Quotes Tagged "city-life"

One need never leave the confines of New York to get all the greenery one wishes--I can't even enjoy a blade of grass unless I know there's a subway handy, or a record store or some other sign that people do not totally regret life.

I hear nothing but the hustle and bustle of the city. Cars with flashing lights zip past me. People talk, some loud, some quiet. I whisper to myself. “This is what it’s like to go unnoticed.” I take in a deep breath and inhale the freezing air. It smells like ice here. Ice and cigarettes.

[Poem: Slates of Grey] Sullen faces like slates of grey— What I’d seen on a walk today. Bodies rushing bodies bolting Time for life a disregarding. Money to make and to grow old What about the hands to hold? Deadlines, projects, people to meet What about our own two feet. Sullen faces like slates of grey... What I’d see most anyday.

When gangs took over the [abandoned public land in Philadelphia] and the neighborhood took a turn for the worse, horses became a way of saving lives. By getting boys interested in raising a horse rather than killing another human being, these cowboys gave the youth something positive: father figures, focus, and the ability to stand tall.

It’s all about having the heart … to leave the city and its false glitter for home if you’ve tried long enough and still can’t make it. I would be a big liar to tell you it’s easy to survive after having left home for years. You’re almost like a child when you return – you are starting from the scratch. But you have to behave like a child too if you’re ready to survive; be ever eager to learn. Get ready to take insults from every village rats set to eat your yams of respect and pride. Toe the line till you settle down properly and begin to understand the ways of the people back home. People would laugh at you at first but when your conditions start improving, everyone would laugh with you. Don’t forget the saying of our people: the same mouth that speaks of evil is the same mouth that speaks of good. It’s the heart to go back not minding the years that have been wasted. That is the secret.

আরম্ভের গান হ্যাঁ তোমাকে অনুমতি দেয়া হল তুমি যাও হ্যাঁ তুমি জ্যোতির্ময় গরিমা দেয়া হল হলে অকাট্য তুমি যেমন তুমি তেমন দাঁড়িয়ে তোমার মতন হাঁটো হ্যাঁ তোমাকে ক্ষমা করা হল তোমাকে ভালোবাসা হল আর আলিঙ্গন করা হল হ্যাঁ তোমাকে বলে হবে অসাধারণ যেমন ভাবে দাঁড়িয়ে থাকবে আর সহজ ভাবে বসে থাকবে হ্যাঁ তুমি আরম্ভ করো এইভাবে একটা ছোটো পদক্ষেপ এই পদক্ষেপ দোনামনা বিস্ময়কর যেমন পর্ণ ফার্ন গাছের বাতাসে তারপর কোমল আগাছা আরেক পদক্ষেপ যতোক্ষণ না শ্যাওলা আর তারপর হ্যাঁ তুমি ওখানে বৃষ্টিতে দৌড়োচ্ছো আলোর হাওয়া পাতাগুলো সবই মুখগুলো শেষ পর্যন্ত বন্ধুদের ও হ্যাঁ হ্যাঁ তোমায় দেখতে এতো সুন্দর যে তুমি হাঁটছো যেমন দৌড়োও ওড়ো ভেতরে আসো না বাতাস পাতাগুলো জ্যোতির্ময় সূর্য আর তোমার মুখ ও শোনো সবই হ্যাঁ শেষ পর্যন্ত

Everything in modern city life is calculated to keep man from entering into himself and thinking about spiritual things. Even with the best of intentions a spiritual man finds himself exhausted and deadened and debased by the constant noise of machines and loudspeakers, the dead air and the glaring lights of offices and shops, the everlasting suggestion of advertising and propaganda. The whole mechanism of modern life is geared for a flight from God and from the spirit into the wilderness of neurosis.

If possible, it is best to have a balance between the civilisation of city life and the solitude of country living. Too much solitude and we can become isolated and lose the benefit of human culture, progress, and communication. Too much urban life and we lose our spiritual essence and our fundamental native homeostasis. Many people instinctively withdraw to the country or the seaside when they feel the noise of city life is drowning out the quiet, inner voice of peace. The country does what the city cannot. It quietens the mind and brings simplicity into one’s life. The city does what the country cannot. It enlivens the mind and brings culture into one’s life. We try to engage with both and benefit from the well-roundedness of a complete experience of all that life has to offer.