Guy Finley Quotes

Understanding of the self only arises in relationship, in watching yourself in relationship to people, ideas, and things; to trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you. Relationship is the mirror in which the self is revealed. Without self-knowledge there is no basis for right thought and action.

Acting for me is finding those things that, finding the strings of humanity that tie us all together. And you only find that by living life and loving and breaking up.

I think I can see more clearly now - about how the pattern of past experiences has shaped who I am and the characters I have played - and I'm grateful for that.

Back in your twenties you're discovering your boundaries in life, whether it's with relationships or friendships and partying.

It's amazing what we've been through already in our lives no matter what our age. Think of what we've seen, people we've met, our relationships, experiences, and accomplishments. Reflection is a powerful tool.

Self knowledge begins with the neighbor, the mirror, and just the same with true self-love; that goes from the mirror to the matter.

By enlarging your knowledge of things, you will find your knowledge of self is enlarged.

I can't say I can foresee the future and tell the stars, you know. But I do have an understanding for my own reality, just elements and things that I've learned from.

I've tested life and I've learned what works for me.

Most of what I've learnt is too personal or controversial to share, but nevertheless, experiences have helped me understand things better and have been necessary for what my journey in future will be.

Self-knowledge is essential not only to writing, but to doing almost anything really well. It allows you to work through from a deep place - from the deep, dark corners of your subconscious mind.

You know, let a few years go by until I hit my midlife crisis. Then that can be documented on film.

Beyond just writing about falling in love and out of love and wanting to do certain things and going out and partying and all the things that I grew up writing about, I want to write about deeper things.

Autobiographies are only useful as the lives you read about and analyze may suggest to you something that you may find useful in your own journey through life.

Recently I read the stories I wrote in my early 20s, to put in a volume. And here is this brittle young woman, writing about marriage as, not the worst thing, but the most boring thing that could happen to a person. Now I think I was wrong. I like to be proven wrong.

Pippin chooses love and finds a greater sense of himself at the end of all the madness. I relate to him in many ways. I have been through stuff, thought I knew best, and often been proven wrong.

Remember that no relationship is a total waste of time. You can always learn something about yourself.

We all have experiences in our lives that change us, and we all learn from people, like my dad, but at the end of the day, it's only us. And we're only responsible to make ourselves happy.

I wasn't smart enough to read relationship books when I was coming up. I learned everything the hard way.

Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. They learn what to do and what to avoid.

Some lessons take years to learn, with repeated exposure to the same path sometimes shadowed by the inner conscience of own souls. But eventually we learn, and our journey continues in another direction.

As we advance in life, we learn the limits of our abilities.

My inspiration comes from my real life experiences.

I never regret anything. Because every little detail of your life is what made you into who you are in the end.

Life has taught me to think, but thinking has not taught me to live.