#childhood

The adult world may seem a cold and empty place, with no fairies and no Father Christmas, no Toyland or Narnia, no Happy Hunting Ground where mourned pets go, and no angels - guardian or garden variety. But there are also no devils, no hellfire, no wicked witches, no ghosts, no haunted houses, no daemonic possession, no bogeymen or ogres. Yes, Teddy and Dolly turn out not to be really alive. But there are warm, live, speaking, thinking, adult bedf ellows to hold, and many of us find it a more rewarding kind of love than the childish affection for stuffed toys, however soft and cuddly they may be. ↗

— Richard Dawkins

#childhood #reason #love

A Second Childhood.” When all my days are ending And I have no song to sing, I think that I shall not be too old To stare at everything; As I stared once at a nursery door Or a tall tree and a swing. Wherein God’s ponderous mercy hangs On all my sins and me, Because He does not take away The terror from the tree And stones still shine along the road That are and cannot be. Men grow too old for love, my love, Men grow too old for wine, But I shall not grow too old to see Unearthly daylight shine, Changing my chamber’s dust to snow Till I doubt if it be mine. Behold, the crowning mercies melt, The first surprises stay; And in my dross is dropped a gift For which I dare not pray: That a man grow used to grief and joy But not to night and day. Men grow too old for love, my love, Men grow too old for lies; But I shall not grow too old to see Enormous night arise, A cloud that is larger than the world And a monster made of eyes. Nor am I worthy to unloose The latchet of my shoe; Or shake the dust from off my feet Or the staff that bears me through On ground that is too good to last, Too solid to be true. Men grow too old to woo, my love, Men grow too old to wed; But I shall not grow too old to see Hung crazily overhead Incredible rafters when I wake And I find that I am not dead. A thrill of thunder in my hair: Though blackening clouds be plain, Still I am stung and startled By the first drop of the rain: Romance and pride and passion pass And these are what remain. Strange crawling carpets of the grass, Wide windows of the sky; So in this perilous grace of God With all my sins go I: And things grow new though I grow old, Though I grow old and die. ↗

— G.K. Chesterton

#death #joy #life #love #old

Vampires were myths, childhood stories– as were werewolves, mermaids and dragons. I believed none of it. ↗

— Ashley Madau

#dragon #dragons #mermaid-romance #mermaids #morningside

I had the standard movie geek childhood, because for as long as I can remember, all I wanted to do was make movies. ↗

— Paul Thomas Anderson

#childhood #geek #had #i #i can

One's age should be tranquil, as childhood should be playful. Hard work at either extremity of life seems out of place. At midday the sun may burn, and men labor under it; but the morning and evening should be alike calm and cheerful. ↗

— Thomas Arnold

#alike #burn #calm #cheerful #childhood

I had a wonderful childhood, which is tough because it's hard to adjust to a miserable adulthood. ↗

— Larry David

#adulthood #because #childhood #had #hard

I didn't have a good childhood because I never could get along with other kids. I was the child that sat in the corner eating lunch by herself. ↗

— Jolene Blalock

#because #child #childhood #corner #could

My whole career has been fulfilling my childhood fantasies, playing characters that are larger than life, getting to play a knight, an elf, a prince, and a soldier. ↗

— Orlando Bloom

#career #characters #childhood #elf #fantasies

The secret of the truly successful, I believe, is that they learned very early in life how not to be busy. They saw through that adage, repeated to me so often in childhood, that anything worth doing is worth doing well. ↗

— Barbara Ehrenreich

#anything #believe #busy #childhood #doing

But childhood prolonged, cannot remain a fairyland. It becomes a hell. ↗

— Louise Bogan

#cannot #childhood #hell #prolonged #remain