Marion Milner Quotes

I want to feel myself part of things, of the great drift and swirl: not cut off, missing things, like being sent to bed early as a child, the blinds being drawn while the sun and cheerful voices came through the chink from the garden.

I used to worry about what life was for - now being alive seems sufficient reason.

I came to the conclusion then that "continual mindfulness". . . must mean, not a sergeantmajor-like drilling of thoughts, but a continual readiness to accept whatever came.

until you have, once at least, faced everything you know - the whole universe - with utter giving in, and let all that is 'not you' flow over and engulf you, there can be no lasting sense of security. Only by being prepared to accept annihilation can one escape from that spiritual 'abiding alone' which is in fact the truly death-like state.

Once you assume your right to interfere in other people's problems they become in some ways more of a worry than your own, for with your own you can at least do what you think best, but other people always show such a persistent tendency to do the wrong thing.

There seemed to be endless obstacles - it seemed that the root cause of them all was fear.

Colour is, on the evidence of language alone, very bound up with the feelings.

The growth of understanding follows an ascending spiral rather than a straight line.

Love is not getting, but giving. It is sacrifice. And sacrifice is glorious!

Perhaps if one really knew when one was happy one would know the things that were necessary in one's life.

by taking notice of those feelings and images that seemed to be in my blood and bones rather than in my head, I had found myself able to behave, not less reasonably, but more so. Apparently it was as much a false extreme to try and live by reason alone, leaving the passions out of count, as to ignore reason and put passion in its place as the guiding force of life.

It's weak and despicable to go on wanting things and not trying to get them.

Like a fierce wind roaring high up in the bare branches of trees, a wave of passion came over me, aimless but surging . . . I suppose it's lust, but it's awful and holy like thunder and lightning and the wind.

Sometimes I find that in my happy moments I could not believe that I had ever been miserable.