Home > Work > A Blight of Blackwings (Seven Kennings, #2)
1 " Folks like that tell themselves a story where they worked really hard for what they were given, so that anyone who isn’t rolling in luxuries and benefiting from cronyism and nepotism simply isn’t working hard enough. If they lie to themselves like that, they’ll lie to you without blinking. "
― Kevin Hearne , A Blight of Blackwings (Seven Kennings, #2)
2 " The danger wasn’t real to them until it arrived in their faces, and then it was too late. "
3 " You gotta do the right thing and do a friend a good turn You gotta work and play, love and hate, make mistakes and learn "
4 " When I walk abroad in the world I am moved to awe and wonder Grateful for such precious time For at home I rarely wonder And worry about the passing time Cloistered from the precious world So now it is once again time For me to embrace the wide world And renew my sense of precious wonder "
5 " Hope that tomorrow will be better is how I survive each day. "
6 " One Puff: I feel in my core the need to stop and ponder. Two Draws: I am beset by problems I am helpless to solve as I am. Three Drags: To be well again I must change, yet change is painful. Four Breaths: To remain the same is also painful, so I welcome change. Five Pulls: May this fire transform me and light my way to a better future. "
7 " So often we feel unequal to the tasks that life sets before us and it is a struggle to even begin them, much less complete them, because we cannot see a way forward. All we see are obstacles—an insurmountable summit towering above us, rather than the easy step we can take to get a tiny bit closer. Perspectives can and do change, but only if we move ourselves. We must change our stance and witness the obstacles change in their turn and so learn with every step how we will overcome. "
8 " They chose to die rather than sacrifice a moment of comfortable routine. "
9 " The world has changed tremendously, and we are all trying to forge new trails since the old ones have been obliterated. To do that wisely—with empathy and love for our fellow human beings—we need to see these tumultuous events through more than a single pair of "
10 " Remember that the dead are at peace, and never resent that they have it; you’ll have it soon enough yourself. What you’re feeling now is despair at all the damage you’ll have to repair or endure. Their damage, yours, everyone they knew—I know it can be overwhelming. But your comfort is this: You can repair and endure. And you can build too. So when it’s your time to rest, those who remain will gather and celebrate a life well lived. "
11 " After forty-odd years of hard living I find There is no freedom like peace of mind: It is a space free of guilt and regret And if you haven’t found your way there yet I hope you will get there someday soon. It’s a process of shedding the past, Old memories that weren’t meant to last; Embarrassments that you’ve classified as crime Don’t deserve another second of your time This morning, night, or noon. So be free, my friends, be free, Lay down that burden you have beside me, Step forward and away and then we’ll see What new branches grow on your tree. "
12 " Compassion is the only moral use of power. "
13 " You’re a student of history, though, right? You know that whenever terrible decisions get made at the expense of a large group of people, it’s because a smaller group of people stand to profit. "
14 " And I would add that while some people are capable of fighting for abstractions, many are not.” “Abstractions such as?” “Such as nations. Or words like freedom or peace. "
15 " But it is time, I thought, that I make some different unforgettable memories. Embarrassing ones, perhaps. But not more memories of shrinking back and doing nothing. I have had enough of those. My mind overflows with nothing. "
16 " There were at least two other scholars of the old language who I thought would do a better job than he, but I understood why Elten got the nod. He made more noise. "
17 " May the road be dry and kind to your feet May the road bring many new friends to meet May it bring you to good fortune and prosperity May it be full of kindness, hope, and charity May the road be safe and free of wagon ruts May the squirrels and bandits stay away from your nuts May the blessings of all the gods drape around your head May our paths cross again some lucky day ahead. "
18 " Ask people to come up with something and you get nothing. Come up with something and they can’t wait to tear it up.” “Welcome to leadership,” La Mastik said. “I don’t want to be in leadership. "