Nadine Gordimer Quotes

Mistakes, after all, are endemic to foreign and military policy given the unpredictability of events and the difficulty of securing reliable information in a place like Iraq.

There is no order in the world around us, we must adapt ourselves to the requirements of chaos instead

The future is fluid. Each act, each decision, and each development creates new possibilities and eliminates others. The future is ours to direct.

Each must act as he thinks best; and if he is wrong, so much the worse for him. We stand on a mountain pass in the midst of whirling snow and blinding mist through which we get glimpses now and then of paths which may be deceptive. If we stand still we shall be frozen to death. If we take the wrong road we shall be dashed to pieces. We do not certainly know whether there is any right one. What must we do? Be strong and of a good courage. Act for the best, hope for the best, and take what comes. . . . If death ends all, we cannot meet death better.

The notion that the natural world obeys its own rules and doesn't give a damn about your expectations comes as a massive shock. But the natural world is not so malleable. On the contrary, it will demand that you adapt to it - and if you don't, you die.

A lot can change between planning something and actually doing it. But maybe all that really matters is that anything is different at all.

It is true, of course, that there is no way of knowing for sure whether or not you can trust someone, for the simple reason that circumstances change all of the time. You might know someone for several years, for instance, and trust him completely as your friend, but circumstances could change and he could become very hungry, and before you knew it you could be boiling in a soup pot, because there is no way of knowing for sure.

We are not the people who made this world, Lukas, but it's up to us to survive it. You need to understand that." "We can't control where we are right now," he mumbled, "just what we do going forward.

What has happened makes the world. Live on the edge, looking.

The future isn't just something that happens. It's a brutal force, with a great sense of humor, that'll steamroll you if you're not watching.

I think that we'd be very wise not to predict anything with Donald Trump.

Life is no different than the weather. Not only is it unpredictable, but it shows us a new perspective of the world every day.

When I think about the future, I'm not necessarily arguing it's going to be better or worse. I'm just saying it's going to be different.

But let no person say what they would or would not do, since we are not judges for ourselves until circumstances call us to act.

He was the average mortal. It troubled him to get used to the world one way and then suddenly have it turn different.

But here's the ugly truth: nature doesn't care about democracy, or who's right, or what's fair. And because of the slow-change aspect of climate, we can't wait until the worst effects are upon us to make a decision -- by then, it would be far, far too late. The scenario we may be faced with is one where doing something for the wrong reasons, run by the wrong people, may still save more lives than holding out for a more appealing option.

Life does not ask what we want. It presents us with options

Today's game is always different from yesterday's game.

It is the unforeseeable that creates the event.

When we see an effect happen always in the same manner, we infer that it takes place by a natural necessity; as, for instance, that the sun will rise to morrow; but nature often deceives us, and will not submit to its own rules.

On ne sait jamais! One never knows!

A tiny change today brings us to a dramatically different tomorrow. There are grand rewards for those who pick the high hard roads, but those rewards are hidden by years. Every choice is made in the uncaring blind, no guarantees from the world around us.

I moreover affirm that our wisdom itself, and wisest consultations, for the most part commit themselves to the conduct of chance.

The future is not Google-able.

It was, perhaps, one of those cases in which advice is good or bad only as the event decides.