You are 27 or 28 right? It is very tough to live at that age. When nothing is sure. I have sympathy with you.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Letters are just pieces of paper," I said. "Burn them, and what stays in your heart will stay; keep them, and what vanishes will vanish.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that material possessions, like letters, are temporary, and what truly matters are the feelings and memories we hold inside us.
Haruki Murakami's quote reflects on the ephemeral nature of written words compared to the lasting emotions they can evoke. It suggests that while letters may contain meaningful messages, their physical form can be discarded without losing the essence of the feelings shared within them. The core idea revolves around valuing the emotional connections that remain in our hearts rather than clinging to physical representations that can easily fade away.
Themes
LettersEmotionsMemoriesFeelingsAttachments
In practice
Example use cases
During a farewell speech, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of cherished memories over physical keepsakes.
More from Haruki Murakami
All quotes →They take the circuits out of people’s brains that make it possible for them to think for themselves. Their world is like the one that George Orwell depicted in his novel. I’m sure you realize that there are plenty of people who are looking for exactly that kind of brain death. It makes life a lot easier. You don’t have to think about difficult things, just shut up and do what your superiors tell you to do.
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Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade.
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I think you still love me, but we can’t escape the fact that I’m not enough for you. I knew this was going to happen. So I’m not blaming you for falling in love with another woman. I’m not angry, either. I should be, but I’m not. I just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Everybody burns out in this world; amateur, pro, it doesn't matter, they all burn out, they all get hurt, the OK guys and the not-OK guys both. That's why everybody takes out a little insurance. I've got some too, here at the bottom of the heap. That way, you manage to survive if you burn out. If you're all by yourself and don't belong anywhere, you go down once, and you're out. Finished.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Life is so uncertain: you never know what could happen. One way to deal with that is to keep your pajamas washed.
Haruki MurakamiRead
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