#akin

And though she could scarcely even feel them, her lips formed the words, and sound emerged, sounding frayed, and small and cracked, forged in her somehow before she was born, since before time, words meant only for him. “I love you.” Three of the most powerful words in the world offered to one of the most powerful men in London in such a small voice. And at first she thought nothing at all had happened. He didn’t blink. But then she realized she’d somehow set him . . . softly ablaze. Emotion burned from him, and his eyes . . . she would never forget his eyes in this moment. His hands remained at his sides. Which is when she noticed they were trembling. God help her, that’s when she felt tears begin to burn at the back of her eyes. One got away. And she brushed her hand roughly against it. And the man who never cleared his throat . . . cleared his throat. And his voice, in truth, wasn’t a good deal louder than hers. “Then it’s just as well that I love you, Genevieve. ↗

— Julie Anne Long

#beauty

There is nothing that is not beautiful about bread. The way it grows, from tiny grains, from bowls on the counter, from yeast blooming in a measuring cup like swampy islands. The way it fills a room, a house, a building, with its inimitable smells, submits to a firmly applied fist and contracts, swells again; the way it stretches and expands upon kneading, the warm, supple feel of it against skin. The sight of a warm roll on a table, the taste-sweet, sour, yeasty on the tongue. ↗

— Eleanor Brown

#beauty

If we can find short-term incentives that are consistent with our long-term objectives, it is much easier to make the right decisions in the moment. ↗

— Tom Rath

#decision-making #business

Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man. ↗

— George G. Simpson

#dogmatic #exhibited #important #man #material

...go in the direction your head is pointed in. ↗

— Jung Chang

#change

After what could have been an eternity or a few seconds, Cade whispered, "Pain changes us. Mine made me want to be perfect, so that no one would ever want to leave me again ↗

— Cora Carmack

#faking-it #change

If breaking a habit has been hard for you to do, hard for you even to face, then a helping hand is in order. ↗

— Kenneth Schwarz

#breaking-a-habit #breaking-bad-habits #change-a-bad-habit #change-bad-habits #habit

A writer is one who communicates ideas and emotions people want to communicate but aren't quite sure how, or even if, they should communicate them. ↗

— Criss Jami

#articulation #communication #controversy #disapproval #emotions

Mouths are longer than they are wide, to ensure words don’t come out sideways. Even the word “sideways” comes out straight.
 ↗

— Jarod Kintz

#mouth #mouths #speaking #talking #words

Do you want me to sing to you? I'll sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away. ↗

— Stephenie Meyer

#cullen #edward #stephenie-meyer #dreams