No Visible Injuries Quotes

“Family abandonments are not usually taken lightly and frequently come with their own burdens of guilt, shame and regret along with that feeling of worthlessness that often accompanies the causes that led to this.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“We all need to learn from experience. We all need someone to give us that experience in the first place. We need to learn compassion, forgiveness, and humility.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“I’ve always known things at a deeper intuitive level of wisdom beyond myself, as if I can dip my toes into a well of wisdom from ancient times, eternal perspectives that never become obsolete. When I read or hear or recognise such wisdom, it affects my body in peculiar ways, as if I am sinking into something utterly original and natural. I’ve learned to accept and embrace these insights”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“I have learned not to trust the stories we each have in our minds. They may be deeply mistaken. I learn this from Quakers, and also from Thich Nhat Hanh.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“Very disturbed and traumatised people are utterly selfish because they are not able to cope with more than their own inner nightmare.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“It strikes me how hard it is to appreciate people for their positive qualities when we are overwhelmed by their negative ones”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“I remember reading a quote by Jung once, ‘there is no such thing as a difficult child, just a child being mismanaged’.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“Mother’s Mother, Violet, is called ‘big Grandma’ since she is five feet nine inches tall. Functional but unflattering names for what should be a tender relationship, but it matches the reality. Tenderness is in short supply.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“All certainty about all the things I’d previously felt confident about is being incrementally taken away from me. Mother is clever with words, and they don’t show on the outside, don’t leave scars and marks that other people can see. The signs are there of course, damaged children do tell you if you know how to read the signs. I know I still exhibit some of those sometimes when I watch people too closely, not feeling confident about their presence. This is a poem I wrote about it. Frozen Child I have a look, a certain kind of stare
that watches closely, intently.
A child monitoring her surroundings
for safety and unknown terrors. The watching appears rude, invasive,
but I’m not watching you,
just your body, for sudden moves,
just your face, in case it changes
from light to darkness.
It is that instant I await. Forewarned is forearmed
the child always ready,
prepared for the next attack,
never knowing where it will come from,
how it will manifest, just watching. A kind of stare, not looking at you
looking beyond at what might be there.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“Ignorance can be an amazing boost to one’s confidence at times though. You don’t realise how much you don’t know and can learn through experience, sometimes called the hard way, but that’s ok too with gardening. Plants are quite forgiving.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries

“What you have to understand Sylvia is that I didn’t marry you for any other reason than that I wanted you in my life. You don’t have to do anything to be a joy to me. You can spend a whole day doing nothing and I shall be just as pleased to see you in Millers Lane waiting for me, or even not bothering to wait for me there, but staying here until I get home.”
― Sylvia Clare, No Visible Injuries