Ryan Winfield Quotes & Sayings

We should trust people to be exactly what they have proven themselves to be, no more and no less. — Ryan Winfield

Caterpillar dun' become butterfly-caterpillar die so butterfly can be. A new thing. We all must let ourselves die to be what we will be. But we cling to what we know. — Ryan Winfield

Hey, Jimmy."
"Yeah."
"You ever think about how long we're going to live?"
"No," he says. "Not really."
"Well, why not?"
"I dunno. Guess I'm too busy livin' it to think about it. — Ryan Winfield

I forgive him and like water draining from the sand after a wave, the power he held over me disappears. A slow smile rises on my face. — Ryan Winfield

You know what 'fine' stands for, don't you?" When Jane didn't respond, Grace answered for her. "It stands for Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional. — Ryan Winfield

What is it that makes every man stare into a fire, I wonder. Does each see the same thing? — Ryan Winfield

I love you."
The words come out almost in a panic, as if there's no time. As if he's about to walk into Eden again, and I've got to say it before he disappears behind the door.
"I love you too."
Jimmy' response startles me back to the room, the tobacco tin forgotten in my hand. I close it and set it on the counter, afraid of whatever drug it is inside that has me hallucinating.
"I must be losing my mind," I say, shaking my head. "I thought I just heard you say that you loved me."
"I did," Jimmy replies.
"You did?"
"Of course. You said it to me first. It woulda been rude to leave ya hangin' there, wouldn't it? — Ryan Winfield

Yes, the worst parasites. We reproduce with no internal limitations. We consume and destroy and make war. We have no predator except ourselves, and left unchecked we destroy ourselves every time. And we destroy the planet along with us. Humankind is the thing that must be contained. Man must be checked. We were nature's mistake - the only species worth extinction is our very own. — Ryan Winfield

I remember reading somewhere that you have to learn to love yourself before you can love someone else. But I don't think it's true. I think you have to learn to forget yourself before you can love someone else. At least I seem to forget about myself when I'm with you. — Ryan Winfield

You can say no if you dun' wanna do it," he finally says, "but I was thinkin' maybe you could teach me to read."
"Shit, Jimmy, I just gave away my reading slate to Bill."
"I know it," he says, "but I didn't wanna read none of that stuff anyhow."
"Then what did you want to read?"
"I wanna read those poems you said you might write."
I can't help but smile so wide my cheeks hurt.
"Okay, Jimmy. I'm going to write you a poem for your birthday, and then I'm going to teach you how to read it. — Ryan Winfield

You know why God's so hard to find, Trevor? No, Mr. Shaw, I say, why is God so hard to find? God's so hard to find because he ain't lost! — Ryan Winfield

Okay. I don't know if I have the right words, but love is this feeling I get when I look at you. A feeling that as long as you're near me, or in the world even, then everything will be okay. That everything has meaning. It's as if the world was all shades of sepia - like an old movie reel - and that everywhere I looked I saw suffering and pain. Then I heard your voice, I saw your face, and somehow the color came into everything. — Ryan Winfield

I meant it," he says.
"You meant what?"
"What I said in your apartment."
"You did?"
He nods.
We drop our cloths on the ground and hug each other. The path and the mountains and the entire world seem to slip away beneath us until only he and I remain. Then the sun rises over the peaks and warms my naked back. Of all the birthday gifts ever given in the history of the world, I can't imagine one better than an embrace like this from your best friend. — Ryan Winfield

Perhaps not all spirits are meant for this world, but they pass through anyway and change for the better those which are. — Ryan Winfield

Death is just the moment that your hourglass runs out of sand. That's it. It happens to everyone eventually. All any of us gets to decide is where the sand falls. — Ryan Winfield

Leaves will fall, cold will creep in
A circle of life that ends where it begins
It may take a thousand years and a thousand poems penned
But my hair will someday gray and my back will bend
Then my shadow will join my body in the earth once again.
I know not the way, or even the when
Or who chooses that day we're called away to ascend
But you bathed me in your bravery and forgave me my sins
You made a home in your heart for mine to live in
And in return, my friend, this poem is my oath that a river of love will run through it until the very end. — Ryan Winfield

Mistakes can be very beautiful. Mistakes lead to surprises. Even joy. And joy makes life worth living. — Ryan Winfield

I don't see books. I see doors into other worlds. Windows into minds. The life of man spinning beyond time. — Ryan Winfield

Don't you let fear have a place in your life, J. Not even a tiny place. Get rid of it from every hidden corner. Chase it away with the truth, and do what you want to do while you can. — Ryan Winfield

I don't know if you're being smart or not, but I know that being smart doesn't always lead to being happy. And I'd rather be happy than anything else — Ryan Winfield

I remember in treatment, Mr. Shaw told me that the alcohol and drugs never were my problem. He said the alcohol and drugs were my solution and that was my problem. And he was right. — Ryan Winfield

Love is life and life is good — Ryan Winfield

You are not defined by whoever happened to give you your DNA, Son. You're defined by your choices. And the choices you make are yours. All yours. — Ryan Winfield