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Tragedy Quotes

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Tragedy Quotes

“People can't seem to get it through their heads that there is never any healing or closure. Ever. There is only a short pause before the next "horrifying" event. People forget there is such a thing as memory, and that when a wound "heals" it leaves a permanent scar that never goes away, but merely fades a little. What really ought to be said after one of these so-called tragedies is, "Let the scarring begin.”

PeopleLittlesSaidSeemsNextMemoriesForgetHealingEventsOughtTragedyWoundsHealPermanentScarFadesPausesClosureScarring
Book:When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
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“A faith without some doubts is like a human body with no antobodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.”

PeopleIfsShouldYearsBelieveHumansPersonsLongHardBodyAsksDoubtSmartReflectionTragedyBusyCollapseIndifferentHuman BodyToo BusySkepticDiscardedDefenselessProbingHard Questions
Author:Timothy Keller
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“It is precisely through the onset of old age, through loss or personal tragedy, that the spiritual dimension would traditionally come into people's lives. This is to say, their inner purpose would emerge only as their outer purpose collapsed and the shell of the ego would begin to crack open. The emphasis shifts from doing to Being, and our civilization, which is lost in doing, knows nothing of Being. It asks: being? What do you do with it?”

PeopleKnowsAgeSpiritualPurposeAsksLostLossCivilizationEgoTragedyOld AgeDimensionsCracksShellsEmphasisSpiritual DimensionsPersonal Tragedy
Author:Eckhart Tolle
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“The Way It Is There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old. Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. You don’t ever let go of the thread. ~ William Stafford ~”

PeopleWayHardHappensSufferingDiesLostHurtWonderLetting GoTragedyThreadUnfoldingStop Time
Author:William Stafford
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“Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns...We may want to love other people without holding back, to feel authentic, to breathe in the beauty around us, to dance and sing. Yet each day we listen to inner voices that keep our life small.”

PeopleWantFeelsYearsMayLife IsVoiceOur LivesTragedyPatternsBreatheEach DayTrappedInner VoiceHolding BackRadical Acceptance
Author:Tara Brach
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“One of the great tragedies of modern education is that most people are not taught to think critically. The majority of the world’s people, those of the West included, are taught to believe rather than to think. It’s much easier to believe than to think. People seldom think seriously about that which we are taught to believe, because we are all creatures of imitation and habit.”

PeopleThinkingWorldBelieveModernTaughtHabitEasierCreaturesTragedyMajorityWestImitationGreat TragedyModern Education
Author:Haki R. Madhubuti
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“Sometimes, when tragedy strikes, people give up hope that they can expect anything more from life, when the real quest is finding out what life expects from them.”

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Book:Richard Paul Evans: The Complete Walk Series eBook Boxed Set: The Walk, Miles to Go, Road to Grace, Step of Faith, Walking on Water
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“People know your tragedies and they treat you like you’re not human. Like you’re a three-headed goat. A monster from some other planet. They keep reminding you of your pain. You see how they look at me? They’re stuck on that person I used to be. They can’t see that old life as just a moment in time that I’ve moved on from. It was a horrible life.”

PeopleKnowsHumansLooksPersonsMomentsPainUsedThreePlanetsLike YouTreatsTragedyMovedMonstersStuckHorribleUsed To BeLook At MeGoatsRemindingMoments In TimeMoved OnOld LifeHorrible LifeI've Moved On
Book:Genevieve
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“It's just that most really good-looking people are stupid, so I exceed expectations.' 'Right, it's primarily his hotness,' I said. 'It can be sort of blinding,' he said. 'It actually did blind our friend Isaac,' I said. 'Terrible tragedy, that. But can I help my own deadly beauty?' 'You cannot.' 'It is my burden, this beautiful face.' 'Not to mention your body.' 'Seriously, don't even get me started on my hot bod. You don't want to see me naked, Dave. Seeing me naked actually took Hazel Grace's breath away,' he said, nodding toward the oxygen tank.”

PeopleWantSaidHelpingBodyBeautifulFacesMy OwnGraceSeeingStupidTerribleExpectationsTragedyHotBreathsBlindBurdenYour BodyNakedLooking GoodOxygenExceedTanksDaveIsaacNoddingHazel GraceBeautiful FaceHotnessTerrible Tragedy
Author:John Green
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“Is there anyone’s life story you don’t want to know?” “Not really.” His expression was unexpectedly serious. “Because people make a story of their lives. Gains, losses, tragedy and triumph—you can tell a lot about someone simply by what they put into each category. You can learn a lot about what you put into each category by your reaction to them. They teach you about yourself without ever intending to do it—and they teach you a lot about life.”

PeopleKnowsWantStoriesLossTeachSeriousExpressionGainsTragedyReactionsTriumphCategoriesAbout YourselfLife StoryTragedy And Triumph
Author:Michelle Sagara
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“When you visit countries that don't nurture these kinds of ambitions, you can feel th absence of hope...people are reduced to worrying only about that day's shelter or the next day's meal. It's a shame, even a tragedy, how many people do not get to think about the future. Technology coupled with wise leadership not only solves these problems but enables dreams of tomorow.”

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Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
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“There was an uncommon array of people in there [rehab] with me, and I became friends with all of them. You recognize the possibility of your own demise in the lives of these other people. You're doing the same thing they are, but you can't see it in yourself. However, you start seeing all of these tragedies and potential miracles in other people. It's a real eye- and heart-opening situation.”

PeopleHeartRealEyeSituationSeeingPossibilityDrugMiracleTragedyOpeningUncommonDrug AddictionRehabDemiseHeart OpeningReal Eyes
Author:Anthony Kiedis
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“She had that thing most people don't have - curiosity. She might not have always got the right answers, but she wanted to ask the questions. It's very hard if you are interested in ideas and all that, ideas and the philosophies of the past, it's very hard to find someone around here to really talk to. That's the tragedy of the thing really I mean, when you think about it. Certainly I can't find anyone around here to talk to anymore. And for a woman it's even harder you see. They can feel very trapped - because of the patriarchy. I do feel everyone needs to have these little chats now and then.”

PeopleIfsThinkingNeedsFeelsMeanLittlesI CanIdeasHardPhilosophyMightWantedPastAsksAnswersHarderTragedyCuriosityNow And ThenTrappedPatriarchyRight Answers
Author:Zadie Smith
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“The other thing Aron found about sensitive people is that sometimes they're highly empathic. It's as if they have thinner boundaries separating them from other people's emotions and from the tragedies and cruelties of the world. They tend to have unusually strong consciences. ... they're acutely aware of the consequences of a lapse in their own behavior.”

PeopleIfsWorldSometimesFoundStrongEmotionBehaviorConscienceConsequenceTragedyBoundariesCrueltySensitiveSeparatingLapses
Book:Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
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“It is an unfortunate personal tragedy. However, when compared to the vast ocean of the collective tragedy faced by my people, my illness is merely a pebble. I am deeply sad that I am crippled by this illness, unable to contribute anything substantial towards the alleviation of the immense suffering and oppression of my people.”

PeopleSufferingSadnessOceanTragedyIllnessOppressionCollectivesImmenseUnfortunatePebblesCrippledVast OceanPersonal Tragedy
Author:Anton Balasingham
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“From the days of Spartacus, Weishophf, Karl Marx, Trotski, Belacoon, Rosa Luxenburg, and Ema Goldman, this world conspiracy has been steadily growing. This conspiracy played a definite recognizable role in the tragedy of the French revolution. It has been the mainspring of every subversive movement during the 19th Century. And now at last this band of extraordinary personalities from the underworld of the great cities of Europe and America have gripped the Russian people by the hair of their head and have become the undisputed masters of that enormous empire.”

PeopleWorldHas BeensLastsAmericaOrderCitiesRolesGrowingCenturyMovementThis WorldMastersHairRevolutionPersonalityBandEuropeTragedyExtraordinaryEnormousTyrannyCommunismEmpiresNew WorldConspiracyDefinite19th CenturyNew World OrderWorld OrderSubversiveConspiracy TheoryFrench RevolutionGreat CitiesWorld GovernmentUnderworldNwoSecret SocietyRosaAgenda 21UndisputedEurope And AmericaSpartacus
Author:Winston Churchill
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“The terrorist attacks were a tragedy for the people who died or were injured, and for their families and friends. For the rest of us, they were a wake-up call as to what type of lunatics we are dealing with. And sleepwalking our way back into ill-sorted, dewy-eyed people personal politics is the last thing we need to set us up for the fight ahead. Come on you liberals, don't give me the morbid pleasure of saying, 'I told you so' again.”

PeopleWayNeedsGivingLastsFightingPleasureTypeGive MeTragedyWake UpDiedIslamIllTerroristFamily And FriendsInjuredMorbidTerrorist AttacksWake Up CallSleepwalkingTold You So
Author:Julie Burchill
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“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

PeopleHelpingEvilSocialJusticeSilenceAcceptingDestinyCourageRecordsInvolvedPeriodsIntegrityTragedyThreatInjusticeCaughtTransitionGood PeopleTiedGarmentsBad PeopleClamorCooperatingInjustice Anywhere
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the 'culture of waste.' If a computer breaks it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs and dramas of so many people end up being considered normal. ... When the stock market drops 10 points in some cities, it constitutes a tragedy. Someone who dies is not news, but lowering income by 10 points is a tragedy! In this way people are thrown aside as if they were trash.”

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Author:Pope Francis
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“People want the tragedy. They need things to go wrong, they need the tension. In my characters there’s a core of trust and love that I’m very committed to. These guys would die for each other, and it’s very beautiful. But at the same time, you can’t keep that safety. Things have to go wrong, bad things have to happen.”

PeopleWantNeedsCharacterHappensBeautifulGuyDiesAnd LoveTragedySafetyCommittedCoreTensionBad ThingsVery BeautifulLove And Trust
Author:Joss Whedon
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“Our government has become too responsive to trivial or ephemeral concerns, often at the expense of more important concerns or an erosion of our liberty, and it has made policy priorities more dependent on where TV journalists happen to point their cameras. . . . As a nation we have lost our sense of tragedy, a recognition that bad things happen to good people. A nation that expects the government to prevent churches from burning, to control the price of bread or gasoline, to secure every job, and to find some villain for every dramatic accident, risks an even larger loss of life and liberty.”

PeopleMadeImportantGovernmentHappensJobsLostNationsChurchLossLibertyRiskPolicyTvsLosingConcernTragedyCamerasAccidentsPrioritiesThings HappenBreadSecureRecognitionBurningJournalistDramaticDependentExpensesBad ThingsGood PeopleVillainEphemeralGasolineErosionBad Things Happen
Author:William A. Niskanen
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“Last but not least, the happiest people do have their share of stresses, crises, and even tragedies. They may become just as distressed and emotional in such circumstances as you or I, but their secret weapon is the poise and strength they show in coping in the face of challenge.”

PeopleMayShowsLastsHappinessFacesChallengesSecretShareEmotionalCircumstancesWeaponsStressTragedyCrisisCopingPoise
Book:The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want
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“Here is something you have to understand about stories: They point you in the right direction but they can't take you all the way there. Stories are crescent moons; they glimmer in the night sky, but they are most exquisite in their incomplete state. Because people crave the beauty of not-knowing, the excitement of suggestion, and the sweet tragedy of mystery.”

PeopleWayStatesStoriesNightKnowingMysterySkySweetMoonTragedyExcitementNot KnowingSuggestionsCraveExquisiteIncompleteNight SkyRight DirectionCrescentCrescent Moon
Book:Crescent: A Novel
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“We've concocted a system where local trips take an auto. That's our biggest tragedy. Streetcars, such as those used in Portland's Pearl District, and elevated people movers, like those in downtown Miami, are moving people from rail stations to their final destinations. But a new concept, PRT, may help revolutionize urban transportation, providing a cost-effective way to get people from train stations to where they need to go.”

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Author:Peter Calthorpe
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“It is with enormous distress that France has just learned of the monstrous attacks there is no other word for it that have just struck the United States of America. In these horrifying circumstances, the entire people of France, and I want to emphasize this, stand by the people of America. They express their friendship and solidarity in this tragedy. Naturally, I want to assure President Bush of my total support. France, as you know, has always condemned and unreservedly condemns terrorism, and considers that terrorism must be combated by all possible means.”

PeopleKnowsWantMeanStatesAmericaPresidentUnitedUnited StatesSupportCircumstancesTragedyTerrorismEnormousFranceSeptemberSolidarityDistressUnited States Of AmericaPresident BushMonstrousSeptember 11
Author:Jacques Chirac
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“And in this silence of the dumb and these speeches of the blind, in this medly of people bound together by the same grief, terror and hope, in this hatred and lack of understanding between men who spoke the same tongue, you could see much of the tragedy of the twentieth century.”

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Book:Life And Fate (Vintage Classic Russians Series)
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“The hopes of Europe's six million Jews are centered on emigration. I was asked, 'Can you bring six million Jews to Palestine?' I replied, 'No'....From the depths of the tragedy I want to save two million young people...The old ones will pass. They will bear their fate or they will not. They were dust, economic and moral dust in a cruel world...Only the branch of the young shall survive...They have to accept it.”

PeopleWorldWantTwoYoungAcceptingMoralMillionsFateEconomicBearsSixEuropeTragedyDepthJewDustBranchesPalestineCruel WorldEmigration
Author:Chaim Weizmann
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“Grace is what matters. In anything. Especially life, especially growth, tragedy, pain, love, death. About people, that's what matters. That's a quality I admire very greatly. It keeps you from reaching for the gun too quickly; it keeps you from destroying things too foolishly; it sort of keeps you alive and keeps you open for more understanding.”

PeopleMatterPainUnderstandingGrowthQualityGraceAliveGunTragedyAdmireReachingDestroyingWhat MattersLove DeathLove PainDestroying Things
Author:Jeff Buckley
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