Crazy Brave Quotes

“A story matrix connects all of us.
There are rules, processes, and circles of responsibility in this world. And the story begins exactly where it is supposed to begin. We cannot skip any part.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“She exists in me now, just as I will and already do within my grandchildren. No one ever truly dies. The desires of our hearts make a path. We create legacy with our thoughts and dreams.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“I could hear my abandoned dreams making a racket in my soul.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“And whom do I call my enemy?
An enemy must be worthy of engagement.
I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking.
It’s the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind.
The heart is the smaller cousin of the sun.
It sees and knows everything.
It hears the gnashing even as it hears the blessing.
The door to the mind should only open from the heart.
An enemy who gets in, risks the danger of becoming a friend.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“Those of fire move about the earth with inspiration and purpose. They are creative, and can consume and be consumed by their desires [...] My father-to-be was of the water and could not find a hold in the banks of earthiness. Water people can easily get lost.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“Though we have instructions and a map buried in our hearts when we enter this world, nothing quite prepares us for the abrupt shift to the breathing realm.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“You’re coming with me, poor thing. You don’t know how to listen. You don’t know how to speak. You don’t know how to sing. I will teach you.” I followed poetry.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“When Sun leaves at dusk, it makes a doorway. We have access to ancestors, to eternity. Breathe out. Ask for forgiveness. Let all hurts and failures go. Let them go.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“In the end, we must each tend to our own gulfs of sadness, though others can assist us with kindness, food, good words, and music. Our human tendency is to fill these holes with distractions like shopping and fast romance, or with drugs and alcohol.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“Someone accompanies every soul from the other side when it enters this place. Usually it is an ancestor with whom that child shares traits and gifts.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“This is my heart. It is a good heart.
Weaves a membrane of mist and fire.
When we speak love in the flower world
My heart is close enough to sing to you
in a language too clumsy
for human words.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“But come here, fear
I am alive and you are so afraid
of dying”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“She exists in me now, just as I will and already do within my grandchildren. No one ever truly dies. The desires of our hearts make a path. We create legacy with our thoughts and dreams. This legacy either will give those who follow us joy on their road or will give them sorrow.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“I understood why women went back to their abusers. The monster wasn't your real husband, he was a bad dream - an alien of sorts - who took over the spirit of your beloved one. He entered and left your husband. It was your real love you welcomed back in.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“I believe that if you do not answer the noise and urgency of your gifts, they will turn on you. Or drag you down with their immense sadness at being abandoned.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“Once I traveled far above the earth. This beloved planet we call home was covered with an elastic web of light. I watched in awe as it shimmered, stretched, dimmed, and shined, shaped by the collective effort of all life within it. Dissonance attracted more dissonance. Harmony attracted harmony. I saw revolutions, droughts, famines, and the births of new nations. The most humble kindnesses made the brightest lights. Nothing was wasted.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“And whom do I call my enemy?
An enemy must be worthy of engagement.
I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking
I't the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind.
The heart is the smaller cousin of the sun.
It sees and knows everything.
It hears the gnashing even as it hears the blessing.
The door to the mind should open from the heart.
An enemy who gets in risks the danger of becoming a friend.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“For the true warriors of the world, fighting is the last resort to solving a conflict. Every effort is made to avoid bloodshed”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“Within a few generations we had gone from being nearly one hundred percent of the population of this continent to less than one-half of one percent. We were all haunted.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“I had come this far without the elegance of speech. ... I could not speak coherently. I stuttered in my mind. I could not express my perception of the sacred. I could speak everyday language: Please pass the salt. I would like . . . When are we going . . . I'll meet you there. I wanted the intricate and metaphorical language of my ancestors to pass through my language, my life.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“European and American settlers soon took over the lands that were established for settlement of eastern tribes in what became known as Indian Territory. The Christian god gave them authority. Yet everyone wanted the same thing: land, peace, a place to make a home, cook, fall in love, make children and music.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“I leaned against my father. I adored him. And I was afraid of him. Together both of those places lived within me.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“Oh, you have choked me, but I gave you the leash.
You have gutted me, but I gave you the knife.
You have devoured me, but I laid myself across the fire.

I take myself back, fear.
You are not my shadow any longer,
I won't hold you in my hands.
You can't live in my eyes, my ears, my voice, my belly, or in my heart my heart
my heart my heart

But come here, fear
I am alive and you are so afraid
of dying.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“My father was more of a mystery. He lived most of the time in a farther-away realm more than he lived within the domestic universe of our home. When he was home from work, he moved through the house as if he were walking through water.

I adored my father and I feared him. When he'd lift me up to the sky with a laugh, I yearned to fly. I'd try, but I always disappointed him by crying out with fear of falling. He'd put me down and walk away. Later he'd pull me to his knee and circle me close to his heart. Despite the hurt that made him tight, I knew he loved me. And in the end, I was the one to help lead him through the door of earthly life to the other side.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“I began choking and kicking, fighting for air. My spirit helper spoke precisely: ‘If you fight water, you drown”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“It will never be right as long as you are angry, I wanted to say, but who was I to say, because I was a child. And because I was a child I cowered under the table to hide when he started coming my way in anger. My cowering made him even angrier, because I was not brave at all.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

“But this wasn’t enough to sustain the need for artistic expression. I believe that if you do not answer the noise and urgency of your gifts, they will turn on you. Or drag you down with their immense sadness at being abandoned. I felt like I had left my dreams of being”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“And whom do I call my enemy? An enemy must be worthy of engagement. I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking. It’s the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind. The heart is the smaller cousin of the sun. It sees and knows everything. It hears the gnashing even as it hears the blessing. The door to the mind should open only from the heart. An enemy who gets in risks the danger of becoming a friend.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“They speak softly, with kindness. They are quick with humor, and keep an open path. They have been tested with suffering and have responded with wisdom rather than bitterness. They teach by story, images, and songs. And they are respectful to mystery. They continue to remind me that it is best to walk this earthly path with vnektckv, compassion. All I have to do is remember them, and they stand in memory in a kind light.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir

“This is my soul. It is a good soul. It tells me, “Come here, forgetful one.” And we sit together. We cook a little something to eat, then a sip of something sweet, for memory, for memory. This is my song. It is a good song. It walked forever the border of fire and water, climbed ribs of desire to sing to you. Its new wings quiver with vulnerability. Come lie next to me. Put your head here. My heart is close enough to sing.”
― Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave: A Memoir