Quotes about Reflection

it is worthy of consideration, indeed marvelous, how besides his life in concreto, a person always leads a second in abstracto as well.

to be superior (überlegen) to others in real life, the indispensable condition is to be thoughtful and deliberate (überlegt), in other words, to set to work in accordance with concepts.

Thousands acknowledge they are sinners, who have never mourned over the fact.

How quickly self rises to the surface, and the instrument is ready to believe he is something more than an instrument! How sadly easy it is to make of the very service God entrusts us with a pedestal on which to display ourselves. But God will not share His glory with another, and therefore does He hide those who may be tempted to take some of it unto themselves. It is only by retiring from public view and getting alone with God that we can learn our own nothingness.

How hard it is to sleep in the middle of life.

I am a reflection of my mother's secret poetry as well as of her hidden angers.

I had discovered a new world called voluntary aloneness.

Fair, fair, what's fair, you think? Is fair you want, look in god's face.' My mother was busily dropping onions into the tin. She paused, and turning around, held my puffy face up, her hand beneath my chin. Her eyes so sharp and furious before, now just looked tired and sad.

I don't know how long I looked for Toni every day at noontime, sitting on the stoop. Eventually, her image receded into that place from which all my dreams are made.

Being out of work brought a lot of new and starkly instructive experiences.

I want to write down everything I know about being afraid, but I'd probably never have enough time to write anything else.

We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.