The Wise Words of Toni Morrison...

I rediscovered a notebook of quotes I had written down a few years ago in a spiral notebook. I'm so glad I came across them again so I could share them with you. The two below come from Toni Morrison, a brilliant novelist. Best known for writing Beloved and Song of Soloman. I can't wait to go home and finish going through my notebook to read  other words of wisdom I considered worth saving. :P  

On What One Seems To Be & What One Really Is... "and fantasy it was, for we were not strong, only aggressive; we were not free, merely licensed; we were not compassionate, we were polite; not good but well behaved. we courted death in order to call ourselves brave, and hid like thieves from life. we substituted good grammar for intellect; we switched habits to simulate maturity; we rearranged lies and called it truth, seeing in the new pattern of an old idea the revelation and the word" ― Toni Morrison

On Love & Self-Respect...“You think because he doesn't love you that you are worthless. You think that because he doesn't want you anymore that he is right -- that his judgement and opinion of you are correct. If he throws you out, then you are garbage. You think he belongs to you because you want to belong to him. Don't. It's a bad word, 'belong.' Especially when you put it with somebody you love. Love shouldn't be like that. Did you ever see the way the clouds love a mountain? They circle all around it; sometimes you can't even see the mountain for the clouds. But you know what? You go up top and what do you see? His head. The clouds never cover the head. His head pokes through, beacuse the clouds let him; they don't wrap him up. They let him keep his head up high, free, with nothing to hide him or bind him. You can't own a human being. You can't lose what you don't own. Suppose you did own him. Could you really love somebody who was absolutely nobody without you? You really want somebody like that? Somebody who falls apart when you walk out the door? You don't, do you? And neither does he. You're turning over your whole life to him. Your whole life, girl. And if it means so little to you that you can just give it away, hand it to him, then why should it mean any more to him? He can't value you more than you value yourself.”   ― Toni Morrison From Song of Solomon.

Do you have a favorite quote? If you'd like to share, I'd love to read them.