Amy Tan Quotes

I think there is this steely strength beneath this beautiful veneer that a lot of women possess. I can't fathom or understand it.

Silence is a source of great strength.

If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees.

Those were the Rommely women: Mary, the mother, Evy, Sissy, and Katie, her daughters, and Francie, who would grow up to be a Rommely woman even though her name was Nolan. They were all slender, frail creatures with wondering eyes and soft fluttery voices. But they were made out of thin invisible steel.

What we do not see, what most of us never suspect of existing, is the silent but irresistible power which comes to the rescue of those who fight on in the face of discouragement.

A fundamental mistake to call vehemence and rigidity strength! A man is not strong who takes convulsion-fits; though six men cannot hold him then. He that can walk under the heaviest weight without staggering, he is the strong man . . . A man who cannot hold his peace, till the time come for speaking and acting, is no right man.

Wise guy, he not go against wind. In Chinese we say, Come from South, blow with wind -- poom! -- North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen.

Patience is the strength of the weak, impatience is the weakness of the strong.

I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect for others, and eventually, thought neither of us knew it at the time, chess games... "Come from the South, blow from the wind - poom! - North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen."

I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge - even wisdom. Like art.

Patience is the courage of the conqueror, the strength of man against destiny.

Maybe weakness is a strength of a kind.

We can do anything, or almost, but how balanced, magnanimous, and modest one has to be to do anything! And also how patient. It is as true in the arts as anywhere else.

By facing our challenges and overcoming them, we grow stronger, wiser, and more compassionate.

My mother always taught me to be strong and to never be a victim. Never make excuses. Never expect anyone else to provide for me things I know I can provide for myself.

Basically, what you find out is the limits of your patience and your strength and your capacity to adapt. You find that out in travel and being alone and being tested. So that's a great thing.

Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly if they even roll a few more on it. A strength which becomes clearer and stronger through experiences of such obstacles is the only strength that can conquer them. Resistance is only a waste of strength.

The power of the visible is the invisible.

All women are strong. My mother survived Auschwitz, and fear wasn't an option when we were growing up. If we were afraid of the dark, we were put into the closet until we weren't.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.

You can't go through the kinds of things I've gone through, as much as I have, without re-evaluating yourself and making adjustments. And you can't endure these horrendous circumstances without developing a certain level of strength and wisdom.

Endure what is difficult to endure and to suffer what is difficult to suffer.

When we feel weak, all we have to do is wait a little while. The spring returns and the winter snows melt and fill us with new energy.

There been times when I thought I couldn't last for long But now I think I'm able to carry on It's been a long, been a long time coming But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

The wisest among us - the genuine leaders - smile in the face of adversity.