I think I'm as content as one can be.
Books, and especially fiction, do not proceed from ideas. They are born from feelings
A good teacher is one who helps you become who you feel yourself to be. A good teacher is also one who says something that you won't understand until 10 years later.
Each of us is comprised of stories, stories not only about ourselves but stories about ancestors we never knew and people we've never met. We have stories we love to tell and stories we have never told anyone. The extent to which others know us is determined by the stories we choose to share. We extend a deep trust to someone when we say, "I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone. " Sharing stories creates trust because through stories we come to a recognition of how much we have in common.
I write because the lives of all of us are stories. If enough of those stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details.
Dying ain't important. Everyone does that. What's important is how well you do your living.
But there are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. I pray for the day when God will end mine.
My service solidified my respect for our freedom, and the struggle to preserve it. I know the cost of obtaining freedom, keeping it and the value of it.
There is no greater virtue than honesty.
One of the aims of Budo is the suppression of fears.
If my superiors shall permit me to come home, I hope it will be soon; if they mean I should stay abroad, I am not able to say what I shall do, until I know in what capacity. One thing is certain, that I will not live long without my family.