Superficial Quotes

“I was tired of pretending that I was someone else just to get along with people, just for the sake of having friendships.”
― Kurt Cobain

“I often stood in front of the mirror alone, wondering how ugly a person could get.”
― Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye

“I have been finding treasures in places I did not want to search. I have been hearing wisdom from tongues I did not want to listen. I have been finding beauty where I did not want to look. And I have learned so much from journeys I did not want to take. Forgive me, O Gracious One; for I have been closing my ears and eyes for too long. I have learned that miracles are only called miracles because they are often witnessed by only those who can can see through all of life's illusions. I am ready to see what really exists on other side, what exists behind the blinds, and taste all the ugly fruit instead of all that looks right, plump and ripe.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“COMING FORTH INTO THE LIGHT

I was born the day
I thought:
What is?
What was?
And
What if?

I was transformed the day
My ego shattered,
And all the superficial, material
Things that mattered
To me before,
Suddenly ceased
To matter.

I really came into being
The day I no longer cared about
What the world thought of me,
Only on my thoughts for
Changing the world.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“The desert and the ocean are realms of desolation on the surface.

The desert is a place of bones, where the innards are turned out, to desiccate into dust.

The ocean is a place of skin, rich outer membranes hiding thick juicy insides, laden with the soup of being.

Inside out and outside in. These are worlds of things that implode or explode, and the only catalyst that determines the direction of eco-movement is the balance of water.

Both worlds are deceptive, dangerous. Both, seething with hidden life.

The only veil that stands between perception of what is underneath the desolate surface is your courage.

Dare to breach the surface and sink.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

“People say sometimes that Beauty is superficial. That may be so. But at least it is not so superficial as Thought is. To me, Beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

“There is nothing wrong with the love of Beauty. But Beauty -unless she is wed to something more meaningful -is always superficial”
― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

“People care much more for how things look than how things are.”
― Donna Lynn Hope

“A woman who holds her head up too high, is trying to breathe from her own pollution.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“True beauty is measured by the number of pearls within you, not those around your neck.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“Anya looked upon Nin admirably. Having him as a partner-in-crime—if only on this one occasion, which she hoped would only be the start of something more—was more revitalizing than the cheap thrills of a cookie-cutter shallow, superficial romance, where the top priority was how beautiful a person was on the outside.”
― Jess C Scott, The Other Side of Life

“For the longest time I couldn't understand the meaning of the cliche "being compatible" - whether about a lover, colleague, team mate or friend. I now get it. There is so much more behind this superficial nauseatingly-pragmatic diplomatic phrase -- it goes deep down to the true essence of someone, how they see the world, how they see and position themselves, how prepared/capable they are to back you, whether they can understand who you are and if they are prepared to break walls for you. Anything else is details.”
― Iveta Cherneva

“I was transformed the day
My ego shattered,
And all the superficial, material
Things that mattered
To me before,
Suddenly ceased
To matter.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“When we generalize and judge people quickly without taking ample time, we've chosen a shortcut. It's superficial of us, and a lack of wisdom.”
― Assegid Habtewold, The 9 Cardinal Building Blocks: For continued success in leadership

“Gloating is a superficial glowing, floating is an idle flowing, and bloatedness is the paralysis of blowing up; because silent movement results in loud victories.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“Often, the best gifts we would ever receive in life are wrapped in the worst packages.”
― Khayri R.R. Woulfe

“The slow coercion of hypocrisy, of traditions in our culture that have a levelling effect - these things change us. We crave excitement, hair-raising stories, sensation. We search for situations that create superficial fear to cover up inner anxieties. We like to escape into the irrational because we dislike the challence of self-study and self-thinking.”
― Joost A.M. Meerloo, The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing

“Since I’ve been living in the forest I don’t notice myself getting older. There’s nobody there to draw my attention to it, after all. Nobody tells me how I look, and I never give it a thought myself.”
― Marlen Haushofer, The Wall

“I wouldn't say I'm superficial, just averagely ficial.”
― Jarod Kintz, There are Two Typos of People in This World: Those Who Can Edit and Those Who Can't

“Así desapareció un ser humano a quien nadie defendió, a quien nadie había querido, por quien nadie se interesó… Fue un ser que soportó humildemente las burlas de sus colegas y que bajó a la tumba sin haber realizado nada extraordinario.”
― Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat

“She sat there, a wild heart on a chair with gin lips and nightlife eyes. The Gatsby Girl. Longing for more in the shallowness of it all.”
― Marie-Kristin Hofmann, Remember the wild girl

“The physical sciences focus on reality’s shiny, superficial veneer, the materiality of which can be easily measured and observed.”
― Debra Gavant, POST QUANTUM REALITY: Simple Answers to the Toughest Questions in Science and Religion

“A lot of people are all foliage and no fruit. And because they are, it might be a really beautiful orchard but we’re going to starve anyway.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Ever failing” comments will catch you off guard, causing you to be a follower and not a leader. “Ever failing” will influence you to make the wrong decisions, cause your day to become clouded, and before long, it will steal away your value as an employee, as a leader, and your position in life.”
― John M. Sheehan

“If my vision comes to a halt at the surface of a thing, I have missed the whole of the thing.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“There are leaders who go by the name of "rabbi" but whose learning has been picked up from the "superficialities" and "waste" of Torah. They are unable to control even themselves, let alone other people. But they still have pretensions to greatness and seek to lead and guide the whole world. You should be very careful not to accord them any recognition whatsoever, so as to not add in any way to their power or authority. They themselves can be forgiven for what they do: they are no more than victims of a strong lust for power. The people who give them credibility and power and who are prepared to accord them the title "rabbi" will have a heavy penalty to pay (LM I, 61:2).”
― Rebbe Nachman, Advice - Likutey Etzot

“What’s the definition of pathetic: overhearing the conversation of two plastic beauties (absolutely consumed with their image) and encountering the vacuum that exists between the ears of these people.”
― David Sinclair, Locusts, Hollywood, and the Valley of Ashes: Individualism Versus Collectivism

“they are notoriously difficult to understand, which is why they are respected more than they are actually studied”
― David R. Loy, Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution

“Vanity came second to survival.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“The world at the bottom of any tree is entirely different than the bustling world playing itself out in the grand expanse of its canopy. Therefore, to never climb a tree is to identify the trunk as the tree.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough