Lines I Keep

A running collection of sentences, fragments, and phrases that I've encountered and refused to let go. Some are from books. Some from overheard conversations. Some from signs, menus, or graffiti. The sources don't matter. The staying power does.

• "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
• "You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep others warm."
• "All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story."
• "The cure for loneliness is solitude."
• "We accept the love we think we deserve."
• "I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness."
• "The only way out is through."
• "To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work."

I don't annotate these. The context in which I found them is less important than the context in which I remember them. Each line attaches itself to a different moment of my life.

This is not a commonplace book. It's more like a survival kit disguised as literature.