Etty Hillesum

“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.”

“The soul has its own topography.”

“We have to be our own country.”

“That is what is so marvelous, that you can find a spot of eternity in any street corner.”

“I want to be the thinking heart of these barracks.”

“One must be a resting place for others.”

“One can also be a victorious victim.”

“What is at stake is our impending destruction and annihilation. We must be able to look that word in the face.”

“Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.”

“Each of us must turn inward and destroy in himself all that he thinks he ought to destroy in others.”

“And if God does not help me to go on, then I shall have to help God.”

“Despite everything, life is beautiful.”

“I am not afraid to look suffering straight in the eyes.”

“God is not accountable to us, but we are accountable to Him.”

“I draw prayer circles around my friends, and I am in my own prayer circle.”