Erase Rewind

You know it’s funny what a young man recollects? ‘Cause I don’t remember bein’ born. I don’t recall what I got for my first Christmas and I don’t know when I went on my first outdoor picnic. But I do remember the first time I heard the sweetest voice in the wide world.
Hello. My name’s Forrest, Forrest Gump. You want a chocolate?

My Mama always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. And that’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I’d gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I’d gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.

Dec 12 2010

What would you be like…

Extracts from An Englishman in New York…the impressive story of the eccentric Quentin Crisp.

What would you be like if there was nobody else in the world? Who would you be if the only opinion that mattered was yours? Because if you want to be truly happy, you must be that person. You must search inside yourself for what is uniquely you. When you find it, polish it until it becomes your style. It’s no good being a pig farmer for 30 years, looking back and saying, “I was meant to be a ballet dancer”. By that time, pigs are your style.

If I have an ambition, it is to know everyone in the world before I die. I’m not doing badly.

Mr. Steele, if your happiness is entirely dependent on another’s love, you will never truly be happy. If your love is valuable to you, it is because you give it. You must be ready to expect nothing in return. Once you accept this, your heart will never be broken again. (…) It really isn’t as impossible as it sounds.

Persistence is your greatest weapon. It is in the nature of barriers that they fall. Do not seek to become like your opponents. You have the burden and the great joy of being outsiders. Every day you live is a kind of triumph. This you should cling onto. Neither look forward where there is doubt, nor backward where there is regret. Look inward and ask not if there is anything outside that you want, but whether there is anything inside that you have not yet unpacked.