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
Only the phoenix rises and does not descend. And everything changes. And nothing is truly lost.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the inevitability of change and the resilience of renewal.
Neil Gaiman uses the phoenix as a metaphor for transformation and renewal, suggesting that while everything in life is subject to change, there is also hope and the possibility of rebirth. The idea is that nothing is ever completely lost, as each ending can lead to a new beginning, emphasizing the cyclical nature of existence.
Themes
PhoenixChangeRenewalResilienceTransformation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about overcoming challenges, one might say, 'Only the phoenix rises and does not descend.'
More from Neil Gaiman
All quotes →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.
Neil GaimanRead
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.
Neil GaimanRead
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.
Neil GaimanRead
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.
Neil GaimanRead
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.
Neil GaimanRead
Similar quotes
Psychology cannot tell people how they ought to live their lives. It can however, provide them with the means for effecting personal and social change.
Albert BanduraRead
History will have to recordThat the greatest tragedy of this period of social transitionWas not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad peopleBut the appalling silence and indifference of the good.Our generation will have to repent notOnly for the words and actions of the children of darknessBut also for the fears and apathy of thechildren of light.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
My theory is this: Rather than having commentaries from the cheap seats, get involved and see what you can do. What can you do around your own community, within your own family, to try to improve race relations in our country? I think this is a responsibility that we all have as citizens.
Valerie JarrettRead
If we had done the work that we should have done in the 20th century to combat our history of racial inequality, no one could win national office after demonizing people because they're Mexican or Muslim. We would be in a place where we would find that unacceptable.
Bryan StevensonRead
Procrastinatio n will delay your change!!! Today is a very good day to change; don't let YOU stop yourself from growing!
Steve HarveyRead
Change based on principle is progress. Constant change without principle becomes chaos.
Dwight D. EisenhowerRead