Naomi Shihab Nye Quotes

I am trying so hard to live in the moment and enjoy it while it's happening, because it feels like a moving freight train that I just got on, and I'm trying not to look back and get dizzy!

I'll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I'm afraid it could be taken away.

If you are not trying to hold on to time, you are not so afraid of losing it.

We fear that this moment will end, that we won't get what we need, that we will lose what we love, or that we will not be safe. Often, our biggest fear is the knowledge that one day our bodies will cease functioning. So even when we are surrounded by all the conditions for happiness, our joy is not complete.

I think you're not a human being unless you have doubts and fears.

Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you.

Do every act of your life as if it were your last.

Don't worry about planning every step of your life.

I think it's healthy to be insecure, to have nerves.

I don't take things for granted, because everything feels more fragile. It's made me wonder about mortality and how long you've got somebody in the world. I'm more fearful than I used to be.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.

In the past, I always used to be looking for answers. Today, I know there are only questions. So I just live.

To be or not to be. That's not really a question.

Death is an absolute mystery. We are all vulnerable to it, it's what makes life interesting and suspenseful.

Life is a mystery. Life is uncertain. It makes one feel a bit wobbly to realize that.

Thou wilt find rest from vain fancies if thou doest every act in life as though it were thy last.

It is very difficult for us to know we love somebody because it is an insecure position to be in. But in the end, it is important to be honest about your love because life is not that long.

I find life so shocking in general. Everything about it surprises me.

I'm not going to beat this life. It's gonna get me in the end. So accepting that is a real freedom and finding a joy in working that I haven't allowed myself before.

You never know when your last day gig is, and if you spend your life thinking about it, you'll drive yourself nuts. But I try not to foster or exhibit any desperation.

Everyone wants to be safe. Well, I got news for you: You can't be safe. Life's not safe. Your work isn't safe. When you leave the house, it isn't safe. The air you breathe isn't going to be safe, not for very long. That's why you have to enjoy the moment.

I used to worry a lot. I still worry a lot, but not about the things that I used to worry about because my younger self, I didn't regret anything that I ever did... I was happy, and I was free, and I was living it up.

I'm not fixated on death but I know tomorrows are not guaranteed.

As long as you're happy, I think that is the main thing. It's something people forget way too often these days getting so stressed thinking about what other people's opinions are or what they need to do tomorrow.