Alexei Panshin Quotes

Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.

The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue.

The art of living is the art of knowing how to believe lies.

I'd like to believe an accumulation of experience has made me a sort of a grown-up person, so I can have judgment and taste and whatever.

You are.

As I grow older, I realise that just because I'm so obsessed with the truth, it doesn't mean that everyone else in my life is equally comfortable with it.

One should go easy on smashing other people's lies. Better to concentrate on one's own.

humans are born in truth, but we grow up believing in lies. one of the biggest lies in the story of humanity is the lie of our imperfection.

Part of growing up is making sure your sense of reality isn't entirely grounded in your own mind.

Roland had taught him that self-deception was nothing but pride in disguise, an indulgence to be denied.

Honesty consists of the unwillingness to lie to others; maturity, which is equally hard to attain, consists of the unwillingness to lie to oneself.

Like many people, I have a fascination with lies and the people who tell them. I wouldn't say I've never told a lie, but I don't think I've ever told one without both assuming I would be found out and feeling absolutely rotten about it.

Seeing reality for what it is is what we call discernment. The work of discernment is very hard.

I think it's nice to age gracefully. OK, you lose the youth, a certain stamina and dewy glow, but what you gain on the inside as a human being is wonderful: the wisdom, the acceptance and the peace of mind. It's a fair exchange.

You learn to accept your own reality.

Before, I just spewed whatever it was I thought about everything. I tend to be more contemplative now.

I used to be kind of bitter and jealous as well, but I get it. It's business.

Young people understand the world. They should be listened to on matters of politics and world organization. But they know nothing of their own lives.

Because you're not what I would have you be, I blind myself to who, in truth, you are.

I'm not lying to myself like most people.

I think it's important to have perspective and to look at what you don't necessarily want to see.

I've learned not to look at reviews. Early on, I did. I was always curious.

We must never throw away a bushel of truth because it happens to contain a few grains of chaff.

To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.

To know your limitations is the hallmark of a wise person.