Etty Hillesum quotes - page 2

That is probably the hardest thing a person can learn, as I so often find in others (and in myself as well in the past) to forgive one's own mistakes and lapses. (Etty Hillesum)
The sky is full of birds, the purple lupins stand up so regally and peacefully, two little old women have sat down on the box for a chat, the sun is shining on my face - and right before our eyes, mass murder. The whole thing is simply beyond comprehension. View quote
Etty Hillesum
And if God does not help me to go on, then I shall have to help God. - The surface of the earth is gradually turning into one great prison camp, and soon there will be nobody left outside. ... I don't fool myself about the real state of affairs, and I've even dropped the pretense that I'm out to help others. I shall merely try to help God as best I can, and if I succeed in doing that, then I shall be of use to others as well. But I mustn't have heroic illusions about that either. View quote
Etty Hillesum
Through me course wide rivers and in me rise tall mountains. And beyond the thickets of my agitation and confusion there stretch the wide plains of my peace and surrender. All landscapes are within me. And there is room for everything. The earth is in me, and the sky. And I well know that something like hell can also be in one, though I no longer experience it in myself, but I can still feel it in others with great intensity. And that is as it should be, or else I might grow too complacent. View quote
Etty Hillesum