Mark

“Words can be like tiny doses of arsenic: they are swallowed unnoticed, appear to have no effect, and then after a little time the toxic reaction sets in after all.”
― Victor Klemperer, The Language of the Third Reich

“...in witnessing someone's being touched, we are also witnessing someone's being moved, the absence of which in ourselves is a sorrow, and a sacrifice. And witnessing the absence of movement in ourselves by witnessing its abundance in another...can hurt. Until it becomes, if we are lucky, an opening.”
― Ross Gay, The Book of Delights: Essays

“This is what it’s like to struggle with our thoughts and feelings: we invest massive amounts of time and energy in trying hard to push them away. This is tiring, draining, and distracting. And because so much of our attention is invested in this internal struggle, it’s very hard to be present, to focus on or engage in what we’re doing,”
― Russ Harris, The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living

“These were the last words of advice Vonnegut wrote to be delivered to an audience: “And how should we behave during this Apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we should also stop being so serious. Jokes help a lot. And get a dog, if you don’t already have one.… I’m out of here.”
― Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Kurt Vonnegut: Letters