Quotes about Perspective

We're so fortunate here, away from the turmoil. We wouldn't have to give a moment's thought to all this suffering if it weren't for the fact that we're so worried about those we hold dear, whom we can no longer help.

This of all the misery in the world and be thankful that you are not sharing in it.

I only look at her as a mother, and she doesn't succeed in being that to me.

I am the best and sharpest critic of my own work. I know myself what is and what is not well written. Anyone who doesn't write doesn't know how wonderful it is.

Are most people so stingy and selfish? I've gained some insight into human nature since I came here, which is good, but I've had enough for the present.

You can't forbid someone to have an opinion, no matter how young they are!

Why do grownups quarrel so easily, so much, and over the most idiotic things? Up till now I thought that only children squabbled and that wore off as you grew up.

Yes, in the sense that I felt a certain contentment. Not always, mind you. I moaned and groaned from time to time. But I was never downright depressed again, probably because I realized that sadness comes from feeling sorry for yourself and happiness from joy.

Later on, when you are older, you won't enjoy anything., then you'll say: 'I read that in books twenty years ago.

that we live in a paradise compared to the Jews who aren't in hiding.

At such moments I don't think about all the misery, but about the beauty that still remains. This is where Mother and I differ greatly. Her advice in the face of melancholy is: Think about all the suffering in the world and be thankful you're not part of it. My advice is: Go outside, to the country, enjoy the sun and all nature has to offer. Go outside and try to recapture the happiness within yourself; think of all the beauty in yourself and in everything around you and be happy.

When I think about our lives here, I usually come to the conclusion that we live in a paradise compared to the Jews who aren't in hiding. All the same, later on, when everything has returned to normal, I'll probably wonder how we, who always lived in such comfortable circumstances, could have "sunk" so low.