Kaya McLaren Quotes & Sayings

People like to say that time heals all wounds, but I don't believe it. I remember once Grandpa took me firewood cutting, and as we looked at the rings of the tree together, he pointed out the years where there was drought and the years where there was fire. So while time allowed for new growth that hid the scars of the past, those scars were still there, inside the tree, and part of the tree. I think about how I am like that tree. — Kaya McLaren

He saw nothing but misfortune
human error and misfortune. It brought him the most peace to simply believe that people were imperfect, and life was imperfect, and sometimes bad things happened. — Kaya McLaren

You're going to stay here. You're going to get strong. And then, when your mind is as empty as your glass, you'll know what to do. — Kaya McLaren

So at the end of the day, here was what Mike was able to believe in: people.It was people and their kindness the made him feel blessed. It was people who were the heroes, and people who were generous, and people who comforted one another. — Kaya McLaren

Earth life is giant field day where we willingly choose the limitation of racing with both feet in a potato sack, or sometimes we join up with another and agree to the limitation of racing as a team where each person has one leg tied to the leg of the other ... Agreeing to run a race with limitations or live a life with limitations doesn't mean you're slow, clumsy, or unenlightened. It just means you're showing up on field day, participating, and if you're really good, you try your best despite the obstacles. — Kaya McLaren

Most people think love comes from the heart or soul. The heart simply pumps blood, so love can't be created there. Where is the center for what appears to be a person's soul? The Brain. And what is created there, Jilly? That's right
dopamine. What does dopamine do? Creates feelings of love and euphoria. How do we get our brains to create more? Drugs, massage, and/or sex. Boil it down and it's all just dopamine. — Kaya McLaren

Women who got married got screwed. — Kaya McLaren

She and Lisa always called that kind of snow heroic, because a person could do no wrong in it. Everyone skied like a hero in that kind of snow. — Kaya McLaren

What they all knew was this: Life was fragile. — Kaya McLaren

What was it, she wondered, that made some people give up and others fight harder? Where was her fight? She was out. — Kaya McLaren

Sometimes you just wait for the night to be over and endure. — Kaya McLaren

What a tricky balance of safety and risk it is that brings out the best in us? — Kaya McLaren

Go spend time with the aspen trees. They'll tell you how it works. They'll tell you to look to your roots for energy. They'll tell you there's warmth below the surface. — Kaya McLaren

When someone you love dies, it's normal to lose your faith. I don't want you to lose yours. I want you to believe that there is a bigger force than you in this world, a loving and compassionate force. I want you to believe that your life has meaning and your existence has purpose. And when life is hard, I want you to believe that you'll be given strength to endure it, and that it will get better. I want you to have the peace in your heart you can only have when you believe there is a reason for everything, even if you cannot see it. — Kaya McLaren

So the real question remains whether every problem is worth fixing. The answer to that is no. — Kaya McLaren

It brought him the most peace to simply believe that people were imperfect, and life was imperfect and sometimes bad things just happened. — Kaya McLaren

It made no sense to him, this idea that some people got God and some people didn't. — Kaya McLaren

But maybe her marriage wasn't a Lexus. Maybe it was a Pinto
one of those cars famous for blowing up when rear-ended. As she waited for the mechanics to fix her car, she walked out the back door to the wrecking yard and through the aisles of totaled cars and pickups, vehicles that other people had decided weren't worth fixing. She felt just like them. She felt like that Buick with the driver's-side door so crushed that the driver was undoubtedly hurt, but from the look of the other side, the passenger likely skated through unscathed. She felt like the Saturn with the shattered windshield through which no one could see what lay ahead. It looked as if it had been sandwiched in a multicar pileup. Jill knew exactly how it felt to crash into one thing and then get smashed from behind. She studied that Saturn and wondered whether it would have been salvageable if it had only been rear-ended instead of sandwiched, and she wondered if the same was true about her marriage. — Kaya McLaren

Miracles were just second chances if you really thought about it
second chances when all hope was lost. — Kaya McLaren

Here's what Mike knew about kids: They did stupid stuff. Pretty much all of them. — Kaya McLaren

If you ever start thinking that any of them are developmentally more mature than a high school boy, just remember they named their dogs after beer. — Kaya McLaren

It struck her hard how it was often the ordinary acts that were angelic. Maybe there were angels in the sky and maybe there weren't. Maybe angels helped arrange for Tom to be the one to drive along right at that moment. She didn't know. But what she did know was that there were angels on the ground. She did know that Tom stopped the car, got out, and buried the kid's dead cat. He didn't have to, but he did. It was a small act, but it was huge. And that made Tom an angel to her, one no less divine than any angels that might be in the sky. — Kaya McLaren

We can fix that. We can fix anything. So the real question remains whether every problem is worth fixing. — Kaya McLaren

If you can, judge less and observe more. — Kaya McLaren

There is no grief more devastating than the grief for what could have been. — Kaya McLaren