Sacrifice was nine tenths of parenting.
Zadie Smith, White Teeth.
“In the end, your past is not my past and your truth is not my truth and your solution - is not my solution.”
“Cos if it's encyclopedias we've got enough, like, information... and if it's God, you've got the wrong house.”
“It's still easier to find the correct Hoover bag than to find one pure person, one pure faith, on the globe.”
“We are split people. For myself, half of me wishes to sit quietly with legs crossed, letting the things that are beyond my control wash over me. But the other half wants to fight a holy war. Jihad!...”
“When the male organ of a man stands erect, two thirds of his intelect go away. And one third of his religion.”
“More silence; children's silence, so desperately desired by adults yet eerie when it finally occurs.”
“A hallmark of virtuous adulthood is learning to find freedom in your work rather than freedom from your work, even when work might hurt.”
“Parenting requires a delicate balance of letting your child be your spiritual teacher while you maintain the clarity and boundaries to be her Earthly teacher.”
“Remember, nothing is ever created or destroyed. Therefore, unresolved emotional pain from childhood does not dissolve by itself. It sits waiting to be declared, and a child is the ultimate vehicle ...”