W Quotes
Browse famous quotes beginning with W. This page is a child index of the full Popular Quotes A-Z directory.
“When we came here, we came from our mothers and our sweethearts. We were still used to our mothers with their work-hard arms that could clout the strongest of us and leave our ears ringing. And we courted our sweethearts in the country way. Slow, with the fields that ripen at harvest. Fierce, with the sows that rut the earth. Here, without women, with only our imaginations and a handful of whores, we can’t remember what it is about women that can turn a man through passion into something holy. Bible words again, but I am thinking of my father, who shaded his eyes on those sunburnt evenings and learned to take his time with my mother. I am thinking of my mother with her noisy heart and of all the women waiting in the fields for the men who drowned yesterday and all the mothers’ sons who have taken their place.
We never think of them here. We think of their bodies and now and then we talk about home but we don’t think of them as they are; the most solid, the best loved, the well known.
They go on. Whatever we do or undo, they go on.”
“When we came out of the cookhouse, we found the boy's father, the Indian man who had been grazing the horses in the pasture, waiting for us. He wanted someone to tell his troubles to. He looked about guardedly, afraid that the Señora might overhear him.
'Take a look at me' he said. I don't even know how old I am. When I was young, the Señor brought me here. He promised to pay me and give me a plot of my own. 'Look at my clothes' he said, pointing to the patches covering his body. 'I can't remember how many years I've been wearing them. I have no others. I live in a mud hut with my wife and sons. They all work for the Señor like me. They don't go to school. They don't know how to read or write; they don't even speak Spanish. We work for the master, raise his cattle and work his fields. We only get rice and plantains to eat. Nobody takes care of us when we are sick. The women here have their babies in these filthy huts.'
'Why don't you eat meat or at least milk the cows?' I asked.
'We aren't allowed to slaughter a cow. And the milk goes to the calves. We can't even have chicken or pork - only if an animal gets sick and dies. Once I raised a pig in my yard' he went on. 'She had a litter of three. When the Señor came back he told the foreman to shoot them. That's the only time we ever had good meat.'
'I don't mind working for the Señor but I want him to keep his promise. I want a piece of land of my own so I can grow rice and yucca and raise a few chickens and pigs. That's all.' 'Doesn't he pay you anything?' Kevin asked. 'He says he pays us but he uses our money to buy our food. We never get any cash. Kind sirs, maybe you can help me to persuade the master . Just one little plot is all I want. The master has land, much land.'
We were shocked by his tale. Marcus took out a notebook and pen. 'What's his name?'. He wrote down the name. The man didn't know the address. He only knew that the Señor lived in La Paz.
Marcus was infuriated. 'When I find the owner of the ranch, I'll spit right in his eye. What a lousy bastard! I mean, it's really incredible'. 'That's just the way things are,' Karl said. 'It's sad but there's nothing we can do about it.”
Source: Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival
“When we came out, the kind of music that was popular was Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains, all that stuff. That was when we released our second album, 'Images And Words', and it was something people werent used to hearing maybe, and it sort of rose above all that somehow, being progressive, or whatever.”
“When we came then to the 1967 negotiations we had the problem of one market between two countries fully under the control of the American companies that owned the facilities on both sides of the border.”
“When we came to America, the movies here needed a "new wave." European films looked totally different than American movies, which were these lush, glossy pictures with this elaborate production design.”
“When we came to the network, it was a very interesting time where Portlandia had just come on the air and had been very, very successful. I think people had Portlandia-sized expectations for Comedy Bang! Bang!, especially after the first episode was sampled by quite a large number of people. I remember getting the ratings after the first episode, and the network was over the moon about it. And then the second episode tanked so hard. Like, no one watched it. It was a resounding, "Hey, a bunch of people tried your show, and they all hate it!"”
“When we came within sight of the sea, the waves on the horizon, caught at intervals above the rolling abyss, were like glimpses of another shore with towers and buildings.”
Source: Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observations of David Copperfield the Younger
“When we can accept both our humanity and the perpetrator's we can write a new story. One in which we are no longer cast as a victim, but a survivor, even perhaps a hero.”
Source: The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World
“When we can accept reality as it is and are okay with it without needing to change it, we then can begin to take steps toward creating a brighter reality for ourselves and others, coming from a place of understanding. But when we are motivated to change reality due to our discomfort with it, we do not think clearly. The reason that there is so much suffering in the world is because people are too busy judging everyone and everything, and through the judgments they perpetuate the suffering. People are so focused on changing outside conditions, all the while forgetting the judgment and separation within their own heart.”
Source: Living Peace: Essential Teachings For Enriching Life
“When we can build community based on truth and authenticity, rather than masks, false perfection, and being phoney, we heal, connect, and thrive.”
“When we can build something like the Hubble telescope and fathom images of this vast cosmos of which we are a part, it really gives pause to wonder what and who we are within a larger framework than linear adventures at the shopping mall and taxes.”
“When we can commit a crime, we can also trigger debate. Cases go to courts. Media start covering the cases. But once you build smart environments where, if you meet a certain probabilistic profile, you won't even be allowed to board a bus, let alone commit a crime, we're perpetuating existing laws so they face no challenges or revision.”
“When we can communicate from the inside out, we're talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behavior, and then we allow people to rationalize it with the tangible things we say and do. This is where gut decisions come from.”
“When we can converse with the animals, we will know the change is halfway here. When we can converse with the forest, we will know the change has come.”
Source: Another Roadside Attraction
“When we can demonstrate that we can take off horizontally and put something into orbit, then we can begin to talk about increasing the amount of payload. But to say, 'I'm going to do that and put people into orbit' is a real leap.”
“When we can do nothing else, we can still love, without expecting any reward or change or gratitude.”
“When we can drain the Ocean into mill-ponds, and bottle up the Force of Gravity, to be sold by retail, in gas jars; then may we hope to comprehend the infinitudes of man's soul under formulas of Profit and Loss; and rule over this too, as over a patent engine, by checks, and valves, and balances.”
Source: Carlyle Reader
“When we can figure out a way to really tour and make a profit, then we'll do it again.”
“When we can find some humor in our upsets, they no longer seem as large or as important as they once did.”
Source: The Healing Power of Humor: Techniques for Getting Through Loss, Setbacks, Upsets, Disappointments, Difficulties, Trials, Tribulations, and All that Not-so-funny Stuff
“When we can identify a problem and face the problem with confidence and enthusiasm, the solution is on the way.”
Source: See You at the Top
“When we can lay down our fear and anger and choose responses other than aggression, we create the conditions for bringing out the best in us humans.”
Source: Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
“When we can learn to identify and express our emotions we can create a more positive life, because emotions must be celebrated and happens to everyone.”
“When we can let go of what other people think and own our story, we gain access to our worthiness—the feeling that we are enough just as we are and that we are worthy of love and belonging. When we spend a lifetime trying to distance ourselves from the parts of our lives that don’t fit with who we think we’re supposed to be, we stand outside of our story and hustle for our worthiness by constantly performing, perfecting, pleasing, and proving. Our sense of worthiness—that critically important piece that gives us access to love and belonging—lives inside of our story.”
“When we can no longer define ourselves by what we produce, we’re forced to dig deeper and shift the question from ‘What do I do?’ to ‘What do I mean?’ And from ‘What can I create?’ to ‘Why do I create?”
Source: AI and the Art of Being Human: A practical guide to thriving with AI while rediscovering yourself in the process
“When we can play with the unself-conscious concentration of a child, this is: art: prayer: love.”
“When we can really put ourselves in the shoes of the other, when we can reach new depths of empathy, then we can be effective ambassadors of peace.”
Source: Cultivating Peace: Becoming a 21st Century Peace Ambassador
“When we can say no not only to things that are wrong and sinful, but also to things pleasant, profitable, and good which would hinder and clog our grand duties and our chief work, we shall understand more fully what life is worth, and how to make the most of it.”
“When we can see an immediate payoff, we are more likely to change our behavior in the moment. This aligns our daily actions with our long-term interests.”
Source: Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements
“When we can see the image of God where we don't want to see the image of God, then we see with eyes not our own.”
“When we can see the star of desire in our sky, we can use our wings of hope and our air of love to reach it.”
“When we can sing in the face of death, we can sing in the face of anything.”
“When we can sit in the face of insanity or dislikes and be free from the need to make it different, then we are free.”
“When we can step back even briefly from our hurt, sorrow, and anger, when we put our faith in the possibility of change, we create the possibility for non-judgmental inquiry that aims for healing rather than victory.”
Source: Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection
“When we can’t see ourselves in our history, we begin to think that we are disconnected and suffering alone. Historical ignorance always precedes cultural imbalances and individual despair.”
“When we can't understand the science behind something in this world, we make up mythological entities that we can relate to. We personify the forces of nature that mystify us, using our boundless imaginations to comfort us and make us feel like we have some control over these things that are much bigger than we are.”
Source: The Pull
“When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less infuriating, and less scary. The people we rely on with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone".
-Shenita Etwaroo”
“When we can trust that it's we who think, feel, and act rather than the ghosts of our parents or well-trained robots, we learn that we can also love, be in relationships, and be in the world without losing ourselves.”
Source: Sacred Selfishness: A Guide to Living a Life of Substance
“When we can we do, when we can't we wait”
“When we can weave a profound understanding of human emotions with a matrix of philosophy and a touch of poetry, we can create a captivating life canvas for reflection on Love, Happiness, and Insight. (“Love and Happiness and Insight”)”
“When we can't dream any longer we die.”
Source: Mother Earth Bulletin
“When we can't piece together the puzzle of our own lives, remember the best view of a puzzle is from above. Let Him help put you together.”
“When we can't see a pattern, we fit pieces together until one takes shape, because we have to.”
“When we can't think for ourselves, we can always quote”
“When we cannot be delivered from ourselves, we delight in devouring ourselves.”
Source: A short history of decay
“When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death-ourselves.”
“When we cannot find a way of telling our story, our story tells us-we dream these stories, we develop symptoms, or we find ourselves acting in ways we don’t understand.”
Source: The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves
“When we cannot find the good things that we’re looking for, let the good things that are looking for us find us.”
“When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield.”
“When we cannot look around and explain anything we are the quantum world.”
“When we cannot pray as we would, it is good to pray as we can.”
Source: Encouraged to Pray: Classic Sermons on Prayer