Obert Skye · 363 pages
Rating: (8.7K votes)
“You're kidding, right?" Ezra barked. "We're not just going to wait." "I suppose we could help people clean up a bit," "Girl!" Ezra called out. "Big eyes!" Winter turned from what she was looking at. "Are you talking to me?”
― Obert Skye, quote from Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder
“I found a copy of Leven's birth certificate and was surprised to see his birth name listed as E. Leven Thumps. I assume the E. stands for Elton, and I have no idea why they didnt spell it out, but it's intresting to think that it took exactly eleven whacks or thumps to down the oldest tree.”
― Obert Skye, quote from Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder
“There are people who believe in you. You might not always believe that yourself, but there are—parents, teachers, neighbors, relatives, me. I know that no matter what is thrown at you, you’ll recover amazingly.”
― Obert Skye, quote from Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder
“Take me to my new trailer,” Ezra ordered Dennis.
Dennis didn't move.
“What, did you not hear me?” Ezra raged. “I'm standing on your deaf ear?”
Dennis just stood there calmly.
Ezra slapped his own forehead with his right hand and sighed—civility didn’t come easy. And here Dennis was standing his ground and demanding he be treated right.
“Please,” Ezra said, defeated.
Dennis turned away from Elton and walked confidently toward the new RV the U.S. government had brought in for Ezra.
“Some people and their inflated egos,” Ezra sniffed.
Dennis just smiled.”
― Obert Skye, quote from Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder
“Sometimes we underestimate the impact we have on other people's lives. Everybody living, no matter how miserable his or her life may be or how glorious each day is, makes an impact on others.”
― Obert Skye, quote from Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder
“Why should caring for others begin with the self? There is an abundance of rather vague ideas about this issue, which I am sure neuroscience will one day resolve. Let me offer my own “hand waving” explanation by saying that advanced empathy requires both mental mirroring and mental separation. The mirroring allows the sight of another person in a particular emotional state to induce a similar state in us. We literally feel their pain, loss, delight, disgust, etc., through so-called shared representations. Neuroimaging shows that our brains are similarly activated as those of people we identify with. This is an ancient mechanism: It is automatic, starts early in life, and probably characterizes all mammals. But we go beyond this, and this is where mental separation comes in. We parse our own state from the other’s. Otherwise, we would be like the toddler who cries when she hears another cry but fails to distinguish her own distress from the other’s. How could she care for the other if she can’t even tell where her feelings are coming from? In the words of psychologist Daniel Goleman, “Self-absorption kills empathy.” The child needs to disentangle herself from the other so as to pinpoint the actual source of her feelings.”
― Frans de Waal, quote from The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society
“I told you I’d make you caramel sauce one day.” And I told you I’d love you forever if you did, I don’t say back. I’m sure he doesn’t remember.”
― Sarah Lyons Fleming, quote from All the Stars in the Sky
“Nor was I the only one struggling.To live an ordinary life, like any ordinary person, must have been the vain dream of countless others.”
― quote from Autobiography of a Geisha
“After all, a person is herself, and others. Relationships chisel the final shape of one’s being.”
― N.K. Jemisin, quote from The Obelisk Gate
“Life is not a substance, like water or rock; it’s a process, like fire or a wave crashing on the shore. It’s a process that begins, lasts for a while, and ultimately ends. Long or short, our moments are brief against the expanse of eternity.”
― Sean Carroll, quote from The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
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