Samuel Beckett Quotes

When we refuse to work with our disappointment, we break the Precepts: rather than experience the disappointment, we resort to anger, greed, gossip, criticism. Yet it's the moment of being that disappointment which is fruitful; and, if we are not willing to do that, at least we should notice that we are not willing. The moment of disappointment in life is an incomparable gift that we receive many times a day if we're alert. This gift is always present in anyone's life, that moment when 'It's not the way I want it!

Here's what breaks us: Even though we know better, we still want everything to be all right.

The psychic task which a person can and must set for himself is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity.

Contrary to reports that I took the loss badly, I want to say that I went home last night and slept like a baby—every two hours I woke up and cried.

When you can't change what's bothering you, one typical response is to convince yourself that it doesn't actually bother you.

Whenever one finds oneself inclined to bitterness, it is a sign of emotional failure.

When people feel that they have failed, it's usually because somebody or something caused them to feel that way and taste defeat. I refuse to dwell on that. Yes, it sucks at first, and the feeling is valid, but it all happens for a reason.

We're all confused, Samantha. We all need more time to think. That's life. Get over it.

Anger is a passion, so it makes people feel alive and makes them feel they matter and are in charge of their lives. So people often need to renew their anger a long time after the cause of it has died, because it is a protection against helplessness and emptiness just like howling in the night. And it makes them feel less vulnerable for a little while.

We begin to forgive by choosing to forgive . . . by deciding, not by feeling. Our feelings don't lead us to forgive. Most times, our feelings lead us the other way. That's why a person has to decide to forgive first. Our feelings always follow along behind our decisions.

self-pity is better than none.

Because I know that hope and fear are connected, I put my mask of hope on.

I think my apocalyptic feelings went deeper than [heavily influenced by Reagan and AIDS]. I'm really at peace with how afraid I am.

A person can meet anxiety to the extent that his values are stronger than the threat.

Be content. Know that whatever comes along, you can handle it and grow from it.

It's cute how I used to think this 'barely holding it together' feeling was temporary.

A feeling can't kill you.

What I've lost in years I've gained in wisdom. Bullshit, I haven't learnt one thing in the last 15 years that hasn't just depressed me more.

Compromise is said to be the way of the world and yet I find myself feeling sick trying to accept what it has done to me.

He shrugged his shoulders to shift the pain of failure---the pain that is so much greater than the pleasure of success.

Being disappointed is one thing and being discouraged is something else. I am disappointed but I am not discouraged.

A free spirit must be able to surmount anxiety time after time.

The only constant factor in life is our feelings and attitudes toward life. One of the few things that we have total control over is our own attitude.

Remember, frustration is out of expectation, and ego is always expecting. The ego is a beggar.

I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to, remembering something my Guru once said -- that you should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong, instead.