A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
Jesus. Low-Key Lyesmith," said Shadow. and then he heard what he was saying and he understood. "Loki," he said. "Loki Lie-smith." "You're slow," said Loki, "but you get there in the end." And his lips twisted into a scarred smile and the embers danced in the shadows of his eyes.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the realization that understanding and insight can come gradually over time.
In this quote, Shadow interacts with Loki, leading to a moment of realization where he grasps the meaning behind Loki's name, 'Lie-smith'. This exchange illustrates the theme of enlightenment through conversation and the value of patience in the process of understanding complex ideas. Loki's acknowledgment of Shadow's slow comprehension serves as a reminder that wisdom often accumulates over time and that true understanding can sometimes emerge unexpectedly.
In practice
This quote can be shared when discussing the importance of patience in learning.
A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.
If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not.
No single, individual moment is in and of itself unendurable.
I've learned that you have to stay true to yourself from all the amazing people I've had the opportunity to work with thus far. You have to stay true to yourself and don't be afraid even though people may say what you're doing isn't cool or isn't right. I promise you, you will not regret it if you stay true to who you are and what you love to do because there is no other reason that I am up here today receiving this award.
She likes the people with the endurance to tolerate the drudge, the ones who know that pain is a requirement, not a curse.
Honesty with ourselves & others gets us sober, but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.
I was a young man with uninformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything; and to my astonishment the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them.
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