Great Throughts Treasury

"What is outside is harder to change than what is inside."

"What is success? It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace."

"What is the Other? they ask. The Other is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am. The Other believes that it is our obligation to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money a possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it's too late. And you? Who are you? I am just like everyone else who listens to their heart: a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open to miracles, who experiences joy and enthusiasm for what they do. It's just that the Other, afraid of disappointment, kept me from taking action. But there is suffering in life, one of the listeners said. And there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you're fighting for. That's it? another listener asked. Yes, that's it. When I learned this, I resolved to become the person I had always wanted to be. The Other stood there in the corner of my room, watching me, but I will never let the Other into myself again----even though it has already tried to frighten me, warning me that it's risky not to think about the future. From the moment that I ousted the Other from my life, the Divine Energy began to perform its miracles."

"What is the benefit of money if one has to die?"

"What makes life interesting is the ability to fulfill their dreams."

"What other people think is more important than what we feel. Never make a fuss--it might attract the attention of an enemy tribe. If you behave differently you will be expelled from the tribe because you could infect others and destroy something that was extremely difficult to organize in the first place. We must always consider the look of our new cave, and if we don't have a clear idea of our own, then we must call a decorator who will do his best to show others what good taste we have. We must eat three meals a day, even if we're not hungry, and when we fail to fit the current ideal of beauty we must fast, even if we're starving. We must dress according to the dictates of fashion, make love whether we feel like it or not, kill in the name of our country, wish time away so that retirement comes more quickly, elect politicians, complain about the cost of living, change our hair-style, criticize anyone who is different, go to a religious service on Sunday, Saturday or Friday, depending on our religion, and there beg forgiveness for our sins and puff ourselves up with pride because we know the truth and despise he other tribe, who worship false gods. Our children must follow in our footsteps; after all we are older and know more about the world. We must have a university degree even if we never get a job in the area of knowledge we were forced to study. We must never make our parents sad, even if this means giving up everything that makes us happy. We must play music quietly, talk quietly, weep in private, because I am the all-powerful Zahir, who lays down the rules and determines the meaning of success, the best way to love, the importance of rewards."

"What makes life interesting are the challenges we face."

"What remains will be the love that moves the heavens, the stars, people, flowers, insects, the love that obliges us all to walk across the ice despite the danger, that fills us with joy and with fear, and gives meaning to everything."

"What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing."

"What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over."

"What was broken will never be the same again."

"What we are is what we do, and more than what we possess."

"What they forget is that, from Ancient Greece on, the people who returned from battle were either dead on their shields or stronger, despite and because of their scars."

"What we need to learn is always there before us, we just have to look around us with respect and attention in order to discover where God is leading us and which step we should take next."

"What you brought from your past, is of no use in your present. When you must choose a new path, do not bring old experiences with you. Those who strike out afresh, but who attempt to retain a little of the old life, end up torn apart by their own memories."

"What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we?ve learned as we?ve moved toward that dream. That?s the point at which most people give up. It?s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ?dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.? Every search begins with beginner?s luck. And every search ends with the victor?s being severely tested."

"What?s the world?s greatest lie?' The boy asked, completely surprised. ?It?s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what?s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That is the world?s greatest lie."

"What's so special about me? There isn't anything special about you, at least, nothing I can put my finger on. And yet and here's the mystery of life ? I can't think of anything else."

"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person realize his dream."

"What's the world's greatest lie?... It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate."

"Whatever you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy!"

"What's the world's greatest lie?' the boy asked, completely surprised. 'It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."

"When a person really desires something, the whole universe conspires so that your dream can be realized."

"When a teacher helps someone to discover something, the teacher always learns something new too."

"When a sense of dissatisfaction persists, that means it was placed there by God for one purpose only: you need to change everything and move forward."

"When desire is still in this pure state, the man and the woman fall in love with life, they live each moment reverently, consciously, always ready to celebrate the next blessing. When people feel like this, they are not in a hurry, they do not precipitate events with unthinking actions. They know that the inevitable will happen, that what is real always finds a way of revealing itself. When the moment comes, they do not hesitate, they do not miss an opportunity, they do not let slip a single magic moment, because they respect the importance of each second."

"When faced with a loss, it is no use trying to recover what has gone. On the other hand, a great space has been opened up in your life - there it lies, empty, waiting to be filled with something new. At the moment of one?s loss, contradictory as this might seem, one is being given a large slice of freedom."

"When everything seems to be going well and your dream is almost within your gasp, that is when you must be more alert than ever."

"When all days are equal is because people have failed to notice the good things in their lives that appear whenever the sun crosses the sky."

"When each day is the same as the next, it?s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises."

"When fate is very generous with us, there is always a well into which all our dreams can tumble."

"When he had gone only a short distance, he realized that, while they were erecting the stall, one of them had spoken Arabic and the other Spanish. And they had understood each other perfectly well. There must be a language that doesn?t depend on words, the boy thought. I?ve already had that experience with my sheep, and now it?s happening with people. He was learning a lot of new things. Some of them were things that he had already experienced, and weren?t really new, but that he had never perceived before. And he hadn?t perceived them because he had become accustomed to them. He realized: If I can learn to understand this language without words, I can learn to understand the world."

"When God wants to drive a person insane, he grants that person's every wish."

"When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke -- the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. Something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met, as had theirs here at the well. She smiled, and that was certainly an omen -- the omen he had been awaiting, without even knowing he was, for all his life. The omen he had sought to find with his sheep and in his books, in the crystals and in the silence of the desert. It was the pure Language of the World. It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. He was more certain of it than of anything in the world. He had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed. But maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language. Because, when you know that language, it?s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it?s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one?s dreams would have no meaning."

"When he saw her eyes and her lips between smiling and silent, he realized the core part, the most informative in the language spoken by the world, and all objects that can be understood by the earth in its depths, which is called love. It's something more ahead of humans and the desert itself."

"When I asked you if you wanted to, I was not testing your courage. I was testing your wisdom."

"When he looked into her eyes, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke ? the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. Because when you know the language, it?s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it?s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one?s dreams would have no meaning."

"When I drove the demons of this poor old man, you break also Avalmha. We had talked that day about the cruelty that can be committed against the people themselves. And when we try to show them the good, and that life generous donor, often reject the idea, like the work of the devil; no one would like to request a lot of life because it is afraid of failure. But eager to fight the good fight, he has to look at the world like an inexhaustible treasure, is expected to be found and one owned."

"When I experienced humiliation and yet kept walking, I understood that I was free to choose my destiny."

"When in doubt, just take the next small step."

"When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don?t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped, nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place, and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development."

"When I was young, I was dazzled by all the things life could offer me. I thought I was capable of achieving all of them."

"When love is not necessary to understand what is going on out there, because everything starts to happen within us"

"When life gives you something at least this much more than I deserve, life can Tzmek, and at least give you again."

"When one loves can learn everything, and knows things did not dare to never think about, because the key to understanding all love secrets."

"When people consult me, it?s not that I?m reading the future; I am guessing at the future. The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances. How do I guess at the future? Based on the omens of the present. The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity."

"When mouths close, it?s because there?s something important to be said."

"When she decided to get a job, she rejected a tempting offer from a company that had just been set up in her recently created country in favor of a job at the public library, where you didn?t earn much money but where you were secure. She went to work every day, always keeping to the same timetable, always making sure she wasn?t perceived as a threat by her superiors; she was content; she didn?t struggle, and so she didn?t grow: All she wanted was her salary at the end of the month. She rented the room in the convent because the nuns required all tenants to be back at a certain hour, and then they locked the door: Anyone still outside after that had to sleep on the street. She always had a genuine excuse to give boyfriends, so as not to have to spend the night in hotel rooms or strange beds. When she used to dream of getting married, she imagined herself in a little house outside Ljubljana, with a man quite different from her father?a man who earned enough to support his family, one who would be content just to be with her in a house with an open fire and to look out at the snow-covered mountains. She had taught herself to give men a precise amount of pleasure; never more, never less, only what was necessary. She didn?t get angry with anyone, because that would mean having to react, having to do battle with the enemy and then having to face unforeseen consequences, such as vengeance. When she had achieved almost everything she wanted in life, she had reached the conclusion that her existence had no meaning, because every day was the same. And she had decided to die."

"When people praise us, we should always keep a close eye on how we behave."

"When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive."