Quotes from the Recently Read

I've been doing some very enjoyable reading recently, and amid the magic I found a smattering of intelligent and relatable quotes. These three are books I'd recommend without reservation.


Persuasion, Jane Austen
"She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others. She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped."


Please, please, please just be real. Don't lie or distort the truth. Don't put on false airs. Don't try to convince others you are perfect. It's not helpful for you or them. I value honesty. I value openness. I value sincerity. These are the things I can trust. I'd rather have someone be outright rude to me than be fake with me. I cringe at fake.


Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane, p. 169.

Narrating his suicide attempt at age 10. "For years afterward, I was to think of that suicide attempt in the following terms: whenever the troubles of the world seem too much it helps to have someone loving and understanding to share those troubles with; and life takes its true meaning in proportion to one's daily battles against suffering."


I so value the comfort of meaningful relationships in which communication and mutual understanding are foundational. Sharing one another's battles gives meaning to the sometimes painful tutorials of life.


Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane, p. 254.

Speaking to the headmaster of his school who asks why he reads the books he reads and how, indeed, he dare dream that he will ever go places. "I will go somewhere, sir. I just have a feeling I will. I don't know why I have that feeling. Maybe I'm just dreaming. But I've had so many dreams come true in my life, that I now look toward dreams for the meaning of my life."


I love to dream, and the more I dream, the more I learn to believe in my dreams--to live for my dreams and to facilitate my own adventures. After all, you might miss a tiger.


Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, p. 105.

Janie and Tea Cake are discussing their age difference of 12 years. (She's older.) Tea Cake says, "Things lak dat got uh whole lot tuh do wid convenience, but it ain't got nothin' tuh do wid love."


I don't happen to be dating someone twelve years my junior, but I do appreciate the sentiment that sometimes the qualities that we see in a person at the outset are not the ones of greatest significance. Even beyond physical and demographic characteristics, the surface of a person's personality should also not be the meter by which we judge. And mostly, I just thought this one was sweet.

***Other books I'd recommend include (but are not limited to):

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Peace Like a River, Leif Enger

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See

The Piano Tuner, Daniel Mason

My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok

A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis

Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi

Life of Pi, Yann Martel

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fatiman

You Might Miss a Tiger

Mike and Laurie Hoer have been people of great influence in my life. Mike Hoer was the mission president in Taizhong, Taiwan when I served there. He often used stories from his life to illustrate principles he wanted to teach us. The stories were usually outrageous. This one occurred on a family vacation to safari for tigers in India. Some of the precise details now escape me, but it went something like this:

The Hoers, along with their four children spent about a week safariing for tigers in India. They stayed in a small village and went out into the jungle all day each day for several days, but they found that this was a particularly bad week for finding tigers. The local guides weren't sure why they had so much trouble finding both the tigers and their tracks. In addition, they spent a great deal of time lost, hungry, and wet from the rain.

On the second to last day they found themselves caught in a colossal storm. They finally found a cave and decided that they had to wait the storm out there. President Hoer got everyone inside and made one last run to bring in the rest of their belongings. He neglected to duck at the mouth of the cave and slammed his head against the roof of the opening. There they were, soaking wet, trapped in a cave by a storm, with blood gushing from President's head. They were several miles from the village they were staying in and quite a few more miles from any real medical help. Fortunately they were all right until they managed to make it back and patch up President's head that night.

The next day, their last day, President was the only one who wanted to go back out looking for tigers. He finally persuaded everyone to try one last time except for one son who insisted on staying behind in the comfort of their lodgings and reading a book. That day when they went out they had a remarkable time. They found a couple of groups of tigers including a mother playing with her tiger cubs. When they arrived back at the village still glowing from the wonder of the day, they showed the pictures to the son who had stayed behind and told him excitedly about what they had seen. He was so upset that he didn't go. Because he doubted that they would find tigers that day when they hadn't seen any all week, he had missed out on what could have been an unforgettable adventure. Since that day, anytime their family does anything, this son has to be involved, because, as he says, "You might miss a tiger."

The world hold many marvelous gifts and adventures. Sometimes we have to be willing to take risks, make sacrifices, and muscle our way through difficulties in order to find them, but if we never try, we just might miss a tiger. And so the message is 有信心， 有办法. Where there is faith, there is always a way. If you are willing to don your safari hat and make the sacrifice, you will find a tiger.