Reflecting On 2022 Quotes

I write for you, for me, for the 70% of us who make up the fabric of society: ordinary people with extraordinary lives, who play the roles of parents, siblings, children, neighbors and friends. We are those who work and study with tenacity, those who with effort and dedication bring sustenance to our homes, my novels and stories of horror, suspense and mystery are designed for the emerging generations, for those readers who seek freshness in literature and who feel distant from traditional literature, with its labyrinth of ostentatious and complex words that often alienate the average citizen..., I write for the marginalized, for those who have felt that literature does not offer them a mirror in which to reflect themselves, for those who seek in the pages a refuge or an acknowledgement of their existence, I write for the free and critical spirits, for the innate rebels who question the structures and narratives of our civilization, I write for the dreamers who imagine a world beyond the reach of politics and corporations, for those who resist being molded by the great machines of entertainment that seek to numb our minds and wills; It is my voice, through writing, that seeks to resonate with yours, inviting you on a literary journey where together we explore the confines of our reality and the abysses of our imagination.

Jedha. The Holy City was a sight to behold, a beacon of faith for the entire galaxy, sacred to… well, sacred to just about everyone. Above all, Jedha was a haven. A sanctuary. It was a place to retreat, to reflect and renew. A place where you could discover who you truly were… and who you could become.

I write for you, for me, for the 70% of us who make up the fabric of society: ordinary people with extraordinary lives, who play the roles of parents, siblings, children, neighbours and friends. We are those who work and study with tenacity, those who with effort and dedication bring sustenance to our homes, my novels and stories of horror, suspense and mystery are designed for the emerging generations, for those readers who seek freshness in literature and who feel distanced from traditional literature, with its labyrinth of ostentatious and complex words that often alienate the average citizen..., I write for the marginalised, for those who have felt that literature does not offer them a mirror in which to reflect themselves, for those who seek in the pages a refuge or an acknowledgement of their existence, I write for the free and critical spirits, for the innate rebels who question the structures and narratives of our civilisation, I write for the dreamers who imagine a world beyond the reach of politics and corporations, for those who resist being moulded by the great entertainment machines that seek to numb our minds and wills; It is my voice, through writing, that seeks to resonate with yours, inviting you on a literary journey where together we explore the confines of our reality and the abysses of our imagination".

This Butterfly Stings by Stewart Stafford The gold of my eye dances on stage for me, Her wings wafting behind her in the chorus, Yet none glimpsed that girl's beauty as I did, This butterfly flew solo in my mind's eye. For two years hence, I concealed my interest, Yet I gazed at her endlessly, so close yet apart, Places of learning changed, but she did not, I foolishly let fly Cupid's token to my inamorata. Seeing my love in a looking glass reflected, Shadow feelings illuminated St Valentine's Eve, My butterfly became a sullen stinging bee, Crushing my tender rose in pieces at my feet. Nor would her wicked scorn end there, She told her friends who joined in my shaming, For years after, turning my last shreds of adoration, Into contemptuous hatred of her existence. Truly no one can take away our memories, Where my former crush still dances on occasion, O sweet butterfly of my youth, one last wish, Never fly away from these fond recollections. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.

I love […] how the willow drips green to its own reflection unashamedly in love with itself and the way we never know if we’re loving as deeply as we might— — Chelsea B. DesAutels, from “Willow,” The Boiler (Winter XXXV, 2022)

In the past, Chinese women have to get married because they don't have economic independence. The only way to improve their social status is by getting married and having a child, or having lots of children. Chinese women now have a lot of economic independence. In fact, some are making more money than the males. We have recent reports saying that in many of the large cities, in fact, with regard to homebuyers, there are more young women than men buying homes these days. And some of those reflect that they have economic independence, but they also show that the marriage and fertility rates could be affected too if they're economically independent.

As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” That’s a little more than saying, sort of, in general, “Be nice to people.” He said, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” I am called by Jesus himself, to live a new commandment – to love as he did. I am to respond to evil with goodness, as he did. I am supposed to do what a mother does when a little child is angry, screaming, in a tantrum. The mother hugs the child and surrounds the child with love and absorbs the anger. That is what I am to do: surround evil and anger with goodness as Jesus did. Am I doing that today?

The Republicans at the state and local level are way, way more gone than the Republicans in Washington.… So you’re going to get a far larger number of wackadoodle Republicans elected to Congress in 2022 because they will reflect the craziness that’s going on state and locally right now.

The Lion of Albion by Stewart Stafford Bell tolls on the second age of Elizabeth, As another reign of Charles commences, The Lion of Albion monitors its domain, With the steadying mending of fences. Acceding to the throne, León Coronado, History's weight on verisimilar shoulders, As the matriarch reflects in absentia, Crown jewel of memory to beholders. Over moor, loch, valley and causeway, Rises the realm of Charles Rex III, Phoenix feathers of noblesse oblige, For the Brexit nesting of a dove bird. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.

Poetry is about connection: a poet takes up a pen and gives a glimpse of their world, and we see a sliver reflected in our own. We take that poem and share it with someone, and they find something perhaps entirely different but equally relevant, and on, and on. That current of thought – conversations across miles and continents – is able to bridge the walls that divide us and to bind us together wherever we are.

„Nu-ți aduce tot eul la muncă. Nimeni nu vrea să îl cunoască.” Titlu de articol din The Economist, 2 iunie 2022 Universul nostru este plin de rulete. De la genele pe care le primim de la părinți, la țara și locul în care ne naștem și până la fenomenele întâmplătoare care ne pot curma viața, jucăm pariuri cu noi și cu ceilalți aproape la fiecare pas. De aceea, am inventat știința pentru ne ghida cât mai bine prin bezna existenței noastre inerente. În literatura din specialitatea științelor psihologiei și a psihoterapiei, comportamentele descrise mai sus sunt numite mecanisme de apărare ale Eului sau stiluri de coping și au fost prima dată formulate de către cine altul decât tatăl psihanalizei, Sigmund Freud. Sunt programe ale minții care ne protejează de stres și de anxietate. Jeffrey E. Young și colaboratorii lui le-au numit în zilele noastre scheme dezadaptative timpurii și le-au definit ca fiind teme largi cu privire la sine şi la propriile relaţii cu ceilalţi ce se dezvoltă în copilărie, se elaborează pe parcursul vieţii şi sunt disfuncţionale într-o anumită măsură. „Însă fără studiu individual, fără ambiție, fără muncă, nu se poate.” Isoscel în filmul Liceenii (1987)

I smile knowingly (like an idiot), taking refuge whilst others take responsibility. Taking refuge implies a deliberate course of action – well, it’s not that; it is more like an inaction, a porridge-like plate of inactivity.