Quotes About Reflection

The gentle patter of the rain was punctuated by the scratching of pencil on paper.

You'll see for yourself. Something will disappear from your life.

It became more difficult to breathe. I looked around. My body was now included among the objects arranged on the floor. I lay there between the music box and the harmonica, my two legs protruding at odd angles, my hands crossed on my chest, my eyes lowered. In the same way he had wound the spring on the music box or blown into the harmonica, I imagined R would now caress my body in order to call forth memories.

When I stand here in front of the cabinet, my heart feels like a silkworm slumbering in its cocoon.

Auf jeden Fall sind Erinnerungen unsichtbar, nicht wahr? Wie wundervoll sie auch sein mögen, sie verschwinden einfach, wenn niemand sie beachtet. Nicht einmal wir selbst sind in der Lage, das wahre Wesen einer Erinnerung zu erfassen. Sie hinterlassen keine Spuren. Es gibt keinen greifbaren Beweis, dass sie wirklich existiert haben.

In years past, I had carefully studied the stems, leaves, and branches and had read the tags that identified the different varieties, but I realized now that I was already unable to remember what this thing called a rose had looked like.

I wiped my palms together, brushing the petals that had stuck to them back into the stream. Petals with frilled edges, pale ones, vivid ones, petals with the calyx still attached. They all clung for a moment to the bricks of the wash landing, but in no time at all they were caught up in the stream again and melted into the mass.

Acaso piensas que no son más que unos papelitos con una emulsión química en una de sus caras? Si es así, te equivocas. Son mucho más que eso. Atesoran parte de la vida de las personas. Reflejan la futilidad de un instante; la luz, el viento y el aire de un paisaje; la sonrisa y el azoramiento de la persona fotografiada, y el gozo y amor de quien toma la foto por aquello que fotografía. Por eso precisamente hacemos fotografías y por eso deben conservarse.

Igual que algo que se hunde y reposa sobre el fondo de un lago al que no llega la luz, así escapan los recuerdos a nuestro alcance. Pero si alargas el brazo lo suficiente bajo la superficie del agua, tus dedos rozarán aquello que los ojos no ven. Cógelo y tráelo a la superficie, donde la luz volverá a iluminarlo.

Me alivia que sea la voz lo último que vaya a desaparecer —dije—. De esta forma, me veo con mayor predisposición a afrontar el instante final de la manera más tranquila y serena posible, sin tener que pasar por un calvario de dolor, sufrimiento y miseria

and I found myself unable to resist turning around to see whether my footsteps were following me as I made my way across the field of white.

there was no shame in admitting you didn't have the answer, it was a necessary step toward the truth. It was as important to teach us about the unknown or the unknowable as it was to teach us what had already been safely proven.

I'm thinking at the moment. Thinking. And to have my thought interrupted is like being strangled. Don't you know that barging in here when I'm with my numbers is as rude as interrupting someone in the bathroom?

I sometimes wonder what was disappeared first—among all the things that have vanished from the island.

Memories are a lot tougher than you might think. Just like the hearts that hold them.

When you lost your voice, you lost the ability to make sense of yourself.

People—and I'm no exception—seem capable of forgetting almost anything, much as if our island were unable to float in anything but an expanse of totally empty sea.

Within my roasting brain cells, the scraps of thought refused to cohere.

Unable to turn back the clock, they let themselves be turned.

Time passed, and I kept getting lost in the pages of my appointment book, which had been attacked by a mildew of obligations.

Sarashina Nikki

This visit by these two men made my pen go limp.

You needn't be afraid of them. When you see them, just remember that you, too, like all other human beings, were once a monster in one of your previous lives. Neither hate them nor do battle with them, just continue on your way.

This word natsukashii seemed to be made of mist, a mist I was wandering through with unsteady steps.