Helen Barrow > Helen's Quotes

“Have you ever heard of Wabi-sabi?" "Nope ," Angela admitted. Nicola sat up a little to better see Angela's face. "It's a Japanese point of view. The Sabi bit refers to something's beauty that comes from its imperfections, or damage it's suffered through its life." Nicola bent her head and gave the side of Angela's face a soft kiss, then pulled back up, enough for their eyes to meet. "Nothing is perfect if you look close enough, and nothing is forever. Despite what people think they want, we all in fact find things that appear perfect to be rather disturbing." She pointed to a chicken pox scar above her own right eye. "We seek out, and find comfort in wear and tear, flaws of any sort. Contrary to what our society believes, it's the imperfections which draw us to something and they can make us love it even more.”
― Helen E. Barrow, Northern Heights

“Making for a summery, aesthetic contrast to all around her; Angela was moving against the current of commuters, the majority of whom were clad in muted attire. In her warm red, front-split, ruffled halter-neck cocktail dress that came to her knees, she was turning more than a few heads. Descending the wet concrete steps of the metro entrance with a grace that surprised Nicola, she reminded her of a cherry blossom falling.”
― Helen E. Barrow, Northern Heights

“If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.”
― W.H. Auden

“In our village, folks say God crumbles up the old moon into stars.”
― Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

“Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly.”
― Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
― Emma Donoghue, Room

“Desserts is just stressed spelled backwards.”
― G.A. Wilson

“Rules for Living by Olivia Joules
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it really matter?"
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it's really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, "Oh, fuck it," (b) look on the bright side, and if that doesn't work, look on the funny side. If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don't expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.”
― Helen Fielding, Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination