The Lessons Never Learned (The War Eternal, #2)

by Rob J. Hayes

The first way to deal with grief is to confront it, to meet it head on and accept it as a part of yourself. It is, by far, the hardest thing to do, but also the only way to truly move past it.

"When the destination seems so far away, instead pay attention to each step. Step. Step. Step." "Will it make the journey seem shorter? Easier?" Tamura laughed. "No. But at least you'll be moving."

is an unfortunate truth of my life that suicide has never been far from my thoughts, and it most often tugs at me when there is a height to launch myself from. The call of the void. I fought it. I have been fighting it my whole life. I am so tired.

Pain is a constant companion throughout life. It is something we can get used to if it is frequent enough, but rarely something we enjoy. I have noticed the older a person gets, the more they complain about the pain, as though tolerance for it erodes with age. Maybe it's because pain comes more readily with years, or maybe it's because pain serves such a good use, to remind us all that we are, over time, falling apart. Hurtling, moment by moment, towards an inevitable death.

I liken a new-born to a chubby little face connected to an arse, as everything they do concerns one or the other.

Ignorance can make even the mundane seem like magic.

Names matter. Names of people, names of places. It is through naming a thing that we give it meaning and value.

Time is about perception. Rather than being a linear thing, it relies entirely upon the observation of those experiencing it.