One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
When you have known the kiss of a flaying knife, a laugh loses all its power to hurt you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Experiencing deep pain diminishes the impact of lesser hurts.
This quote suggests that enduring significant suffering can make other, lesser forms of pain seem trivial in comparison. Once one has gone through a profound challenge or trauma, they become more resilient, gaining a perspective that allows them to laugh off smaller insults or frustrations that might otherwise sting.
Themes
PainResilienceSufferingStrengthLaughter
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming adversity.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes βI hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: βNot today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.β He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. βI wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. MartinRead
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
George R. R. MartinRead
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
George R. R. MartinRead
Similar quotes
It is the Law that any difficulties that can come to you at any time, no matter what they are, must be exactly what you need most at the moment, to enable you to take the next step forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson.
Emmet FoxRead
Instead of resisting any emotion, the best way to dispel it is to enter it fully, embrace it and see through your resistance.
Deepak ChopraRead
How can you make sense of the future when you only have data about the past?
Clayton ChristensenRead
Acts that proceed from your calm center are always more effective than acts that proceed from fear, guilt, or anger.
Alan CohenRead
Child, that is why all the rest are now a horror to her. That is what happens to those who pluck and eat fruits at the wrong time and in the wrong way. Oh, the fruit is good, but they loath it ever after.
C. S. LewisRead
Wishing you happiness always! Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. . . . . Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max EhrmannRead