Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.
Sidonie Gabrielle ColetteRead
It's so curious: one can resist tears and 'behave' very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer... and everything collapses.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Grief can be hidden, but small reminders of beauty can trigger deep emotions.
This quote reflects on the complexity of grief, suggesting that while individuals may build resilience and conceal their sorrow, moments of beauty or kindness can unexpectedly unravel their composure, revealing the depth of their emotional pain. It highlights how fragile our emotional state can be and how simple acts or observations can reconnect us with our feelings.
Themes
GriefEmotionBeautyReminderTears
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about healing after loss, one might say, 'As Colette wisely pointed out, small reminders can bring grief to the surface.'
More from Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
All quotes →I went to collect the few personal belongings which...I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.
Sidonie Gabrielle ColetteRead
The only virtue on which I pride myself is my self-doubt; when a writer loses her self-doubt, the time has come to lay aside her pen.
Sidonie Gabrielle ColetteRead
You must not pity me because my sixtieth year finds me still astonished. To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.
Sidonie Gabrielle ColetteRead
Truffles must come to the table in their own stock and as you break open this jewel sprung from a poverty-stricken soil, imagine - if you have never visited it - the desolate kingdom where it rules.
Sidonie Gabrielle ColetteRead
I did not look for her, because I was afraid of dispelling the mystery we attach to people whom we know only casually.
Sidonie Gabrielle ColetteRead
Similar quotes
Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.
Jack KerouacRead
Life is like writing with a pen. You can cross out your past but you can't erase it.
E. B. WhiteRead
I don't mind growing old. If I have to go before my time, this is how I'll go-- cigarette in one hand, glass of scotch in the other.
Ava GardnerRead
While complying can be an effective strategy for physical survival, it's a lousy one for personal fulfillment. Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control. Yet in our offices and our classrooms we have way too much compliance and way too little engagement. The former might get you through the day, but only the latter will get you through the night.
Daniel H. PinkRead
Gay teenagers are four times as likely to attempt suicide as straight ones. I wish they knew that there's nothing wrong with them; that they are just a different shade of normal.
Jodi PicoultRead
I've come to accept that the life of a frontrunner is a hard one, that he will suffer more injuries than most men and that many of these injuries will not be accidental.
PeleRead