Rarely, we are fortunate enough to come across writers that change our lives. Writers that show us the power of words. Writers who remind us why writing matters. Writers who are able to inspire us. For me, Najwa Zebian was one of those writers. Her writing has moved me in ways that I didn’t know were possible, and has given me lessons I could never forget.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from her book Mind Platter:

1.

“Respect the freedom that you were born with but that you’ve
denied yourself. Break free from the power that power has
over you and believe in your own beliefs.”

2.

"For them to see you shine, you must stay far away, for you
are just like the sun; when you’re too close, your light makes
them blind. And when you’re too far, they see you. So let
them seek you. They’re getting your light regardless, but
appreciating your presence is different from recognizing your
existence. If they don’t appreciate your presence, they may
never even recognize your absence.”

3.

“Your heart is precious, so take care of it. It may be able to
forgive unconditionally, but don’t exhaust it by surrounding
yourself with those who constantly do you wrong. It may
have an infinite capacity for patience, but don’t exhaust it by
surrounding yourself with those who don’t value your time.”

4.

“Don’t break a bird’s wing and then tell it to fly. Don’t break
a heart and then tell it to love. Don’t break a soul and then
tell it to be happy. Don’t see the worst in a person and expect
them to see the best in you. Don’t judge people and expect
them to stand by your side. Don’t play with fire and expect to
stay perfectly safe.”

5.

“Beautiful hearts are hard to find, and to reward them when
we do find them, we convince ourselves that they’re too good
for us. What a reward. Instead of holding onto them, we pull
ourselves away. We push them away. We forget that the
beauty of their hearts comes from their ability to love and
from their willingness to liberate those whose hearts have
caged themselves in the past.”

6.

“I can point you towards the sky, but I can’t make you reach
for the stars. I can show you the moon, but I can’t make you
feel its beauty or appreciate its light. I can show you the
pathways that you can take, but I can’t make you wall down
them. I can extend by hand to help you, but I can’t make you
hold it back. I can tell you the truth, but I can’t make you
believe it. I can tell you how I feel, but I can’t make you care.”

7.

“Hold on to those whom you love very tightly. Love them
back, respect them, cherish every moment you spend with
them, and make them smile. Do not let a stressful day get in
the way of spending the right time the right way on the right
people. It’s a balance that you can and must strike to make
every day worth living. Don’t let the day come when you will
regret not doing this. Life passes by as fast as the sun sets and
as fast as the night turns into day. Don’t let life pass you by.
Fill it with the love that you have in your heart and it will
bounce right back.”

8.

“When you don’t get what you want, you quickly assume that
it’s because you don’t deserve it or because you are not
worthy enough to get it. But have you ever thought that it
could be because it doesn’t deserve you or because it is not
worth of you? The truth is that we always give ourselves less
credit than we deserve. And sometimes, many times, we live
in denial of what we really deserve, so we settle for what is
less. There is a power much higher than us, much wiser than
us, that is willing to crush our feelings sometimes so that it can
open our eyes to the strength that we have inside and to the
reality of what we truly deserve.”

9.

“If you think my silence has no meaning, think twice. Think,
and you will realize the strength I hold back my words with.
The most universal language is that of silence. We all use it,
but it is the most misunderstood. It is the most powerful. It is
the only language that we all express yet each have our own
unique way of expressing. Go for those who understand your
own silence no matter what you coat it with. Go for those
who are aware of the existence of a meaning behind your
silence, one that is deeper than what any words can rightfully
express. After all, if they don’t understand your silence, they
will never understand your words.”

10.

“If you think that education only takes place in an institution,
think again. As long as you breathe, your mind, your heart,
and your soul are seeking knowledge, so respond to them and
nurture their needs. Ask questions and keep your life
dynamic. Knowledge is not necessarily confined to a specific
subject area. Knowledge is what drives your life and makes it
meaningful. So, unless the institution you’re referring to is the
institution of life, education does not confine itself to the
limits of any institution. It extends its wings into every aspect
of your life. So, what are you waiting for? Start flying.”