Quotes about Understanding

Isn't it confusing to have the same name as that scientist guy?" It took me a moment to understand. Was he pulling my leg? Finally, it dawned on me. "I am that scientist guy," I answered. He paused and then smiled. "Sorry. That's my problem. I thought it was yours too.

If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do us a disservice in deflating our conceits? For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

We are, you and I, at least one of the ways that the Universe knows itself

I do kind of wish he had chosen another way to do it. But I'll take grace anywhere I can get it.

She pulls upright, wiping her face 'But that's another one of those clichés I don't get. The light. I feel it sometimes. It makes sense that you have to beat back the darkness, but I just don't understand why there's darkness in the first place. Sometimes I feel like the world has fractured into a million pieces and they're closing in on me, and I have to push each piece back with my hands and my feet and my head to keep it from squeezing me to death.

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

To be loved means to be recognized as existing.

Sometimes our parents are full of love and sometimes they are full of anger. This love and anger comes not only from them, but from all previous generations. When we can see this, we no longer blame our parents for our suffering.

In true love, you attain freedom. When you love, you bring freedom to the person you love. If the opposite is true, it is not true love. You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free. (p.4, Shambhala Publications)

When we're able to love our enemy, that person is no longer our enemy. The idea of "enemy" vanishes and is replaced by the person who is suffering and needs our compassion.

When we cannot communicate, we suffer, and we spill our suffering on to other people. We can find ways to open the doors of communication again.

True love includes a sense of responsibility and accepting the other person as she is, with all her strengths and weaknesses. If you only like the best things in a person, that is not love.