Jens Lekman Quotes

The man who is forever disturbed about the condition of humanity either has no problems of his own or has refused to face them.

When I was in my 20s, I thought I knew who I was. And then as soon as I turned 30, I realized that person has bruises and bumps and dark parts. And you kind of go, well, that's it. I'd rather embrace it than force myself to change.

I think there is something very relatable in the idea that you hit a certain age, later in your life, where you realize you have to pick up the rug and see what's underneath it and deal with stuff.

What happens at 50, more or less, you lose what you need to create another person, to sustain another person; you keep what you need to sustain yourself. And there's something wonderful about that.

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

At midlife, I think a woman has more in common with her teenage children than anybody else. We all are kind of uncertain. We realize for the first time in either our lives or decades that we're in charge now.

As I get older, the more I don't want my life to be emotionally out of balance in the way it was in my twenties.

When you're in your 30s and actively pursuing a career and a home life, a wife and children, you're busy doing as opposed to busy thinking. As you get older, even as you don't have as much time, I think you tend to think more and reflect more on what is happening in your own life.

I think I had a kind of pause for insight in my 20s when I wasn't in a relationship and my career wasn't going the way I wanted it to go. I had time for reflection then.

I began to understand my sensations, to know what I wanted, at around the age of forty - but only vaguely.

One learns in life to keep silent and draw one's own confusions.

When I passed the age of 50, I learned how to control my emotions.

To me, at forty-four years old, my book was a search for truth and identity.

This moment in time, on this tour, you know, I'm discovering a lot of new things. And to be 45 and doing that, it's a mixture of pleasure and pain, I can assure you.

You know, you get to a certain age, 45, 50, I don't know when it happens, I said, 'Jesus, all I got is a certain amount of time. Maybe I should think about using it a little better.'

I don't want to say, 'Yeah, I changed at 30,' because no, it was chronically the same. But I got more relaxed about things.

In your 20s, you're checking your bank account to make sure you're not broke. In your 30s, you're looking at yourself and realizing you're broken.

I had to figure out at 61 years of age: 'Holy moly! Who am I?'

Sometimes you had to take a look at yourself and then look away.

At thirty, man suspects himself a fool; Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan.

Much of the work of midlife is to tell the difference between those who are dealing with their issues through you and those who are really dealing with you.

The person who understands the evil in his own heart is the only person who is useful, fruitful, and solid in his beliefs and obedience. Others only delude themselves and thus upset families, churches, and all other relationships. In their self-pride and judgment of others, they show great inconsistency.

When I turned 50, I looked in the mirror and I thought: "Hey, this isn't the dress rehearsal, this is life and I don't know how much longer I'm going to have!"

Shame must be accepted to be effective.

What are the best things and the worst things in your life, and when are you going to get around to whispering or shouting them?