#den

Lee smiled. "My father said she was a strong woman, and I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is almost indestructible. ↗

— John Steinbeck

#eden #literature #of #steinbeck #strong

We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis. ↗

— LeeAnn Taylor

#become #becoming #being #butterflies #butterfly

I finally found my way to the Really Restricted Section, where they keep the kind of books most scholars aren't even supposed to know exist. I knocked on the closed door, said the proper passwords, and the door opened before me. I walked in, and the ghost of the Head Librarian, a thin, dusty presence, with dark eyes and a disapproving look, appeared before me, blocking my way. (He had been eaten by a book, then brought back by the other books, apparently because they approved of him. Because even though he didn't have much time for people, he loved books.) ↗

— Simon R. Green

#eaten-by-a-book #forbidden-books #ghosts #librarians #libraries

You told me, if something is not used it is meaningless, and took my temperature, which I had thought to save for a more difficult day. In the mirror, every night, the same face, a bit more threadbare, a dress worn too long. The moon was out in the cold, along with the restless, dissatisfied wind that seemed to change the location of the sycamores. I expected reproaches because I had mentioned the word love, but you only accused me of stealing your pencil, and sadness disappeared with sense. You made a ceremony out of holding your head in your hands because, you said, it could not be contained in itself. ↗

— Rosmarie Waldrop

#desperation #love #change

Entomologist Dr. Ovid Byron speaking to television journalist, Tina, who says, re. global warming, "Scientists of course are in disagreement about whether this is happening and whether humans have a role." He replies: "The Arctic is genuinely collapsing. Scientists used to call these things the canary in the mine. What they say now is, The canary is dead. We are at the top of Niagara Falls, Tina, in a canoe. There is an image for your viewers. We got here by drifting, but we cannot turn around for a lazy paddle back when you finally stop pissing around. We have arrived at the point of an audible roar. Does it strike you as a good time to debate the existence of the falls?" p.367 ↗

— Barbara Kingsolver

#climate-crisis #monarch-butterflies #change

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I'm beginning to believe it. ↗

— Clarence Darrow

#inspirational

If your eyes can not cry, then your gut will." The head and heart may be in denial of your human needs, but the gut will always carry the wisdom of your needs met and unmet, and thusly respond. ↗

— Martha Char Love

#denial #eyes #gut #gut-feelings #human-needs

I admire independence. The world would be a stronger place if we were all capable of handling life on our own. But being capable of it doesn't mean being unable to share and depend on someone else. It shouldn't mean being unwilling to. That's the romance. ↗

— Nora Roberts

#love #romance #love

An amazing thing happens when you stop seeking approval and validation: You find it. People are naturally drawn like magnets to those who know who they are and cannot be shaken! ↗

— Mandy Hale

#being-yourself #confidence #knowing-who-you-are #loving-yourself #seeking-validation

A girl who truly knows herself is a girl that everybody else wants to know. ↗

— Mandy Hale

#confidence #finding-yourself #knowing-yourself #positive-thinking #self-acceptance