As if to build a fence around the fatal emptiness inside her, she had to create a sunny person that she became. But if you peeled away the ornamental egos that she had built, there was only an abyss of nothingness and the intense thirst that came with it. Though she tried to forget it, the nothingness would visit her periodically - on a lonely rainy afternoon, or at dawn when she woke up from a nightmare. What she needed at such times was to be held by someone, anyone.
— Haruki Murakami, 1Q84 (via llibre)

(Source: kolatea4me, via teachingliteracy)

Because I knew what I loved. I loved to read; I loved to listen to music; and I love cats. Those three things. So, even though I was an only kid, I could be happy because I knew what I loved. Those three things haven’t changed from my childhood. I know what I love, still, now. That’s a confidence. If you don’t know what you love, you are lost.
— Haruki Murakami (via paperlover)

(Source: thebronzemedal, via paperlover)

Closing your eyes isn’t going to change anything. Nothing’s going to disappear just because you can’t see what’s going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That’s the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won’t make time stand still.
—  Haruki Murakami (via fabula)

(Source: slekes, via teachingliteracy)

Hatred is a long, dark shadow. Not even the person it falls upon knows where it comes from, in most cases. It is like a two-edged sword. When you cut the other person, the more violently you hack at yourself. It can often be fatal. But it is not easy to dispose of…it is very dangerous. Once it has taken root in your heart, hatred is the most difficult thing in the world to shake off.
— Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle