“
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.
”
”
Walt Whitman
“
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
”
”
J.M. Barrie
“
It takes sunshine and rain to make a rainbow. There would be no rainbows without sunshine and rain.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett (The Light in the Heart)
“
I believe in some blending of hope and sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all; neither the beginning nor the end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep.
”
”
Charlotte Brontë (Villette)
“
I believe in the hands that work, in the brains that think, and in the hearts that love...I believe in sunshine, fresh air, friendship, calm sleep, beautiful thoughts.
”
”
Elbert Hubbard
“
She was like the sun,
She knew her place in the world -
She would shine again regardless
of all the storms and changeable weather
She wouldn't adjust her purpose
for things that pass.
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess
When did you feel your
most euphoric kiss?
Was I the source
of your greatest bliss?
”
”
Roman Payne
“
Hari yang indah selalu bisa membuat semua orang gembira, bukan?
”
”
Ilana Tan (Sunshine Becomes You)
“
Regardless of Sunshine or Rain, Be Thankful for another GREAT day…and treat Life as the ULTIMATE Gift.... Because IT IS :)
”
”
Pablo
“
Our lips were for each other and our eyes were full of dreams. We knew nothing of travel and we knew nothing of loss. Ours was a world of eternal spring, until the summer came.
”
”
Roman Payne (Hope and Despair)
“
What we can do, we must do: we must use what we are given, and we must use it the best we can, however much or little help we have for the task. What you have been given is a hard thing--a very hard thing... But my darling, what if there were no one who could do the difficult things?
”
”
Robin McKinley (Sunshine)
“
A smile is the same as sunshine; it banishes winter from the human countenance.
”
”
Victor Hugo (Les Misérables)
“
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you, no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life.
”
”
Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa)
“
Kindness is universal. Sometimes being kind allows others to see the goodness in humanity through you. Always be kinder than necessary.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
It is so appropriate to color hope yellow, like the sun we seldom saw. And as I begin to copy from the old memorandum journals that I kept for so long, a title comes as if inspired. 'Open the Window and Stand in the Sunshine.' Yet, I hesitate to name our story that. For I think of us more as flowers in the attic.
”
”
V.C. Andrews (Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1))
“
What you hold onto is less important than the act of holding on itself. It’s so easy to get lost in ourselves and this world. Sometimes you need to find your way back one tiny miracle at a time.
”
”
Nora Sakavic (The Sunshine Court (All For the Game, #4))
“
Her wild heart was rare, she saw blessings were most saw burdens & if one thing was certain; her smile was like a flower in the sunshine
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
Life didn't explode in the sunshine and pretty places. Life took the strongest root with a little bit of rain and with a whole lot of shit for fertilizer. Although love could grow in times of peace, it tempered in battle.
”
”
Karen Marie Moning (Dreamfever (Fever, #4))
“
You grow old when you lose interest in life, when you cease to dream, to hunger after new truths, and to search for new worlds to conquer. When your mind is open to new ideas, new interests, and when you raise the curtain and let in the sunshine and inspiration of new truths of life and the universe, you will be young and vital.
”
”
Joseph Murphy (The Power of Your Subconscious Mind)
“
Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine.
”
”
Mario Fernández
“
Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.
”
”
Jack Ma
“
Stories are made about girls like you. The wild ones, those rare faces that smile in the midst of chaos.
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
I have danced too deeply in my shadows, to ever fear the walk of my sunshine.
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
I think that the best kind of change, is the change that comes from the inside and begins it's way out until it emerges on the outside; a change that is born underneath then continues and spreads until it has reached the surface. That's a true change. A powerful change. And I have found that while we are emerging, changing into something glorious; it is actually us becoming who we really are. A water lily is born underneath the water, inside the soil at the bottom of the river or lake. And the water lily has always been a water lily for that whole time that it was sprouting out of the wet soil, reaching up through the dark water towards the sunlight, stretching and grasping for the surface; where it then buds and blooms on the outside in the sunshine. It doesn't bud and bloom on the surface and then try to reach down below into the soil.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
Christianity, unlike any other religion in the world, begins with catastrophe and defeat. Sunshine religions and psychological inspirations collapse in calamity and wither in adversity. But the Life of the Founder of Christianity, having begun with the Cross, ends with the empty tomb and victory.
”
”
Fulton J. Sheen (Life of Christ)
“
Once your soul is awakened, you never return to the sleepwalking state of mind. Some people become complacent in life. They are just going through the motions and not aware of truth. Seek the knowledge, wisdom, and the understandings that vivify your existence.
”
”
Amaka Imani Nkosazana (Heart Crush)
“
I will walk by myself
and cure myself
in the sunshine and the wind.
”
”
Charles Reznikoff (The Poems Of Charles Reznikoff: 1918-1975 (A Black Sparrow Book))
“
A man that knows your worth doesn't need to be told how to treat you. That's a given! You won't have to question his feelings, his motives, nor his intentions. How will I know? You ask. See, he will freely show you how he feels and prove it consistently. If you're settling for anything less than what you deserve. Then, maybe you don't even know your worth.
”
”
Amaka Imani Nkosazana (Sweet Destiny)
“
Ô, Muse of the Heart’s Passion,
let me relive my Love’s memory,
to remember her body, so brave and so free,
and the sound of my Dreameress singing to me,
and the scent of my Dreameress sleeping by me,
Ô, sing, sweet Muse, my soliloquy!
”
”
Roman Payne
“
Admire the efforts of a failure like you admire the beauty of a sunset.
”
”
Amit Kalantri (Wealth of Words)
“
Even in the midst of the storm the sun is still shining.
”
”
Dayna Lovely
“
Stop seeking attention from people who don't give you the time of day. Value your time, comfort your spirit, have peace of mind. There are people who love you and care about you.Give your smiles to them.
”
”
Amaka Imani Nkosazana (Release The Ink)
“
The danger, of course, is that we spend time imagining that we would be happier elsewhere, and forget to cultivate happiness where fate has placed us.
”
”
Alexander McCall Smith (Sunshine on Scotland Street (44 Scotland Street, #8))
“
Menjadi pengurus rumahmu memberiku alasan untuk menjalani hidupku. Lalu perlahan-lahan aku sadar bahwa kau juga menjadi salah satu alasanku untuk bertahan hidup.
”
”
Ilana Tan (Sunshine Becomes You)
“
And, actually, I was feeling pretty good at the time. My brothers were like individual rays of sunshine that had come crashing into my room to drive out the fragments of Despair. For a few minutes, everything was golden. And everything was okay.
”
”
Abbie Emmons (100 Days of Sunlight)
“
I want to be intoxicated by the darkened ether of midnight, running through my fingers as sparkling stardust. I crave the taste of the ocean's salty tears, as her temperamental tides crash and break against the rocks. I yearn for the sweet scent of sun on my skin and the earthy musk of dirt giving way under my bare feet. I want to lay naked in golden fields, as i gaze up at an endless sky, dreaming my dreams, as Mother Nature's love washes over me like spiritual sunshine.
”
”
Jaeda DeWalt
“
The trick, my brethren and sisters is to enjoy the journey, traveling hand in hand, in sunshine and storm, as companions who love one another.
”
”
Gordon B. Hinckley (My Dear Sisters: Inspiration for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley)
“
The sun is still there... even if clouds drift over it. Once you have experienced the reality of sunshine you may weep, but you will never feel ice about your heart again.
”
”
Elizabeth Goudge (The White Witch)
“
If I go a little over the top sometimes, don’t worry; That’s where all the sunshine is.
”
”
Michael Treanor
“
A good laugh is sunshine in the house.
”
”
William Makepeace Thackeray
“
Nothing you did could have changed anything.
And that being angry and blaming yourself for not being able to control the past or the future is only going to hurt worse. If you keep thinking like this, you will only be re-inventing pain.
Heaven would tell you that it’s just a little rain.
And it’s not the rain that kills you,
it’s the pain of wanting to control the sun.
”
”
Tessa Shaffer (Heaven Has No Regrets)
“
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!
”
”
Sylvester Stallone
“
The flowers inside your body are more beautiful than the flowers outside - full with fragrance and love. They are the sunshine and the medicine of your soul. Oh, the lost one come back to the source. You will be happier than ever before.
”
”
Amit Ray (Ray 114 Chakra System Names, Locations and Functions)
“
A dove struggling in a storm grows stronger than an eagle soaring in sunshine.
”
”
Matshona Dhliwayo
“
If God wants to move me, then I go! Yes, I am scared. Yes, I doubt. Yes, I am afraid things will crumble around me. Yes, I know this will be tough and this stress will sometimes seem unbearable. Yes, I know life will never be the same. But God wants to use ME! I am not saying no. I have my call. I must go!
”
”
Sunshine Rodgers (This Is My Heaven)
“
As the sun shines I will make hay
To keep failure at bay
For there remaineth a pay
For my honest toil each day.
”
”
Ogwo David Emenike
“
Spread sunshine and inspiration.
”
”
Juliet M. Sampson
“
In an instant, everything in the room came alive. Like the sunshine had a melody and the sounds of footsteps had a texture I could feel in my fingertips each time anyone moved
”
”
Kiera Cass (The Crown (The Selection, #5))
“
Good… Bad? I’m not here to judge where you’re at or where you’ve been. I’m simply here to encourage you in where you would like to go. You have the map; I’ll shine the light on it so you can better read it. And eventually, the sun will rise again in your life and you’ll no longer need my light to assist you.
”
”
Alaric Hutchinson (Living Peace: Essential Teachings For Enriching Life)
“
The keys to health and weight-loss: stress reduction, sleep, deep breathing, clean water, complete nutrition, sunshine, walking, stretching, meditation, love, community, laughter, dreams, perseverance, purpose, humility, action.
”
”
Bryant McGill (Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life)
“
Keep it always with you that laughter who knock at your door and say, 'May I come in?' is not the true laughter. No! he is a king, and he come when and how he like. He ask no person; he choose no time of suitability. He say, 'I am here.' ... Oh, friend John, it is a strange world, a sad world, a world full of miseries, and woes, and troubles; and yet when King Laugh come he make them all dance to the tune he play. Bleeding hearts, and dry bones of the churchyard, and tears that burn as they fall - all dance together to the music that he make with that smileless mouth of him. And believe me, friend John, that he is good to come, and kind. Ah, we men and women are like ropes drawn tight with strain that pull us different ways. Then tears come; and, like the rain on the ropes, they brace us up, until perhaps the strain become too great, and we break. But King Laugh he come like the sunshine, and he ease off the strain again; and we bear to go on with our labour, what it may be.
”
”
Bram Stoker (Dracula)
“
Later that day when I walked down this dried-out riverbed, enjoying the last rays of sunshine on my bare skin, I felt a deep inner peace coming up straight from my heart.
”
”
Nina Hrusa
“
Don't let yesterday’s storm keep you from enjoying today's sunshine.
”
”
Matshona Dhliwayo
“
Whatever the clouds plan to do; I always trust in the sun which never fails to come out
”
”
Munia Khan
“
ain't nobody up there still mad about anything. all is forgiven. They love you, came to help, know what mistakes they've made and what you did, too... but it's cool, now that they crossed over." He stood and walked over to the window to get some sunshine and to mentally breathe."I didn't understand it, never did until I saw it. They're in a better place; only want you to be safe and happy. That's it. that's all they want.
”
”
L.A. Banks (The Forbidden (Vampire Huntress Legend, #5))
“
Men,you say you want a strong, intelligent, truly independent woman who wants you rather than needs you, who inspires you, who pushes you towards being yourself, who can stick by you through the hardest times, and who can be your rock through life's obstacles.
But you need to know that a truly strong, independent woman does not walk through life with her heart wide open. She has had to put up walls to block toxicity to obtain her strength. She is skeptical and always on alert from a lifetime of defense against predators. She is going to be a bit jaded, a little cynical, and a little scary because those qualities come with the struggle of obtaining that strength that gravitates you. She is going to doubt and question your good intentions because it has become her adaptability instincts that have allowed her to thrive.
She is not a ball of sunshine. She has flaws. She has a past. She has her demons. She knows better than to just let down her barriers for you simply because you voice a desire to enter. You have to prove your right of entrance. She will assume the worst of you because the worst has happened. If you want her to see otherwise, prove her wrong.
”
”
Maggie Georgiana Young
“
Happiness gives you the freedom to enhance your ability to achieve success. Your choices in life are a direct reflection of your level of happiness. It's the sunshine for your soul that you need in order to grow
”
”
Amaka Imani Nkosazana (Sweet Destiny)
“
To let the brain work without sufficient material is like racing an engine. It racks itself to pieces. The sea air, sunshine, and patience, Watson—all else will come.
”
”
Arthur Conan Doyle
“
There would be no rainbows without sunshine and rain.
”
”
Roy Bennett
“
I asked of the limitless sunshine
How to shine with the dawn's glowing light;
No answer came back from the sunshine,
But my soul heard a whisper, "Burn bright!
”
”
Konstantin Balmont
“
Sunshine, external, is universal; internal, the eternal. Choose; shine.
”
”
Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma (You By You)
“
...I love dandelions. They make me feel like sunshine itself, and you will always see some creature resting on an open bloom, if you have a little patience to wait. This vital source for all emerging pollinators is a blast of uplifting yellow to brighten even the greyest of days. It stands tall and proud, unlike all the others opening and swaying in the breeze. The odd one out.
”
”
Dara McAnulty (Diary of a Young Naturalist)
“
I've said this before, but people love you for so many reasons. Some love you only for what you do for them. Some love you for how much money you spend. Some love you for your possessions. By now, we should know that isn't love, but merely infatuation. Don't be fooled into thinking a person like that is going to hang around once those things are gone.
”
”
Amaka Imani Nkosazana
“
Sunshine and Shadows...That is also the pattern of our lives, ain't so? We have the gut things and the sad, one after another, but all part of who we are
”
”
Marta Perry (Vanish in Plain Sight (The Brotherhood of the Raven #2))
“
Sunshine is a light.
May the sunshine brighten your path of life.
”
”
Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
“
If you can dance like raindrops, there will always be sunshine.
”
”
Curtis Tyrone Jones
“
Kissing her was something he'd never grow tired of. It was like drinking warm sunshine or licking the sugary sweetness of honey from a spoon.
Smooth, silky-soft, and delicate and ultra feminine. She inspired possessiveness such that he all but screamed that she was his.
And the hell of it was she didn't even know it.
”
”
Maya Banks (Highlander Most Wanted (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs, #2))
“
My personal problems are seeds that I’ve planted. They do not sprout when they are supposed to. They tend to grow when I least expect it. That is when most of my problems occur. I have to work on planting my seeds at the right time. I also have to make sure they are getting enough sunshine, rain, and a lot of love—so they can sprout during the right season.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (Unapologetic For My Flaws and All)
“
yeah, sure, the sun will age my skin, and all these giggles and smiles with you will, over time, will crack up my face and give me wrinkles...sunshine, giggles, smiles, you? that's happiness, baby i'm living!
”
”
D. Bodhi Smith (Bodhi Simplique Impressionist Photography and Insights (#5))
“
When the skies are looking bad my dear and your heart's lost all its hope, after dawn there will be sunshine and all the dust will go, the skies will clear my darling, I'll wake up with the one I love the most and in the morning I'll make you up some tea and toast
”
”
Lucy Spraggan
“
Your light, your spirit.
”
”
Lailah Gifty Akita
“
Joy in a storm is better than despair in sunshine.
”
”
Matshona Dhliwayo
“
Love your storms; they bring more than rain, they bring sunshine.
”
”
Matshona Dhliwayo
“
If you share in my storm, you can share in my sunshine.
”
”
Matshona Dhliwayo
“
Keeping your face to the sunshine and your vibes positively high,
Helps one in hard times use a smile to replace their sigh
”
”
Timothy Pina (Soul Vomit: Beating Down Domestic Violence)
“
It's God's world. He washes you clean. He makes you whole. He puts rain in your garden and sunshine in your heart. "Clarence
”
”
James McBride (Song Yet Sung)
“
O sol é como um bailarino no palco. Todos os dias ele nos apresenta o mais lindo espetáculo. Mesmo assim, poucos param para ver e aplaudir.
”
”
Samanta Holtz (Quero ser Beth Levitt)
“
You have to hang on for the thunderstorm to end so you can get the sunshine you've deserved.
”
”
Mikaila Perl
“
Tomorrow always has the potential for sunshine.
”
”
Kehinde Sonola (Swan Song Alley)
“
Rainbows are birthed in storms, not in sunshine.
”
”
Matshona Dhliwayo
“
In the morning, a cup of love, kindness and sunshine make my day bright and happy.
”
”
Debasish Mridha
“
I like giving life. Sowing, watering, harvesting. And starting again every year. I like life just as it is today. Bathed in sunshine. I like being at the essence of things.
”
”
Valérie Perrin (Fresh Water for Flowers)
“
Tough times don't last always. Your hard times are there to shape you and develop your character. It causes you to become more aware of life and you develop an attitude of gratitude. Don't lose hope because it gets better.
”
”
Amaka Imani Nkosazana (Release The Ink)
“
Rachael could see the lavender fields from where they sat at the kitchen table. They stretched in a purple haze over the landscape, the bright sunshine washing over them. The mauve complimented the blue-grey of the Australian bush in the far distance.
”
”
Ellen Read (Broken)
“
The mistake we make in putting emphasis on happiness is to forget that life is a process, defined by activity and motion, and to search instead for the one perfect state of being. There can be no such state, since change is the essence of life. Scholars who study meaning in life distinguish between synchronic meaning and diachronic meaning. Synchronic meaning depends on your state of being at any one moment in time: you are happy because you are out in the sunshine. Diachronic meaning depends on the journey you are on: you are happy because you are making progress toward a college degree. If we permit ourselves to take inspiration from what we have learned about ontology, it might suggest that we focus more on diachronic meaning at the expense of synchronic. The essence of life is change, and we can aim to make change part of how we find meaning in it.
”
”
Sean Carroll (The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself)
“
May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through. An Irish Blessing
”
”
Deena B. Chopra (Happiness 365: One-a-Day Inspirational Quotes for a Happy You)
“
Like a favorite song, old dreams keep on playing in my mind
They've waited for so long, for their time to finally arrive
I do believe now's the time,
I've gone years and years without really living
Minding squeaky wheels just giving and giving
And dreaming,
Like wildflowers growing through sidewalk cracks
The weight of the world makes 'em change their tracks
To find, the sun, and shine
Now, now, now's the time
”
”
Marie Helen Abramyan
“
In my journey through the ever-changing seasons of life, I have learnt that winter is inevitably followed by a gorgeous spring and every spell of rain gives way to brilliant sunshine. What’s more, I have learnt that winter snow and drenching showers can be beautiful too. We just need the right eyes to look at them.
”
”
Mona Soorma (Rainy Days and Sundays)
“
Do I have a code name? II'm pretty sure I get a code name. I'd like to choose it."
His fingers fall from my elbow. A pity. "Yes," he says. "As a matter of fact, you do have a code name."
"I knew it!" My twirl is the glee-filled kind. "What is it? Sidewinder or Lightning or maybe Pegasus?"
"We were calling you Butterfly."
Huh. "That's nice, I guess." A little soft, but okay.
"Then, the tabloids gave you the moniker. The Lost Butterfly, so we had to change it."
I perk up.
"I suggested it," he baits.
"What did you suggest?" I look up at Akio with stars in my eyes. The possibilities are endless---Sunshine, Moonflower, Cherry Blossom. My thoughts are a runaway train. Maybe he likes me. Maybe he's not as mean as he seems. Maybe I've terribly misjudged him and this is just a rocky start to a friendship that turns to love that will last the ages. Our affair will inspire folksy campfire ballads.
It's the first time I see Akio smile. It's part evil, part satisfied, as if he's just won a bet with himself. "Radish.
”
”
Emiko Jean (Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After, #1))
“
I'm just thinking about marriage," I admit. "How do you know when you've found the right person?"
Lee looks up, as if thinking very seriously about my question. "I always felt that the right one will be an extension of you. What you like, they like. What you respect, they will respect. What you value, they will value. I always envisioned marriage to be a true partnership, where one lifts up the other so that everyone wins.
”
”
Sunshine Rodgers (The Ring Does Not Fit)
“
Good old days? Whatever good in them may have been, they’re long past. No use crying over them now when they are but distant memories. I shall tell you the trick – in a person’s mind, all distant memories eventually grow tinted with rays of sunshine, and the toils and hardships the flesh and the soul have undergone get lost and forgotten. Hence you begin believing that those old days were good, and have a hard time dealing with present difficulties… I believe, whatever hardship you may face at present, it is still better than some vague and blurry flashbacks you carry in your mind, for the present can be felt upon the touch, sensed upon the breath, lived through and fought for. Good old days are long gone, and if you ask me, have never been as good as you may now imagine. There is only now, and the bitterer it is, the sweeter it feels to live the moment to its fullest.
”
”
Tamuna Tsertsvadze (Galaxy Pirates)
“
We both grew up at a time when homosexuality was not even spoken about. There were certainly no books that could help a young person understand that two people of the same sex could build a happy, productive and loving life together. When we entered our 50th year, another same sex couple told us we were ‘an inspiration’, so we began to feel we had the responsibility to make what we’ve experienced available to others. We also wanted to show people who were not gay that our life was not unlike theirs. We are all pretty much the same, so we deserve equal protection under the Constitution.
”
”
Norman Sunshine (Double Life: The Story of a Fifty Year Marriage)
“
[Robert's eulogy at his brother, Ebon C. Ingersoll's grave. Even the great orator Robert Ingersoll was choked up with tears at the memory of his beloved brother]
The record of a generous life runs like a vine around the memory of our dead, and every sweet, unselfish act is now a perfumed flower.
Dear Friends: I am going to do that which the dead oft promised he would do for me.
The loved and loving brother, husband, father, friend, died where manhood's morning almost touches noon, and while the shadows still were falling toward the west.
He had not passed on life's highway the stone that marks the highest point; but, being weary for a moment, he lay down by the wayside, and, using his burden for a pillow, fell into that dreamless sleep that kisses down his eyelids still. While yet in love with life and raptured with the world, he passed to silence and pathetic dust.
Yet, after all, it may be best, just in the happiest, sunniest hour of all the voyage, while eager winds are kissing every sail, to dash against the unseen rock, and in an instant hear the billows roar above a sunken ship. For whether in mid sea or 'mong the breakers of the farther shore, a wreck at last must mark the end of each and all. And every life, no matter if its every hour is rich with love and every moment jeweled with a joy, will, at its close, become a tragedy as sad and deep and dark as can be woven of the warp and woof of mystery and death.
This brave and tender man in every storm of life was oak and rock; but in the sunshine he was vine and flower. He was the friend of all heroic souls. He climbed the heights, and left all superstitions far below, while on his forehead fell the golden dawning, of the grander day.
He loved the beautiful, and was with color, form, and music touched to tears. He sided with the weak, the poor, and wronged, and lovingly gave alms. With loyal heart and with the purest hands he faithfully discharged all public trusts.
He was a worshipper of liberty, a friend of the oppressed. A thousand times I have heard him quote these words: 'For Justice all place a temple, and all season, summer!' He believed that happiness was the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest. He added to the sum of human joy; and were every one to whom he did some loving service to bring a blossom to his grave, he would sleep to-night beneath a wilderness of flowers.
Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the heights. We cry aloud, and the only answer is the echo of our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the unreplying dead there comes no word; but in the night of death hope sees a star and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing.
He who sleeps here, when dying, mistaking the approach of death for the return of health, whispered with his latest breath, 'I am better now.' Let us believe, in spite of doubts and dogmas, of fears and tears, that these dear words are true of all the countless dead.
And now, to you, who have been chosen, from among the many men he loved, to do the last sad office for the dead, we give his sacred dust.
Speech cannot contain our love. There was, there is, no gentler, stronger, manlier man.
”
”
Robert G. Ingersoll (Some Mistakes of Moses)
“
and burdens of mature life, when they became aware of their own weakness, they lost their peace, they let go of their precious self-respect, and it became impossible for them to “believe.” That is to say it became impossible for them to comfort themselves, to reassure themselves, with the images and concepts that they found reassuring in childhood. Place no hope in the feeling of assurance, in spiritual comfort. You may well have to get along without this. Place no hope in the inspirational preachers of Christian sunshine, who are able to pick you up and set you back on your feet and make you feel good for three or four days—until you fold up and collapse into despair. Self-confidence is a precious natural gift, a sign of health. But it is not the same thing as faith. Faith is much deeper, and it must be deep enough to subsist when we are weak, when we are sick, when our self-confidence is gone, when our self-respect is gone. I do not mean that faith only functions when we are otherwise in a state of collapse. But true faith must be able to go on even when everything else is taken away from us. Only a humble man is able to accept faith on these terms, so completely without reservation that he is glad of it in its pure state, and welcomes it happily even when nothing else comes with it, and when everything else is taken away.
”
”
Thomas Merton (New Seeds of Contemplation)
“
Our lives are intricately intertwined. The cord that binds us is much stronger than I imagined. It’s now obvious to me that my success is tied to yours. Your light lightens my path. Your darkness obscures my sunshine. I can’t seem to rise faster or higher than your help. I can’t stand comfortably while you languish on the ground. My celebration is incomplete without yours. It’s sweeter when we share the podium than when I stand there alone. Knowing how crucial you are to my life and purpose, I am here sending you a notice - I am in your corner. Here is hoping you will be gracious enough to be in mine.
”
”
Abiodun Fijabi
“
You and I cannot see what God has in store for us. That is why you should never believe that your worst fears are your fate or that when you are down, you will never rise again. You must have faith in yourself, in your purpose, and in God’s plan for your life. Then you must put fears and insecurities aside and trust that you will find your way. You may not have a clue of what lies ahead, but it’s better to act on life than simply let life act on you. If you have faith, you don’t need proof—you live it. You don’t need to have all the right answers, just the right questions. No one knows what the future holds. Most of the time, God’s plan is beyond our grasp and often beyond even the reach of our imaginations. As a ten-year-old boy, I never would have believed that within the next ten years, God would send me to travel the world to speak to millions of people, inspiring them and leading them to Jesus Christ. Nor could I ever have known that the love of my family would one day be matched and even surpassed by the love of the intelligent, spiritual, fearless, and beautiful young woman who recently became my wife. That boy who despaired at the thought of his future is at peace today as a man. I know who I am, and I take one step at a time, knowing God is on my side. My life is overflowing with purpose and love. Are my days free of worry? Is every day blessed with sunshine and flowers? No, we all know life doesn’t work that way. But I thank God for each and every moment that He allows me to walk the path He has set out for me. You and I are here for a purpose. I’ve found mine, and you should take my story as an assurance that your path awaits you too.
”
”
Nick Vujicic (Unstoppable)
“
Hello, sunshine,” said Jim’s voice.
“I’m kind of busy.”
I turned the file on its side and examined the doodle. Still nothing.
“No shit,” he said.
“Yeah. No gigs for me.”
“That’s not why I’m calling.”
I frowned at the phone and turned the file upside down. “I’m all ears.”
“Someone wants to meet you,” he said.
“Tell him to get in line,” I mumbled. The doodle almost looked like something.
“I’m not joking.”
“You never joke because you’re too damn busy proving that you’re a badass. Come on, black leather cloak? In mid-spring Atlanta? Besides I don’t have time to meet anybody.”
Jim’s voice dropped low and he spoke each word very distinctly. “Think very carefully. Do you really want me to tell the man no?”
Something about the way he said “the man” stopped me. I sat still and thought very hard about what kind of “man” would inspire Jim to use that voice.
“What did I do to warrant the Beast Lord’s attention?” I asked dryly.
“You’re sitting in the diviner’s office, aren’t you?”
Touché.
The Beast Lord was the Pack King, the lord of the shapechangers, and he ruled his brethren with an iron fist. Few ever saw him and the mention of his title was enough to make the loudest shapechanger shut up. In other words, he was precisely the kind of fellow my father and Greg had warned me to avoid. I ground my teeth, thinking of a way to weasel out of it.
”
”
Ilona Andrews (Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1))
“
Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine. The long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of overshadowed distances. On silvery sandbanks hippos and alligators sunned themselves side by side. The broadening waters flowed through a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way on that river as you would in a desert, and butted all day long against shoals, trying to find the channel, till you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for ever from everything you had known once—somewhere—far away—in another existence perhaps. There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence. And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention. It looked at you with a vengeful aspect. I got used to it afterwards; I did not see it any more; I had no time. I had to keep guessing at the channel; I had to discern, mostly by inspiration, the signs of hidden banks; I watched for sunken stones; I was learning to clap my teeth smartly before my heart flew out, when I shaved by a fluke some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the life out of the tin-pot steamboat and drowned all the pilgrims; I had to keep a look-out for the signs of dead wood we could cut up in the night for next day's steaming. When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the reality—the reality, I tell you—fades. The inner truth is hidden—luckily, luckily.
”
”
Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness)
“
From that point of view he gazed at the Oriental beauty he had not seen before. It seemed strange to him that his long-felt wish, which had seemed unattainable, had at last been realized. In the clear morning light he gazed now at the city and now at the plan, considering its details, and the assurance of possessing it agitated and awed him. "But could it be otherwise?" he thought. "Here is this capital at my feet. Where is Alexander now, and of what is he thinking? A strange, beautiful, and majestic city; and a strange and majestic moment! In what light must I appear to them!" thought he, thinking of his troops. "Here she is, the reward for all those fainthearted men," he reflected, glancing at those near him and at the troops who were approaching and forming up. "One word from me, one movement of my hand, and that ancient capital of the Tsars would perish. But my clemency is always ready to descend upon the vanquished. I must be magnanimous and truly great. But no, it can't be true that I am in Moscow," he suddenly thought. "Yet here she is lying at my feet, with her golden domes and crosses scintillating and twinkling in the sunshine. But I shall spare her. On the ancient monuments of barbarism and despotism I will inscribe great words of justice and mercy… . It is just this which Alexander will feel most painfully, I know him." (It seemed to Napoleon that the chief import of what was taking place lay in the personal struggle between himself and Alexander.) "From the height of the Kremlin—yes, there is the Kremlin, yes—I will give them just laws; I will teach them the meaning of true civilization, I will make generations of boyars remember their conqueror with love. I will tell the deputation that I did not, and do not, desire war, that I have waged war only against the false policy of their court; that I love and respect Alexander and that in Moscow I will accept terms of peace worthy of myself and of my people. I do not wish to utilize the fortunes of war to humiliate an honored monarch. 'Boyars,' I will say to them, 'I do not desire war, I desire the peace and welfare of all my subjects.' However, I know their presence will inspire me, and I shall speak to them as I always do: clearly, impressively, and majestically. But can it be true that I am in Moscow? Yes, there she lies.
”
”
Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace : Complete and Unabridged)
“
Alice's Cutie Code TM Version 2.1 - Colour Expansion Pack
(aka Because this stuff won’t stop being confusing and my friends are mean edition)
From Red to Green, with all the colours in between (wait, okay, that rhymes, but green to red makes more sense. Dang.)
From Green to Red, with all the colours in between
Friend Sampling Group: Fennie, Casey, Logan, Aisha and Jocelyn
Green
Friends’ Reaction: Induces a minimum amount of warm and fuzzies. If you don’t say “aw”, you’re “dead inside”
My Reaction: Sort of agree with friends minus the “dead inside” but because that’s a really awful thing to say. Puppies are a good example. So is Walter Bishop.
Green-Yellow
Friends’ Reaction: A noticeable step up from Green warm and fuzzies. Transitioning from cute to slightly attractive. Acceptable crush material. “Kissing.”
My Reaction: A good dance song. Inspirational nature photos. Stuff that makes me laugh. Pairing: Madison and Allen from splash
Yellow
Friends’ Reaction: Something that makes you super happy but you don’t know why. “Really pretty, but not too pretty.” Acceptable dating material. People you’d want to “bang on sight.”
My Reaction: Love songs for sure! Cookies for some reason or a really good meal. Makes me feel like it’s possible to hold sunshine, I think. Character: Maxon from the selection series. Music: Carly Rae Jepsen
Yellow-Orange
Friends’ Reaction: (When asked for non-sexual examples, no one had an answer. From an objective perspective, *pushes up glasses* this is the breaking point. Answers definitely skew toward romantic or sexual after this.)
My Reaction: Something that really gets me in my feels. Also art – oil paintings of landscapes in particular. (What is with me and scenery? Maybe I should take an art class) Character: Dean Winchester. Model: Liu Wren.
Orange
Friends’ Reaction: “So pretty it makes you jealous. Or gay.”
“Definitely agree about the gay part. No homo, though. There’s just some really hot dudes out there.”(Feenie’s side-eye was so intense while the others were answering this part LOLOLOLOLOL.) A really good first date with someone you’d want to see again.
My Reaction: People I would consider very beautiful. A near-perfect season finale. I’ve also cried at this level, which was interesting.
o Possible tie-in to romantic feels? Not sure yet.
Orange-Red
Friends’ Reaction: “When lust and love collide.” “That Japanese saying ‘koi no yokan.’ It’s kind of like love at first sight but not really. You meet someone and you know you two have a future, like someday you’ll fall in love. Just not right now.” (<-- I like this answer best, yes.) “If I really, really like a girl and I’m interested in her as a person, guess. I’d be cool if she liked the same games as me so we could play together.”
My Reaction: Something that gives me chills or has that time-stopping factor. Lots of staring. An extremely well-decorated room. Singers who have really good voices and can hit and hold superb high notes, like Whitney Houston. Model: Jasmine Tooke. Paring: Abbie and Ichabod from Sleepy Hollow
o Romantic thoughts? Someday my prince (or princess, because who am I kidding?) will come?
Red (aka the most controversial code)
Friends’ Reaction: “Panty-dropping levels” (<-- wtf Casey???).
“Naked girls.” ”Ryan. And ripped dudes who like to cook topless.”
“K-pop and anime girls.” (<-- Dear. God. The whole table went silent after he said that. Jocelyn was SO UNCOMFORTABLE but tried to hide it OMG it was bad. Fennie literally tried to slap some sense into him.)
My Reaction: Uncontrollable staring. Urge to touch is strong, which I must fight because not everyone is cool with that. There may even be slack-jawed drooling involved. I think that’s what would happen. I’ve never seen or experienced anything that I would give Red to.
”
”
Claire Kann (Let's Talk About Love)