“writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. we are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. it's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. you can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”
- anne lamott


Thursday, January 31, 2013

After the Moment

"Surely desire grew from a combination of things. Not from what you decided you wanted."

"As if love had a governing principle, as reliable as the equation for gravity, that everyone knew existed, even if few could easily calculate it. It was taken for granted that love, like gravity, existed, but good luck remembering the proof."

"Leigh had never so hated his inability to be decisive. To know. It seemed to him that he would never know the right thing to do until he decided what it was. This, perhaps, was why Lillian was forever harping on his not doing enough of what he wanted. It didn't seem possible, though, that his hazy desires could ever lead him into knowledge, clarity, or action."

"I always thought everyone else had some kind of guide they followed. One that explained how to be around people, how to treat them...What I eventually decided...is that when you're shaving, the only thing that matters is that you can live with what you see in the mirror. I wouldn't trust a man who loved what he saw every morning, but make sure you can live with it."

"If he was lucky, he'd come to see it clearly. And that ache would no longer be for a first love or a lost one, but for a memory, full of pleasure and regret."

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