Our lives are part of a unique adventure... Nevertheless, most of us think the world is 'normal' and are constantly hunting for something abnormal--like angels or Martians. But that is just because we don't realize the world is a mystery. As for myself, I felt completely different. I saw the world as an amazing dream. I was hunting for some kind of explanation of how everything fit together.
Jostein GaarderHow terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living.
Jostein GaarderWe do not believe in the notion of God's chosen people. We laugh at this people's fancies and weep over its misdeeds. To act as God's chosen people is not only stupid and arrogant, but a crime against humanity. We call it racism.
Jostein GaarderIf just one of [those people] experiences life as a crazy adventure--and I mean that he, or she, experiences this every single day... Then he or she is a joker in a pack of cards.
Jostein GaarderI believe there is something of the divine mystery in everything that exists. We can see it sparkle in a sunflower or a poppy. We sense more of the unfathomable mystery in a butterfly that flutters from a twig--or in a goldfish swimming in a bowl. But we are closest to God in our own soul. Only there can we become one with the greatest mystery of life. In truth, at very rare moments we can experience that we ourselves are that divine mystery.
Jostein GaarderA state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm.
Jostein GaarderI've nothing against eye make-up and lipstick. But the fact is that weโre actually living on a planet in space. For me thatโs an extraordinary thought. Itโs mind-boggling just to think about the existence of space at all. But there are girls who canโt see the universe for eye liner.
Jostein Gaarder