Quotes from By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.

The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek us. And to save us.

But love is always new. Regardless of whether we love once, twice, or a dozen times in our life, we always face a brand-new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it, because it is what nourishes our existence. If we reject it, we die of hunger, because we lack the courage to stretch out a hand and pluck the fruit from the branches of the tree of life. We have to take love where we find it, even if that means hours, days, weeks of disappointment and sadness.

I've been in love before, it's like a narcotic. At first it brings the euphoria of complete surrender. The next day you want more. You're not addicted yet, but you like the sensation, and you think you can still control things.You think about the person you love for two minutes then forget them for three hours. But then you get used to that person, and you begin to be completely dependent on them. Now you think about him for three hours and forget him for two minutes. If he's not there, you feel like an addict who can't get a fix. And just as addicts steal and humiliate themselves to get what they need, you're willing to do anything for love.

In real life, love has to be possible. Even if it is not returned right away, love can only survive when the hope exists that you will be able to win over the person you desire.

What other people think of you is none of your business.

If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.

I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life.

Profound desire, true desire is the desire to be close to someone.

One day you will wake up and there wont be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now.

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.

Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.

It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.

Those have most power to hurt us, that we love.

Don't be someone that searches, finds, and then runs away.

The dunes are changed by the wind, but the desert never changes.

You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it is better to listen to what it has to say!

A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.

Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

Life has a way of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen at once.

Nothing happens by chance, my friend... No such thing as luck. A meaning behind every little thing, and such a meaning behind this. Part for you, part for me, may not see it all real clear right now, but we will, before long.

Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away - and going away means forgetting.

Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has happened only once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it.

I don't want to be in a battle, but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse.

The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting.

It takes much more courage to be in love than it does for war.

You say you love rain, but you use an umbrella to walk under it. You say you love sun, but you seek shade when it is shining. You say you love wind, but when it comes, you close your window. So that's why I'm scared when you say you love me.

When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.

The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.

No one loses anyone, because no one owns anyone. That is the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in the world without owning it.

The strongest love is the love that can demonstrate its fragility.

Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.

People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.

What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.

After all, what is happiness? Love, they tell me. But love doesn't bring and never has brought happiness. On the contrary, it's a constant state of anxiety, a battlefield; it's sleepless nights, asking ourselves all the time if we're doing the right thing. Real love is composed of ecstasy and agony.

When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.

Our true friends are those who are with us when the good things happen. They cheer us on and are pleased by our triumphs. False friends only appear at difficult times, with their sad, supportive faces, when, in fact, our suffering is serving to console them for their miserable lives.

Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return is wasting their time.

There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.

Walk until the darkness is a memory, and you become the sun on the next traveler's horizon.