Great Throughts Treasury

"If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise, said the seer. If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur."

"If God exists, and I truly don?t believe he does, he will know that there are limits to human understanding. He was the one who created this confusion in which there is poverty, injustice, greed, and loneliness. He doubtless had the best of intentions, but the results have proved disastrous; if God exists, he will be generous with those creatures who chose to leave this Earth early, and he might even apologize for having made us spend time here. To hell with taboos and superstitions. Her devout mother would say: God knows the past, the present, and the future. In that case, he had placed her in this world in the full knowledge that she would end up killing herself, and he would not be shocked by her actions. Veronika began to feel a slight nausea, which became rapidly more intense."

"If he was the man she wanted him to be, he would not be intimidated by her silence."

"If he has the courage to unearth his dreams, he then faces a second obstacle: love. He now knows what he desires to do, but he thinks he will harm those around him, if he gives everything up to follow his dreams. He does not understand that love is an additional impulse, not something which hinders one from going forward. He does not understand that those who truly wish him well are longing for his happiness, and are ready to accompany him on this adventure."

"If he waits for the ideal moment, he will never set off; he requires a touch of madness to take the next step. The warrior uses that touch of madness. For - in both love and war - it is impossible to foresee everything."

"If I accept that a book must end, I will finish it tonight. What I am doing now is to postpone this orgasm as much as I can."

"If I am really a part of your dream, you'll come back one day."

"If I believe I will win, then victory will believe in me."

"If I believe in victory, and victory will believe in me. No life is complete without a little touch of madness."

"If I can handle alone, I'm everywhere."

"If I can learn to understand this language without words, I can learn to understand the world."

"If I can understand what?s going on in the world, I can understand what?s going on inside myself."

"If I could, I'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence."

"If I had a choice, if I had understood earlier that the reason my days were all the same was because I wanted them like that, perhaps..."

"If I did not feel life growing internal, you will not be able to accept an external life."

"If it's still in your mind, it is still in your heart."

"If I stay another day, I'll be here for another year. And if I stayed another year, I'll never leave."

"If I must be faithful to someone or something, I have, first of all, have to be faithful to myself."

"If I must fall, may it be from a high place."

"If it's still in your mind, it is worth taking the risk."

"If one day I could get out of here, I would allow myself to be crazy. Everyone is indeed crazy, but the craziest are the ones who don't know they're crazy; they just keep repeating what others tell them to."

"If one partner gives himself completely, he breaks down the barriers of the other, however strong they may be. Because the act of giving means: I trust you. The other, who to begin with may feel rather intimidated, wanting to prove things which aren't even under discussion, is unarmed by the spontaneity of such an attitude, and relaxes. At that moment, true sexual energy comes into play."

"If only everyone could know and live with their inner craziness. Would the world be a worse place for it? No, people would be fairer and happier."

"If our time on this earth is sacred, and we celebrate every moment."

"If pain must come, come quick, I said. Because I still have a life ahead and I need to use it the best way possible. If he has to choose, do it soon. In that case, I hope. If not, forget it. Wait hurts. Forget hurts. But the worst feeling is not knowing what decision to make."

"If one goes, it's time for someone else to come."

"If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him. waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering."

"If someone comes to you with a gift, and you do not accept it, who does the gift belong to? - asked the Samurai."

"If she had looked more deeply into herself, she would have realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion, not his physical body."

"If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own."

"If someone really want something, the whole universe work together to help the people that dreams."

"If the mouth opened, there is something important to say."

"If the warriors come here, and your head is still on your shoulders at sunset, come and find me."

"If the whole world is evil, then the tragedy that befell you is justified, she went on. That would make it easier for you to accept the deaths of your wife and daughters. But if good people do exist, then, however much you deny it, your life will be unbearable; because fate set a trap for you, and you know you didn't deserve it. It isn't the light you want to recover; it's the certainty that there is only darkness."

"If someone is capable of loving his partner without restrictions, unconditionally, then he is manifesting the love of God. If the love of God becomes manifest, he will love his neighbor. If he loves his neighbor, he will love himself. If he loves himself, then everything returns to its proper place."

"If theater is ritual, then dance is too... It's as if the threads connecting us to the rest of the world were washed clean of preconceptions and fears. When you dance, you can enjoy the luxury of being you."

"If we seek something, that same thing is seeking us."

"If we want to change the world, we have to go back in time to when warriors gathered around the fire to exchange stories."

"If there hadn't been a sixth day, man would not exist; copper would always be copper; and lead just lead. It's true that everything has its Personal Legend, but one day that Personal Legend will be realized. So each thing has to transform itself into something better, and to acquire a new Personal Legend, until, someday, the Soul of the World becomes one thing only."

"If there is suffering, then it's best to accept it, because it won't go away just because you pretend it's not there. If there is joy, then it's best to accept that too, even though you're afraid it might end one day."

"If there is any possible consolation in the tragedy of losing someone we love very much, it's the necessary hope that perhaps it was for the best."

"If we are tolerant of others, we make it easy to accept our own mistakes."

"If this enhancements, what happens next will also be better."

"If we are alone, we become more alone. Life is strange."

"If we can love, we will also be able to be loved. It's just a matter of time."

"If we had spoken before, you would not have been ripe. If we were to talk later, you would have rotted. He bites into the pear, savoring the taste. Perfect. The right moment."

"If you are brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new Hello."

"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return."

"If you are born again, if we do not look at life with the innocence and enthusiasm of childhood, it makes no sense to go on living."

"If you are never alone you cannot know yourself. And if you do not know yourself, you will begin to fear the void."