Darkness
Sheila Matharu
Top 10 Best Quotes
“Dreams…I lived life searching for big answers…. I wanted to make a difference, change the world. Now, I realise the world will be fine without me, and I wish that I had focused on living well instead….”
“You cannot let the past define you,” she said assertively, staring into his eyes. “Ro’!” exclaimed Ethan with impatience. “Only those who do not reflect or learn from their experiences are not affected by their past! Otherwise, regardless of whether we rise or fall, we are inevitably defined by it!” he remarked angrily. “You know that what I mean is that you can decide to not let it hold you down,” she specified gently. “Ro’. I don't need to ignore it or pretend that it never happened to live my life and do well. That is what I was doing before, but I stopped a long time ago. And still, despite what has happened to me, I have done well. But that doesn’t mean I’m not angry about it. I can still be angry.”
“Think about your own world. Aren’t foreign countries and cultures defined narrowly to buttress the policies of your own government? That is not to say that the images presented to you are not based on real entities, or that the facts used to mould your understanding have not occurred, but rather that overall they are a distorted portrayal of reality. When the council acted against Darkness, the scale of his crimes had been significantly decreasing. Although they publicly presented the war as a moral imperative, it was pursued to consolidate their power.”
“Things happened so casually. There was no added friction to the running of time, no solemnity…. Life kept going as it always did…as if what had happened was nothing at all. But it wasn’t to me. Suddenly, I was not at home in any place anymore. They all became strangers—faceless, emotionless people I could not understand or relate to. And I slowly distanced myself from their world…and, since then, I haven’t really been there for most of it…. When they lowered their coffins into the ground, I found myself in a horror movie with no one to save me. I understood that I would not see them again. But oddly, they appear in my mind all the time. I see their smile; I can hear their laughter. It makes me smile back…I forget they are gone…and my step quickens to take me home to them. For a few seconds, I believe they are waiting for me as if no time has passed at all….”
“The eternal dark awaits us. And yet, the certainty of death does not lessen life’s worth. So much of what we possess and who we are has been given to us by the dead. Perhaps, death is not the tragedy we were led to believe. Though at times silently, I believe our lives are always of consequence.”
“It was suddenly clear to her that what mattered most was love—not necessarily romantic love, and that any pursuit would be hollow without it. Love gave a flat, black and white world colour, smell, taste, substance, and dimension. It was the antidote to the emotionless, goal-oriented rationality promoted by modern societies, where people planned, compartmentalised and manipulated their relationships. Love changed the motives and the intentions.”
“I don’t know…I would like to believe that the purpose of life is to be good…but I can’t. I feel like I would be fooling myself. I really wish I could; I think life would be much easier if I had a positive outlook. But, on certain days, when I think about it, I feel like picking goodness as the purpose for my existence is completely subjective and has more to do with what I want than the actual ‘reality’ of life…. I don’t want the purpose of my existence to be a personal invention. I need it to be ‘real’…Am I making any sense?”
“I completely agree. The crazy thing is that the current system only benefits the rich and those in power. We buy into their arguments, even when they contradict our direct experiences. We accept the unacceptable. Take Marduk. We live in one of the richest cities in the world, in a developed country, and yet we have one of the highest levels of inequality and homelessness. How strange that despite our wealth we should be so greedy!”
“Happy?! I don’t know. But I am free and I am alive. There are those who resent not being seen, and I suppose that our invisibility, compounded by the thousands of people who pass us on the street every day without looking into our eyes, is indeed a symptom of something being wrong with our society. But I do not mind it. I would rather be out of a system designed to enslave me. This is my pilgrimage; like a monk, I have abandoned my old life in search of myself.”
“Don’t the stories we tell shape the views of our listeners? You ask me about Darkness, but whose Darkness do you know? Why was he presented to you?” asked Nagasaki dispassionately. She did not reply, startled by the unexpected answer. His questions confused her, and it suddenly occurred to her that, perhaps, her dreams have been orchestrated by someone.”
Except where otherwise noted, all rights reserved to the author(s) of this book (mentioned above). The content of this page serves solely as promotional material for the aforementioned book. If you enjoyed these quotes, you can support the author(s) by acquiring the full book from Amazon.
Book Keywords:
society, illusions, love, dreams, purpose-of-life, happiness, war, government, loss, darkness, life, meaning, death, politics, anger, equality, overcoming-the-past, answers, greed, freedom, perception, grief, wealth, homelessness
