All I Know A collection of quotes on life, love, sadness & other topics
All Rights Reserved. Š 2013 Ashly Lorenzana
This book is dedicated to Steve For being a kind of friend I'd never had
Truth & Judgement
Never do anything that you can't admit doing, because if you are that ashamed of whatever it is, it's probably wrong.
Never try to do anything that is outside of who you are. A forced smile is a sign of what feels wrong in your heart, so recognize it when it happens. Living a lie will reduce you to one.
No one truly knows what they will do in a certain situation until they are actually in it. It's very easy to judge someone else's actions by what you assume your own would be, if you were in their shoes. But we only know what we THINK we would do, not what we WOULD do.
We judge others instantly by their clothes, their cars, their appearance, their race, their education, their social status. The list is endless. What gets me is that most people decide who another person is before they have even spoken to them. What's even worse is that these same people decide who someone else is, and don't even know who they are themselves.
By judging others, you make yourself easy to judge.
You know all that sympathy that you feel for an abused child who suffers without a good mom or dad to love and care for them? Well, they don't stay children forever. No one magically becomes an adult the day they turn eighteen. Some people grow up sooner, many grow up later. Some never really do. But just remember that some people in this world are older versions of those same kids we cry for.
Everyone lies to themselves, but many people do it with good intentions. They want to believe what they tell themselves, it is oftentimes the best possible version of reality for them. Although it may not be accurate, it is a mural of their desires, aspirations, optimism and passion. These people usually either need time or a new experience to discover the truth. People who lie to themselves for different reasons are oftentimes
trying to avoid something or escape blame for things they have done.
Some people like living in black and white worlds. Let them stay there. Appreciate all the colors you see in your world though.
It's okay to disagree with the thoughts or opinions expressed by other people. That doesn't give you the right to deny any sense they might make. Nor does it give you a right to accuse someone of poorly expressing their beliefs just because you don't like what they are saying. Learn to recognize good writing when you read it, even if it means overcoming your pride and opening your mind beyond what is comfortable.
Love & Relationships
The end of a relationship is not always a failure. Sometimes all the love in the world is not enough to save something. In these cases, it is not a matter of fault from either person. Some things cannot be, it's as simple as that.
The more fucked up you are, the more I like you. As long as you've managed to hold onto your identity through all the shit, then it won't matter how twisted you are. I will love you more for it.
I think there were times when I was so afraid of losing you that I forgot I even had you at all.
People accuse me of falling in love easily. It just means that I'm able to see the beauty in most of the people who cross paths with me and I appreciate it for what it is and also for what it isn't. Love is imperfect. Falling for someone's flaws is just as necessary as falling for their strengths. And people like myself, who fall into love easily, are sometimes the loneliest souls around at the end of the day.
When you want to share something with another person more than anything, it is one of the most difficult things to realize that you can never have it. Accepting this realization is even more difficult. Loving someone does mean saying goodbye to them in some cases, though we will fight that until the oftentimes bitter end before doing the right thing.
You cannot force things apart that are bound at the heart.
Anything that lights your world leaves it dark once it's gone.
I don't know why love is so important to everyone. None of us fucking deserve it.
A selfless act out of even the purest desire to do for others, will be selfish in the satisfaction and happiness it brings to one doing it.
If somebody never gets enough of you, they will always want more.
People leave imprints on our lives, shaping who we become in much the same way that a symbol is pressed into the page of a book to tell you who it comes from. Dogs, however, leave paw prints on our lives and our souls, which are as unique as fingerprints in every way.
People & Identities
There is nothing worse than having an enemy who is a total loser. It's incredibly frustrating when seeking revenge against one, because you come to the realization that there is really nothing you can do to make the person's life worse than it already is. They have nothing to take, there is no way to screw them over if you have been their victim. It's maddening.
I believe in energies. Good energy has served me well. Being fair with others, compassionate towards them, remaining humble, and making a difference to someone are just a few of the things that I have seen create good energy. Beautiful things. Human things. I do my best to surround myself with these types of things, to generate an atmosphere thick with such energy. It has kept me safe in many situations. I
have taken risks in the past, and managed to avoid harm by the protection of the good energy I have created around me. I believe that ugliness creates more ugliness. And no matter how touched by ugliness you are, you do not have to give in to it and start spreading it beyond yourself. I have seen this sickness and what it does to a person, and those around them.
Remember that every person who you come into contact to on any given day has a story that is probably far more amazing than you will imagine and no one is going to just offer up their entire life's worth of experiences to you because you want them to. It takes time to draw someone's story out from within them. It takes trust. It takes sincerity and dedication.
Keep in mind that each and every interaction you have with all those people on a daily basis is a unique opportunity to develop any kind of relationship with that person that the two of you might want to be a part of. It doesn't matter how you meet them or what it is that you do with them. It can be as mundane as waving to them in the morning as they leave their driveway, or it can be
as huge as saving someone's life in a moment of uncertainty and sacrifice. Each person has the potential to become a friend or a lover or to simply teach you something important and then slip back into the endless rush of other bodies moving about the planet around us. Don't pass these chances up too often, or you'll get lost in the tide yourself.
Revenge
Two wrongs don't make a right, but neither does one. Revenge may seem petty by day, but on some nights she becomes Justice.
There is nothing wrong with revenge. The wrong has already been done, or there would be no need to even the score.
Sooner or later in life, we will all take our own turn being in the position we once had someone else in.
Trust
You have to believe what you're saying if you're going to convince me. I just can't break that rule, even if I want to.
The easiest way to gain someone's trust is to deserve it. This should be pretty easy, assuming you're just being you and being real. Minimal effort too.
All we know is what we're told.
Life
The world is not ready for some people when they show up, but that shouldn't stop anyone.
There will be a time when you are forced to follow your heart away from someone you love.
It may be a man's world, but men are easily controlled by women.
How good something is should never be determined by its cost, designer, origin, or its perceived value by others.
The less important money is to you, the less of it you will need to be happy.
If you're going to do something, strive to do it better than anyone else. Do it all the way. If you're going to half-ass it, why bother?
Anything at all is possible. Some things are unlikely. Some things will never happen. But they always could, at any time.
This is it, folks...this is life. Perhaps the only one we ever get. Make it count. Write it down. Highlight your favorite parts. Don't leave anything out.
Do not put stock into what society thinks of you, since this doesn't matter at all. The only approval you need is your own, no one else is going to live your life but you.
The world is big in some ways, and so small in others.
The only thing that feels worse than being stuck in a situation that makes you unhappy is realizing that you are not ready or willing to change whatever it is.
Morality and legality have nothing to do with one another. I'm more than fine with breaking a law if it disagrees with my values and morals.
A lot of things in life won't make sense, so be sure to make the most sense out of those that do.
It might be depressing, but it's also the truth that no one has the power, the money, or the resources to save everyone on the planet from going hungry, living in poverty or being denied their basic human rights. But consider the other side of this: there are people in this world who truly WOULD do all of these things for everyone if only they could. There is hope after all.
Drugs & Addiction
I can pretty much guarantee that you will at some point find yourself doing something that at one point you swore you'd never do. You'll do it for the sake of getting high, either directly or indirectly. Trust me. It will happen. You might think you know yourself better than anyone, but you have yet to become acquainted with your addiction. It will introduce itself in ways that you never thought were possible.
It's always almost Autumn, down here at Rock Bottom.
99% of all addicts are liars and thieves. This might sound unfair and even close-minded, but it's the truth. There are some exceptions to the rules, but they are incredibly rare. Most people are no match for their addictions. They will be driven to do things they would normally never have considered all in the name of getting high. Sad, but true.
So if you're thinking of trying drugs, keep in mind that all the people you will be dealing with are likely to steal from you and lie to you at your own expense.
Drugs suck more than anything else I have ever liked so much.
Drugs don't really fix anything, except for everything.
Pain & Sadness
If you love yourself the most at your happiest moments, there is no reason not to be fond of who you are in the dark.
I don't think I've ever dared to write down what I see in the ruins of me, or tell in any detail the scars and all their secrets.
We may seem fine, even when the pain remains right there beneath our surface.
The parts of me that hurt the worst want me to write something for them, but I can't. I don't know what to say. I'm lost in all this sadness, and so are they.
It's so hard to find the place somewhere in the middle of the best and worst I've felt.
You never know what lurks just beneath the surface of my fragile sanity.
It’s hardly ever that I am hurt by something in only one dimension.
I don't possess these thoughts I have --- they possess me. I don't possess these feelings I have --- They obsess me.
The End