You Can Measure the Happiness

“You can measure the happiness of a marriage by 

the number of scars that each partner carries on their tongues, 

earned from years of biting back angry words.” 

~ Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

We Die

“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, 

tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into 

and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we 

have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves. 

I wish for all this to be marked on by body when I am dead.

 I believe in such cartography - to be marked by nature, 

not just to label ourselves on a map like the names

 of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, 

communal books. We are not owned or monogamous 

in our taste or experience.” 

~ Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient

Every Woman

“Every woman that finally figured out her worth, 

has picked up her suitcases of pride and boarded 

a flight to freedom, which landed in the valley of change.” 

~ Shannon L. Alder

Sometimes It Takes A Heartbreak

“Sometimes it takes a heartbreak to shake us awake 

& help us see we are worth so much more than we're settling for.” 

~ Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

We Have To Recognise

“We have to recognise that there cannot be relationships 

unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty, 

unless there is love, patience, persistence.” 

~ Cornel West, Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life

A Fit, Healthy Body

“A fit, healthy body —

that is the best fashion statement” 

~ Jess C Scott

Seldom, Very Seldom

“Seldom, very seldom, does complete 

truth belong to any human disclosure; 

seldom can it happen that something is 

not a little disguised or a little mistaken.” 

~ Jane Austen, Emma

I Find the Best Way to Love Someone

“I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, 

but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” 

~ Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: 

Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

How Would Your Life Be Different

“How would your life be different if…

You walked away from gossip and verbal defamation? 

Let today be the day…

You speak only the good you know of other people 

and encourage others to do the same.” 

~ Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Moving On is Easy

“Moving on is easy. It's staying moved on that's trickier.” 

~ Katerina Stoykova Klemer

We Kiss All The Time

“We kiss all the time." 

I clear my throat, then add, "We just...do it in private."

"A smug expression crosses his face. 

"I don't buy it for a second, 'cause if you were my 

girlfriend and a stud like me was livin' in your house, 

I'd kiss you in front of the guy every chance I got as a reminder."

"A reminder of w-w-what?"

"That you were mine.” 

~ Simone Elkeles, Rules of Attraction

He Could Totally Be Your Boyfriend

“He could totally be your boyfriend," [Angel] went on with annoying persistence. 

"You guys could get married. I could be like a junior bridesmaid. 

Total could be your flower dog."

"I'm only a kid!" I shrieked. "I can't get married!"

"You could in New Hampshire."

My mouth dropped open. How does she know this stuff?

 "Forget it! No one's getting married!" I hissed. 

"Not in New Hampshire or anywhere else! Not in a box, not with a fox! 

Now go to sleep, before I kill you!” 

~ James Patterson, Max

It Is An Absolute Human Certainty

“It is an absolute human certainty that no one 

can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his 

own worth until it has been reflected back to him 

in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” 

― John Joseph Powell, The Secret of Staying in Love

All I'm Telling You To Do

“All I'm telling you to do is to be smart about it. 

Know that if this man isn't looking for a serious relationship, 

you're not going to change his mind just because 

you two are going on dates and being intimate. 

You could be the most perfect woman on the Lord's green earth - 

you're capable of interesting conversation, you cook a mean breakfast,

 you hand out backrubs like sandwiches,  

you're independent (which means, to him, 

that you're not going to be in his pockets) - 

but if he's not ready for a serious relationship, 

he going to treat you like sports fish.” 

~ Steve Harvey, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: 

What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment

Because I Can't Help Doing It

“Because I can't help doing it," he said with a shrug.
"And hey, if I keep loving you, maybe you'll eventually crack and love me too.
Hell, I'm pretty sure you're already half in love with me."

"I am not! And everything you just said is ridiculous. 

That's terrible logic."

Adrian returned to his crossword puzzle. 

"Well, you can think what you want,
so long as you remember-no matter how ordinary things seem between us --
I'm still here, still in love with you,
and care about you more than any other guy, evil or otherwise, ever will."

"I don't think you're evil."

"See? Things are already looking promising.” 

~ Richelle Mead, The Indigo Spell

Books Are a Poor Substitute

“Books are a poor substitute for female companionship, 

but they are easier to find.” 

~ Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear

Don't Leave A Peace of Jewelry

“Don't leave a piece of jewelry at his house so you can go back and get it later; 

he may be with his real girlfriend.” 

~ Amy Sedaris, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

I Think You Are Wrong

“I think you are wrong to want a heart. 

It makes most people unhappy. 

If you only knew it, you are in luck not to have a heart.” 

~ L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I Care

“I care," he said in a trembling voice.

 "I care so much that I do not know how to 

tell you without it seeming inconsequential compared to how I feel.

 Even if I am distant at times and seem as if I do not want to be with you,

 it is only because this scares me, too.” 

~ Aimee Carter, The Goddess Test

Nothing In This World

“Nothing in this world was more difficult than love.” 

~ Gabriel García Márquez

Of Course It Hurt

“Of course it hurt that we could never love each other in a physical way. 

We would have been far more happy if we had. 

But that was like the tides, the change of seasons -- 

something immutable, an immovable destiny we could never alter. 

No matter how cleverly we might shelter it, 

our delicate friendship wasn't going to last forever. 

We were bound to reach a dead end. 

That was painfully clear.” 

~ Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

I Was Suffering

“I was suffering the easily foreseeable consequences. 

Addiction is the hallmark of every infatuation-based love story.

 It all begins when the object of your adoration bestows upon you a heady, 

hallucinogenic dose of something you never dared to admit you wanted-an

 emotional speedball, perhaps, of thunderous love and roiling excitement. 

Soon you start craving that intense attention, 

with a hungry obsession of any junkie. 

When the drug is witheld, you promptly turn sick, 

crazy, and depleted (not to mention resentful of the 

dealer who encouraged this 

addiction in the first 

place but now refuses to pony up the good stuff anymore -- 

despite the fact that you know he has it hidden somewhere, 

goddamn it, because he used to give it to you for free). 

Next stage finds you skinny and shaking in a corner, 

certain only that you would sell your soul or rob your neighbors just to have

 'that thing' even one more time. 

Meanwhile, the object of your adoration has now become repulsed by you. 

He looks at you like you're someone he's never met before, 

much less someone he once loved with high passion. 

The irony is, you can hardly blame him. 

I mean, check yourself out. 

You're a pathetic mess, unrecognizable even to your own eyes. 

So that's it. You have now reached infatuation's final destination -- 

the complete and merciless devaluation of self." - pg 20-21” 

~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Forgive The Past

“Forgive the past. 

It is over. 

Learn from it and let go. 

People are constantly changing and growing. 

Do not cling to a limited, disconnected, 

negative image of a person in the past. 

See that person now. 

Your relationship is always alive and changing.” 

~ Brian Weiss, Messages from the Masters: 

Tapping Into the Power of Love