Absence Quotes - Page 20

• In the absence of evidence to the contrary, always assume you have the upper hand.

  Ronnie Montrose

  Hands, Upper Hand, Assuming

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• Racism is a system of power and in the absence of power you cannot be considered a racist.

  Sister Souljah

  Racism, Racist

  "We Are At War". Speech at Cheyney State University, www.blackpast.org. 1994.

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• Sin and grace, absence and presence, tragedy and comedy, they divide the world between them and where they meet head on, the Gospel happens.

  Frederick Buechner

  Christian, Religious, Grace

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• The Age of Reason has turned out to be the Age of Structure; a time when, in the absence of purpose, the drive for power as a value in itself has become the principal indicator of social approval. And the winning of power has become the measure of social merit.

  John Ralston Saul

  Winning, Power, Age

  John Ralston Saul (2013). “Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West”, p.16, Simon and Schuster

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• And it is strange that absence can feel like presence.

  Ally Condie

  Strange, Feels

  Ally Condie (2011). “Matched”, p.224, Penguin

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• The English language lacks the words 'to mourn an absence.' For the loss of a parent, grandparent, spouse, child or friend we have all manner of words and phrases, some helpful, some not. Still, we are conditioned to say something, even if it is only 'I am sorry for your loss.' But for an absence, for someone who was never there at all, we are wordless to capture that particular emptiness. For those who deeply want children and are denied them, those missing babies hover like silent, ephemeral shadows over their lives. Who can describe the feel of a tiny hand that is never held?

  Laura Bush

  Baby, Children, Sorry

  Laura Bush (2010). “Spoken from the Heart”, p.105, Simon and Schuster

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• I wish I could attribute the absence of any conventional Arab offensive in the last 20 years to a change of political climate or a willingness to abide by past accords. But unfortunately it is more likely that the Egyptians or Syrians concluded that the next time their tanks headed to Tel Aviv, there was nothing stopping the counterassaults from ending up in downtown Cairo or Damascus.

  Victor Davis Hanson

  Past, Years, Political

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• Dialogue cannot exist, however, in the absence of a profound love for the world and its people.

  Paulo Freire

  People, Profound, World

  Paulo Freire (2014). “Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition”, p.64, Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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• Real bliss is the absence
  of the wanting of bliss

  Ramesh S Balsekar

  Real, Bliss

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• No one can define or measure justice, democracy, security, freedom, truth, or love. No one can define or measure any value. But if no one speaks up for them, if systems aren’t designed to produce them, if we don’t speak about them and point toward their presence or absence, they will cease to exist.

  Donella Meadows

  Justice, Democracy, Speak

  Donella Meadows (2008). “Thinking in Systems: A Primer”, p.177, Chelsea Green Publishing

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• Too much of what led up to the crisis in the old bubble days—the conspicuous consumption, the latter-day Gatsbyism—was fueled by a need to fill a huge emotional and psychological void left by the absence of meaningful work. When people cease to find meaning in work, when work is boring, alienating, and dehumanizing, the only option becomes the urge to consume—to buy happiness off the shelf, a phenomenon we now know cannot suffice in the long term.

  Richard Florida

  Meaningful, Emotional, Long

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• Without feeling abashed by my ignorance, I confess that I am absolutely unable to say. In the absence of an appearance of learning, my answer has at least one merit, that of perfect sincerity.

  Jean-Henri Fabre

  Ignorance, Perfect, Feelings

  Jean-Henri Fabre (1911). “Souvenirs Entomologiques”, London : A. and C. Black

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• Courage isn't the absence of fear, but a decision that what we want is more important than what we are afraid of.

  Bill Crawford

  Decision, Important, Want

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• All wealth is relative; and so is its absence.

  Sybille Bedford

  Wealth, Relative

  Sybille Bedford (2016). “A Visit to Don Otavio: A Mexican Journey”, p.81, New York Review of Books

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• The greatest single cause of a poor self-image is the absence of unconditional love.

  Zig Ziglar

  Unconditional Love, Self, Causes

  FaceBook post by Zig Ziglar from Nov 08, 2014

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• Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one's self. It is not about the absence of other people -- it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others. Community does not necessarily mean living face-to-face with others; rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other. It is not about the presence of other people -- it is about being fully open to the reality of relationship, whether or not we are alone.

  Parker J. Palmer

  Mean, Reality, Self

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• In the [John F.] Kennedy case, I believe the absence of a conspiracy can be proved to a virtual certainty.

  Vincent Bugliosi

  Believe, Conspiracy, Cases

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• What we call doubt is often simply dullness of mind and spirit, not the absence of faith at all, but faith latent with the lives we are not quite living, God dormant in the world to which we are not quite giving our best selves.

  Christian Wiman

  Self, Giving, Doubt

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• The fruit of meditation is not the absence of thoughts, but the fact that thoughts cease to harm us. Once enemies, they become friends.

  Bokar Rinpoche

  Meditation, Enemy, Fruit

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• Courage, contrary to popular belief, is not the absence of fear. Courage is the wisdom to act in spite of fear.

  Peter McWilliams

  Courage, Fear, Belief

  Peter McWilliams (1997). “Do It!: Let's Get Off Our Buts”, Mary Book / Prelude Press

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• Formality Thus the absence of all mention of particular things or properties in logic or pure mathematics is a necessary result of the fact that this study is, as we say, "purely formal".

  Bertrand Russell

  Facts, Logic, Study

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• An absence of meaning opens a gap in time.

  Michel de Certeau

  Gaps

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• The fault I find with most American newspapers is not the absence of dissent. it is the absence of news. With a dozen or so honorable exceptions, most American newspapers carry very little news. Their main concern is advertising.

  I. F. Stone

  Liberty, News, Dozen

  I. F. Stone (2009). “The Best of I.F. Stone”, p.7, PublicAffairs

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• The 'peace' the gospel brings is never the absence of conflict, but an ineffable divine reassurance within the heart of conflict; a peace that surpasses understanding.

  Walter Wink

  Heart, Understanding, Conflict

  Walter Wink (2010). “The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium”, p.121, Harmony

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• This peace is not the absence of anything. Real peace is the presence of something beautiful. Both peace and the thirst for it have been in the heart of every human being in every century and every civilization.

  Prem Rawat

  Beautiful, Real, Heart

  Address to faculty, students and guests at Harvard University's Sanders Theater, August 2004.

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