“Father, I am from a different egg than your other children. Think of me as a duckling raised by hens. I am not a domestic bird destined to spend his life in a chicken coop. the water that scares you rejuvenates me. For unlike you I can swim, and swim I shall. The ocean is my homeland. If you are with me, come to the ocean. If not, stop interfering with me and go back to the chicken coop.” IfsThinkingChildrenI CanDifferentFatherWaterLike YouOceanBirdRaisedEggsChickensSwimScareInterfereDestinedHomelandThink Of MeHensDucklings Author:Elif Safak
“That was the one thing about the rain that likened it to sorrow: You did your best to remain untouched, safe and dry, but if and when you failed, there came a point in which you started seeing the problem less in terms of drops than as an incessant gush, and thereby you decide you might as well get drenched.” IfsWellsProblemMightTermSeeingOne ThingSorrowSafeRainDryIncessantIfs And Author:Elif Safak
“If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment.” IfsWantMindMomentsPastEternalFortyPresent MomentIllumination Author:Elif Safak
“Feminists are now being vilified in politics, erdogan used to speak more embracingly, saying he was the leader of everyone, whether they voted for him or not. He sounds as if he puts a distance between himself and half the nation.” IfsUsedPoliticsSpeakNationsSoundHalfLeaderDistanceFeministErdogan Author:Elif Safak
“In a normal democracy, you protect the individual from the excessive power of the state. In Turkey, power elites try to protect the state - as if this state were fragile and needed protection - when in fact, it's too powerful already.” IfsTryingStatesFactsIndividualPowerfulDemocracyNeededProtectNormalProtectionFragileElitesTurkeys Author:Elif Safak
“I would like the refugee crisis to become a new beginning in the Turkish-European relationship. But it would be very problematic if, during this process, human rights were forgotten. Democracy needs to be the priority.” IfsNeedsHumansWould BeProcessDemocracyRightsCrisisForgottenHuman RightsPrioritiesRefugeeNew BeginningsTurkishRefugee Crisis Author:Elif Safak
“How can love be worthy of its name if one selects solely the pretty things and leaves out the hardships? It is easy to enjoy the good and dislike the bad. Anybody can do that. The real challenge is to love the good and the bad together, not because you need to take the rough with the smooth but because you need to go beyond such descriptions and accept love in its entirety.” IfsNeedsRealTogetherNamesEasyEnjoyCan DoChallengesLove IsAcceptingWorthyDescriptionRoughHardshipDislikeSmoothEntiretyPretty Things Author:Elif Safak
“Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven't loved enough.” IfsLoveMeanPersonsEnoughStoriesHavensTransformationUnexpectedFortyLove And FriendshipBefore And After Author:Elif Safak
“The Iron Rule of prudence for an Istanbulite Woman: If you are as fragile as a tea glass, either find a way to never encounter burning water and hope to marry an ideal husband or get yourself laid and broken as soon as possible. Alternatively, stop being a tea-glass woman!” IfsWayWaterBrokenHusbandIdealsGlassesBurningTeaEncountersIronFragilePrudenceIdeal Husband Author:Elif Safak
“What i’m saying is, my friends, one ought to be able to let go. If a path does not please us, instead of insisting on going that specific way, of making our selfishness the guide, we ought to forsake. The books we cannot write, the films we cannot shoot, the projects we cannot develop, the jobs we cannot pursue and the people who no longer love us. Being able to let go, at times, is the most beautiful of all!” PeopleIfsWayWritingDoeBookAbleJobsBeautifulFilmPathOughtPleaseLetting GoProjectsMy FriendsGuidesPursueSelfishnessForsakeInsisting Author:Elif Safak
“The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness.” IfsWorldMeanDoePastMovingLinesEternityInfiniteEndlessStraight LinesSpiralsProceedingTimelessnessInfinite Time Author:Elif Safak
“Article Five: If you have no reason or ability to accomplish anything, then just practice the art of becoming.” IfsArtReasonAbilityPracticeFiveBecomingAccomplishNo ReasonArticles Author:Elif Safak
“How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we.” IfsMindMeanCompassionToo MuchReflectionDirectBlameLove And Compassion Author:Elif Safak
“Cities are erected on spiritual columns. Like giant mirrors, they reflect the hearts of their residents. If those hearts darken and lose faith, cities will lose their glamour.” IfsHeartSpiritualLosesCitiesMirrorsGiantsGlamourColumnsResidents Author:Elif Safak
“Ways of loving from a distance, mating without even touching-Amor platonicus! The ladder of love one is expected to climb higher and higher, elating the Self and the Other. Plato clearly regards any actual physical contact as corrupt and ignoble because he thinks the true goal of Eros is beauty. Is there no beauty in sex? Not according to Plato. He is after `more sublime pursuits.' But if you ask me, I think Plato's problem, like those of many others, was that he never got splendidly laid.” IfsThinkingWaySelfProblemAsksSexGoalHigherRegardDistanceAmorExpectedPursuitContactAsk MeClimbsTouchingSublimePlatoLaddersErosMatingIgnoblePlato S Author:Elif Safak
“Yeah, we should all line up along the Bosphorus Bridge and puff as hard as we can to shove this city in the direction of the West. If that doesn't work, we'll try the other way, see if we can veer to the East. It's no good to be in between. International politics does not appreciate ambiguity.” IfsWayShouldTryingDoeHardLinesCitiesAppreciateYeahWestInternationalEastBridgesAmbiguityPuffBosphorus Author:Elif Safak
“If you want to destroy something in this life, be it an acne, a blemish or the human soul, all you need to do is to surround it with thick walls. It will dry up inside.” IfsWantNeedsHumansSoulInspirationLife IsMotivationWallThis LifeDrySurroundThickHuman SoulDry UpAcne Author:Elif Safak
“We're born into a certain family, nation, class. But if we have no connection whatsoever with the worlds beyond the one we take for granted, then we too run the risk of drying up inside. Our imagination might shrink; our hearts might dwindle, and our humanness might wither if we stay for too long inside our cultural cocoons. Our friends, neighbors, colleagues, family - if all the people in our inner circle resemble us, it means we are surrounded with our mirror image.” PeopleIfsWorldHeartMeanLongMightRunningCertainNationsBornImaginationClassRiskConnectionsMirrorsCirclesGrantedColleaguesShrinksNeighbourHumannessCocoonsMirror Image Author:Elif Safak
“We were all created in His image, and yet we were each created different and unique. No two people are alike. No two hearts beat to the same rhythm. If God had wanted everyone to be the same. He would have made it so. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your thoughts on others is tantamount to disrespecting God’s holy scheme.” PeopleIfsHeartMadeTwoDifferentWantedDifferencesHolyUniqueBeatsRhythmMade ItSchemesImposingHeart BeatTwo Hearts Author:Elif Safak
