1. “… men were all free to do what they chose to do, and would laugh with hate at the bringer of unwanted light if what they knew they needed was the dark.” (Ayi Kwei Armah, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born)

2. “…life is suffering.” (S.P. Somtow, Jasmine Nights)

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3. “Ah, life, you see, is like a taxi. You must bargain with the driver for the fare, you must pick your own destination, and once you have set out, you’re on your own, not knowing whether the driver is a madman, a kidnapper or a saint who will take you to the appointed place without giving you a heart attack along the route.” (S.P. Somtow, Jasmine Nights)

4. “… it has been said that giving birth is like shitting a watermelon.” (P.S. Somtow, Jasmine Nights)

5. “Make the best o’things the way you find ‘em.” (Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)

6. “I was feeling the urge to begin living. To begin living my true life? Even if it was to be pure masquerade and not my life at all, still the time had come when I must make a start, must drag my heavy feet forward.” (Yukio Mishima, Confessions of a Mask)

7. “Praise not the day until evening has come; a woman until she is burnt; a sword until it is tired; a maiden until she is married; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk.” (Viking proverb)

8. “Yesterday is better than today, and tomorrow is better than the day which follows that. So make haste, and carry out your intentions with a firm heart and a strong arm” (Michael Crichton, The 13th Warrior)

9. “Praise not the day until evening has come; a woman until she is burnt; a sword until it is tired; a maiden until she is married; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk.” (Northman saying)

10. “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life.” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)

Author V.M. Simandan

is a Beijing-based Romanian-born counsellor, coach, psychology teacher, and former competitive archer

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V.M. Simandan