symptoms, in general, are scary as hell. I don't get to that point often, but I have been there before, and I've seen it occur in others countless times. When you have a panic attack, it feels like you are going to die. You might even WebMD yourself (never WebMD yourself) and find that your symptom profile is strikingly similar to a heart attack... I bet that realization did wonders for your anxiety. Here's the thing, though. I know it hurts, I know it sucks and it feels like you are going to die, but you will not. People don't die from panic attacks. It just doesn't happen. Your body is a dick, but it's not going to let you self-destruct like that. Even though the emotional pain and physical discomfort may be quite unbearable, anxiety will not physically hurt you.
”
”
Robert Duff (Hardcore Self Help: F**k Anxiety)
“
To introduced myself to you in this nightmare story.I'm a victim of rape on my childhood stage l'd experienced rape in my life the victim were my sibblings and community members as I told you that on my growth. My mum was upsent it were only my dad, sister and brother in my house my dad were living with heart condition desease than my mom choose to hunting work live us with dad on my toddler stage hape you imagine the situation.By telling you this I don'nt expected your pitty or. being sorry for me but I'm going somewhere I want to
speak with someone who condem,look him or herself down lost confident with same and other stuation.There's hope if l managed to survive on my situations you can to.God favoured me my introduced himself to me on my teenage stage ashored me that he love me and transformed my life mostly healed me day by day couse this situations is deep it a proccess to be heal in it l use to say it like living in fire where you need to live with God himself
in it.Why I say this? allow me to say it some sort of journey of chosen people.The reason is other people take it easy as we have different categories of help and high science source to cure this the truth is it can't why?Rape destroy the whole life of person as human divided into 3 part which is body,soul spirit as I experience it not once several times till I reach the stage where I can rescure myself by confronting the victims,shortly it spoiled my whole 3 part you see I needed my creater to rebuid me and that not heppening overnight I personally say rape victims needed. Lifesaviour and Lifeguide who is God himself to rescue and guide you in life journey course this thing is a beast that never die if you never experience it you'll never understand it thanks for your trying don't need to.what I need is your support,how? pray for me,not feeling sorry,give hope,listen me,never judge ,stop gossip rather ask the ask,allow me to take my own decisions, give me time,be partient of me,avoid to remind me my past,believe in me,be careful on showing me my weekest sport rather put me on the spot where I can see for myself, give me chance of proving myself. This is what I can do;Forgive,move on,not forget,love other people not trust them 100% ,(truely fall in love conditional),Over protective while others says I'm selfish,depend on God's hand 100%, sensetive person, enjoy my space,help others, prayful person,other people says I'm moody person when I separate myself to meet with God in his present,can think wise things and do big things,focus on something that can keep my mind busy to escape on thinking about past,fight to change, enjoy to spend time with fruitfull freinds, rocking on doing my own business, on my own space,Not easy to accept people in my space till I know him or her better,enjoy nature things,love to be me,layalt pertionate & kind person.
”
”
Nozipho N.Maphumulo
“
Tell me about the conversations you and your brother escaped? The ones that drove you to the caverns. Tell me why you refuse to take the throne even when you know your brother won't be fit to do it when you free him,' I demanded. 'Tell me why you thought it was okay in the first fucking place to kidnap me and use me as random before you even knew me!' Frustration crowded my throat. 'Tell me why it never occurred to you to mention the Joining. Tell me about Gianna, Casteel. Does she care for you? Does she want this engagement? Do you care for her?
He exhaled roughly, shaking his head, but I wasn't done.
'Tell me why you never told me the truth about Spessa's End until I was here? Was it because you didn't trust me with that information? Tell me about her. The one you loved and lost because of the Ascended. Tell me what happened to her. Will you even say her name?' My chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, and my anger overwhelmed my senses, blocking out his emotions completely. 'Tell me how you can stand to be near me when I represent the people who took so much from you. Tell me why you really came to my room tonight. Tell me something that matters. That is real.'
Casteel's chest rose with a heavy breath. 'You want something real?'
'Yes.'
'I came to your room tonight to learn if what you said at dinner was true. That I was the first person to ever seen you. That I was the first thing you ever chose for yourself. That you chose me when you knew me as Hawke, and even after you learned the truth, you still chose me,' he growled, his eyes luminous. 'I came here tonight to learn if you really felt like you were betraying Vikter and Rylan, all the others and yourself. I came here to see if that'd changed. Was all of that real, or were you just pretending?'
I took a step back, entirely too exposed, and it had nothing to do with the ridiculous nightgown. I hadn't expected him to go there. I wasn't sure why, but I hadn't.
He shook his head as he barked out a short, humourless laugh. 'Yeah. Silence. As usual. That's why there was never a reason to tell you any of those things you've demanded from me.'
I stared up at him, hands and arms trembling. 'I don't know what you want from me.'
'Everything,' he bit out between clenched teeth. 'I want everything.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash, #2))
“
Life’s short and you only get one go at it. Love who you want to love and worry about labels later.
”
”
L. Eveland (Hearts and Halos (Monsters in My Bed #3))
“
A world in need of a faith like hers. A faith of sacrifice, of service, of loving others before self, no matter the cost. I remembered her prayers, every morning, every evening, short, quiet . . . and powerful. She never left those prayers sitting on her Bible; they went with her all through the day, draped over her like a shawl, opening her eyes to things others couldn’t see, giving her strength to charge forward when others shrank away. I
”
”
Jennifer L. Wright (If It Rains)
“
Well...” She’d never had a survivor before. Ever. She wasn’t trained how to deal with those, she was only trained how to deal with things. “Later.”
“Wait.” He was up and following her. “What’s your name?”
Walking faster, she didn’t turn around. “None of your damn business.”
“Can I call you ‘NYDB’ for short?
”
”
E.L. Schoeman (Choice)
“
Yet I have become convinced that, in this regard at least, a hint of anthropomorphism is permissible, even proper. Acknowledging dogs’ loving nature is the only way to make sense of them. What’s more, ignoring their need for love—yes, as I’ll explain shortly, dogs do need love—is as unethical as denying them a healthy diet and exercise.
”
”
Clive D.L. Wynne (Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You)
“
After Justin’s death she had had it cut short, and felt that it was more becoming than the heavy masses of long hair he had loved, and which took forever to dry and dress. The short, well-styled hair toweled dry in a few minutes, and fell in becoming waves over her high forehead, her small delicate ears, showing the graceful curve of her neck.
”
”
Madeleine L'Engle (A Severed Wasp)
“
man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push. "Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!" He slams the door and returns to bed. "Who was that?" asked his wife. "Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers. "Did you help him?" she asks. "No, I did not, it’s 3am in the morning and it’s well pouring with rain out there!" "Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can’t you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!
"God loves drunk people too you know." The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding
rain. He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?" "Yes," comes back the answer. "Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband. "Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark. "Where are you?" asks the husband. "Over here on the swing," replied the drunk.
”
”
Adam Smith (Funny Jokes: Ultimate LoL Edition (Jokes, Dirty Jokes, Funny Anecdotes, Best jokes, Jokes for Adults) (Comedy Central Book 1))
“
Experience, in short, is the other factor that shapes dogs’ actions and their minds. This is obvious when you think about it: after all, no puppy or kitten or youngster from any other domesticated species is born tame. Tameness has to be learned by each individual in its own lifetime. The sweetest puppy will grow up to be a wild animal if it is not early in life introduced to people.
”
”
Clive D.L. Wynne (Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You)
“
Becoming a father increased my capacity for love, to love and to be loved. When I fell hook, line and sinker for Helena, I would never have believed that I would be able to give, that I could even consider sharing a single fragment of my heart with another- only her, but as I sit here in the rocking chair and a serene calmness surrounds me, I gaze down upon our four day old twins, Athos and Lucy. While I cradle these tiny little miracles of life in the crook of my arms, another level of love expands within the four chambers of my heart. Everything that once created my tumultuous past has paled into insignificance, and at last I finally feel as if I am not just systematically breathing in oxygen but that I am alive in the truest sense of the word. © J.L. Thomas 2019
”
”
J.L. Thomas
“
By his short presence on this earth, my friend Jimmy Dean caused more to transpire socially than many of the great rulers of history. I don’t think all of it is too good and am convinced that a great deal of the subsequent pop and attendant revolutionary culture (revolutions of the self-defeating kind) had arisen out of a misinterpretation of what Jimmy Dean was as a person. I loved Jimmy but would have preferred that society had listened to Mozart instead.
”
”
Peter L. Winkler (Real James Dean: Intimate Memories from Those Who Knew Him Best)
“
them. The days are long, but the years are short.
”
”
Charles L. Jones (The Company Doesn't Love You: Be the CEO of Your Own Career)
“
A prudent man,” he had written, remembering that life is short, gives an hour or two, now and then, to a critical examination of his friendships. He weighs them, edits them, tests the metal of them. A few he retains, perhaps with radical changes in their terms. But the majority he expunges from his minutes and tries to forget, as he tries to forget the cold and clammy loves of year before last.
”
”
William Manchester (The Life and Riotous Times of H.L. Mencken)
“
What to read next? Hm…well, if you want more Carrie Jo, check out the Idlewood books. She’s at a new house, and there are heartbreaking child ghosts that need her help, but be warned, you’ll love them too. Most of them, anyway. I have also completed a historical fiction series about Queen Nefertiti. It’s called the Desert Queen series, and I’m very happy with it. If you fancy a bit of adventure in ancient Egypt, check it out. The first book in that series, The Tale of Nefret, is on Kindle. I also have a spooky plantation series called Sugar Hill. There are five books in that one: The Wife of the Left Hand, The Ramparts, and Blood by Candlelight, The Starlight Ball, and His Lovely Garden. I can’t wait to introduce you to the Dufresne family and take you through their plantation, Sugar Hill. Like Seven Sisters, the series will be chock-full of Southern folklore and historical places. Sugar Hill is like Gone With the Wind, but with ghosts! Thanks again for staying with me through this series. I appreciate all your kind words, the reviews, and the emails. Don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list or follow me on Amazon or BookBub so you can get the newest release information right in your inbox. I’ve got a website too that I visit infrequently. Check it out. See y’all soon. M.L. Bullock Christmas at Seven Sisters Three Short Stories from the Seven Sisters Series By M.L.
”
”
M.L. Bullock (Seven Sisters Series)
“
Meeting Tony's eyes for the first time since dad turned to me we began our slow walk down the short aisle. I will never forget the way Tony's eyes glistened in the small church, the expression of utter joy on his face - his love for me visible for all to see. Only one that has experienced true love can understand what we felt in that moment as he waited impatiently for me to meet him at the altar, and as I walked, but wanted to run to stand at his side.
”
”
D.L. Fletcher
“
Cherry blossom season is short but breathtaking, and after the blossoms fade, the flowers fall to the ground, scattered by the wind and rain. Grandmama said that the cherry blossom was life. Sweet and beautiful, but so darn short. Too short not to do what you wanna do. Too short to not spend it with the people… you love.” Her eyes closed slowly as she took a deep breath.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Vicious (Sinners of Saint, #1))
“
But what worse fate could there be? To remember love and know it is unattainable? To know love wanders somewhere light-years and light-years distant, ever knowing it is forever out of reach? Forever hidden? So I pick up another book.
”
”
Steven L. Peck (A Short Stay in Hell)