They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.
Harper LeeRead
That boy is your company. And if he wants to eat up that tablecloth, you let him, you hear?
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of accepting and nurturing children’s natural curiosity and behaviors.
In this quote, Harper Lee highlights the necessity of allowing children the freedom to explore their environment, even if their actions may seem unconventional or undesirable to adults. It suggests that connection and understanding in a child's development are more critical than strict adherence to adult norms, thereby encouraging a playful and accepting approach to parenting and relationships with children.
In practice
A parenting workshop focused on letting children express themselves creatively.
They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.
It's better to be silent than to be a fool.
Don’t talk like that, Dill,” said Aunt Alexandra. “It’s not becoming to a child. It’s – cynical.” “I ain’t cynical, Miss Alexandra. Tellin’ the truth’s not cynical, is it?” “The way you tell it, it is.
With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.
He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.
You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.
I've wrecked and ravaged half my life in the pursuit of women, and I suffer the pangs of about seventeen regrets -- the seventeen who got away.
Chimpanzees have very strong preferences and aversions that are completely personality-linked. The people who are unsuccessful in working with chimpanzees are those who take this personally.
I have seen many die, surrounded by loved ones, and their last words were ‘I love you.’ There were some who could no longer speak yet with their eyes and soft smile left behind that same healing message. I have been in rooms where those who were dying made it feel like sacred ground. (26)
I do atypical work for a white person, which is that I lead primarily white audiences in discussions on race every day, in workshops all over the country. That has allowed me to observe very predictable patterns. And one of those patterns is this inability to tolerate any kind of challenge to our racial reality.
Psychologists call this habituation, economists call it declining marginal utility, and the rest of us call it marriage.
I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society.
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