Yann Martel on boredom
Yann Martel32 quotes“The worst pair of opposites is boredom and terror. Sometimes your life is a pendulum swing from one to the other.”
More from Yann Martel
I felt I was beating a rainbow to death
Yann MartelYann Martel I am not a particularly natural writer. I am not a person who can write in paragraphs the way some writers do. For me, it’s sentence by sentence, sometimes word-by-word. And I revise constantly. It’s a very laborious process, but I love doing it.
Yann MartelYann Martel You may not believe in life, but I don’t believe in death. Move on!
Yann MartelYann Martel I would like to add a third, to wit, the rapid and direct approch of a known killer
Yann MartelYann Martel Misery loves company, and madness calls it forth.
Yann MartelYann Martel At moments of wonder, it is easy to avoid small thinking, to entertain thoughts that span the universe, that capture both thunder and tinkle, thick and thin, the near and the far.
Yann MartelYann Martel I am reminded of a story of Lord Krishna when he was a cowherd. Every night he invites the milkmaids to dance with him in the forest. They come and they dance. The night is dark, the fire in their midst roars and crackles, the beat of the music gets ever faster.
Yann MartelYann Martel Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love – but sometimes it was so hard to love.
Yann MartelYann Martel I chose the name Pi because it’s an irrational number (one with no discernable pattern). Yet scientists use this irrational number to come to a “rational” understanding of the universe. To me, religion is a bit like that, “irrational” yet with it we come together we come to a sound understanding of the universe.
Yann MartelYann Martel I go to mass every Sunday, but love going to mosques too. Muslims pray in a beautiful way.
Yann MartelYann Martel He’s a shy man. Life has taught him not to show off what is most precious to him.
Yann MartelYann Martel To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures who people the tree of your life and give it new branches.
Yann MartelYann Martel Religion is just an alternate way of reading reality – you read material reality, and then you add on an extra layer of religiosity that deepens that understanding of reality. Some countries have lost that capacity, or dismissed it or marginalized it.
Yann MartelYann Martel I have read that there are two fears that cannot be trained out of us: the startle reaction upon hearing an unexpected noise, and vertigo.
Yann MartelYann Martel We commonly say in the trade that the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man.
Yann MartelYann Martel When you’ve suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling.
Yann MartelYann Martel
Original quotes
From our community writers
I managed to cut myself loose and while there was pain – there weren’t any blood.
Jenny WinbladhJenny Winbladh Free will exist only in a confused mind.
Frode GaslandFrode Gasland If you are true to yourself, you are already a winner.
Alex DanielAlex Daniel You deserve words that remind you of your value.
Saif Ali ManganSaif Ali Mangan Do always wonder about your worth and remind yourself that even roses have their own thorns.
Megan LaoMegan Lao I’m like sugar in the coffee. Stir me and I’ll dissolve into you.
BelaBela Plans have changed. Life looks different. & now we’re all figuring it out as we go.
Tanya GillTanya Gill Be loyal to those loyal to you.
Sonya TeclaiSonya Teclai
Meet the writers
More on boredom
The one unforgivable sin is to be boring.
Christopher HitchensChristopher Hitchens I tell you, the paparazzi would not be sitting outside if they realized I was the most boring person in Hollywood.
Victoria BeckhamVictoria Beckham You need to let little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you.
Andy WarholAndy Warhol Some people think, if you’re in the public eye, that you have to have an answer for everything and it has to be boring.
Katherine HeiglKatherine Heigl People are always so boring when they band together. You have to be alone to develop all the idiosyncrasies that make a person interesting.
Andy WarholAndy Warhol I’m a slave to my emotions, to my likes, to my hatred of boredom, to most of my desires.
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald If investing is entertaining, if you’re having fun, you’re probably not making any money. Good investing is boring.
George SorosGeorge Soros I never really studied business in school. I kind of wish I had, but how boring is that?
Mick JaggerMick Jagger
