"We do not see things as they are…We see things as we are." — Anaïs Nin

"Write like an orphan. A writer, especially a writer of nonfiction, cannot constantly be worrying that her mother might read about her having sex, or that her father might judge her decisions. She must forget about what her parents, or anybody else, will make of her work." — Joyce Maynard

"The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea." — Vladimir Nabokov

"Every heart
sings a song,
incomplete,
until another heart
whispers back.
Those who wish
to sing
always find a song.
At the touch of a lover,
everyone becomes a poet.” — Plato

“The fun of talk is to explore, but much of it and all that is irresponsible should not be written.” — Ernest Hemingway

Not sure if he means conversation generally or prose dialogue in particular, but I could write better were I to remember this.

"Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you." — unknown