337 Quotes by Banana Yoshimoto

Sometimes people put up walls, not to keep others out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.

This world of ours is piled high with farewells and goodbyes of so many different kinds, like the evening sky renewing itself again and again from one instant to the next-and I didn’t want to forget a single one.

I wonder what it felt to move to a country where you didn’t grow up. I had thought about that often since my sister got married. Do you become a character in a story native to that land, or do you, somewhere in your heart, want to return to your homeland.

As I grow older, much older, I will experience many things, and I will hit rock bottom again and again. Again and again I will suffer; again and again I will get back on my feet. I will not be defeated. I won’t let my spirit be destroyed.

I held the feeling in my heart; the urge to discuss it died out. There was all the time in the world. In the endless repetition of other nights, other mornings, this moment, too, might become a dream.

It’s only natural, when two separate universes touch.

My way of looking at the world is so nearsighted. If no one said anything, I’d probably just live like I do now year in and year out, and feel complacent about everything around me. Plus, I don’t see that many people. Something is definitely missing – I don’t know what, maybe compassion for people who are suffering, a sense of adventure, interest in other people...

It didn’t matter whether he was nearby or far away. His image would drift up into your mind just when you least expected it, shocking you, making your chest pound. Making your heart ache.

Just being myself made me terribly sad.