a-quiet-journal

[a-quiet-journal]

“There are moments that cannot be minimized, forgotten or swept aside. And ours is tangible—a cloak I wrap around myself when the night is cold and dark.”

- Dee Piscero, Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

[a-quiet-journal]

“Love is the most petrifying collision I’ve ever experienced. I always knew that when I fell, I’d fall with my whole being. Not a gentle slip like falling asleep, but a hurtling, momentum-gaining plummet like a bomb whistling down out of a plane.”

- Nicholas “Coal” Kringle, The Nightmare before Kissmas

[a-quiet-journal]

“But who decides where the end is?

So I’ll keep going. And going. And I’ll learn and do better and sometimes I’ll hate myself for not giving up and I’ll rage at the shit around me but I remember what it’s like to look at the world with uncomplicated hope and I can’t stop until I get that back. What’s the alternative?”

- Nicholas “Coal” Kringle, The Nightmare before Kissmas

[a-quiet-journal]

“Part of me will never understand how you can see something worthwhile in me. Will never understand how I got lucky enough that you not only came back to me, but want me. Is terrified that this is all some joke I’m not getting because what the fuck did I do to deserve you.”

- Nicholas “Coal” Kringle, The Nightmare before Kissmas

[a-quiet-journal]

“It’s destructive how much I want you. You’re going to pull me apart.”

- Nicholas “Coal” Kringle, The Nightmare before Kissmas

[a-quiet-journal]

“Tell me you’ve thought about me a fraction as often as I’ve thought about you, even just once.”

Nicholas “Coal” Kringle, The Nightmare before Kissmas

[a-quiet-journal]

“Expressing your feelings honestly isn’t wrong. It’s rare for someone to take offense at being told they are liked—on the contrary, it’s a blessing. So why is it so hard to take that step? Saying ‘I like you’ should be simple, but around each person’s heart there appears to be a massive wall. Not a physical barrier but an emotional one. When we interact with each other, we hold back because we don’t know what’s on the other side of the wall.

As humans, we are wired to fear the unknown, and this causes many to falter. But what really is behind that wall? It’s the emotions, feelings hidden and unseen, of the other, who may or may not reciprocate. If people could glimpse beyond each other’s fortress, and understand their emotions, perhaps, then, they might knock down their wall. Essentially, it is the fear of rejection that makes the wall, and heartbreak only makes it higher.”

- The Valentine; Before we forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“Everyone falls for someone at least once and feels that emotion called love. A first crush during adolescence, in particular, can be so pure and yet so fleeting. Looking back, it may not be entirely clear why you actually fell for that person. So, why do we fall in love?”

- The Valentine; Before we forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“Everyone will encounter a time when they’re unable to say ‘I love you.’ But what if you really could read someone’s mind? The fear of rejection would be a thing of the past. The biggest obstacle to confessing your love is not knowing what your romantic interest is feeling—it would take some kind of superpower. And feelings are fickle; they change daily. If the timing of a confession is even slightly off, the opportunity may be missed.”

The Valentine; Before we forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“With life comes many regretful actions that we can’t undo. Most of these come down to things we do or say in the heat of the moment. No amount of regret over past words and actions can heal the emotional wounds inflicted on someone unless that person’s feelings change.”

The Father; Before we forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“People’s hearts are forever changing. However firm one’s resolve might be, even the most trivial event can trigger doubt. And once a doubt has seen the light of day, it can be difficult to suppress, however hard one tries. It is as if a different version of oneself has suddenly emerged with opposite views from seconds earlier.”

The nameless child; Before we forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“In this world, there are countless situations where sound reasoning doesn’t necessarily lead to the right answer.”

The Son; Before we forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“Regret comes in two flavors: actions taken and opportunities missed.

The regret from doing something stems from either not being able to undo it, or the awful outcome, such as hurting someone with an insensitive comment, our feeling wretched after declaring one’s love.

The regret of not doing something, in contrast, relates to things left unsaid, or love never declared.”

The Son; Before we forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“There are many crossroads in life. All regrets stem from what happened at one moment we never imagined would happen to us. When our own action brings about an unexpected result, how can we not experience huge regret? After all, do we ever get another shot?”

The Farewell; Before we say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“Something I strongly believe is that we mustn’t allow the death of a person to be the cause of unhappiness. The reason for that is simple: if we let everyone who dies be a cause of unhappiness, that would mean people are being born to become unhappy. But the opposite in fact is true. People are always born for the sake of happiness.”

The Young Man; Before your memory fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“Inside every person is an inherent capability to make it through any kind of difficulty. Everyone has that energy. But sometimes when that energy flows via our anxiety valve, the flow can be restricted. The greater that anxiety, the greater the strength needed to open the valve and release the energy. That strength is empowered by hope. You could say that hope is the power to believe in the future.”

The Sisters; Before your memory fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

[a-quiet-journal]

“People’s true feelings are not in plain sight. The other person might not be thinking anything, but there is a tendency to just assume what the other is feeling without reaching out and asking.”

The Sisters; Before your memory fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi