Najwa Zebian is a Lebanese-Canadian poet, author, teacher, speaker, and currently pursuing her doctoral degree in educational leadership. She writes to give a voice to the silenced spirits out there. Zebian’s poetry has traversed everywhere throughout the world, resonating with individuals from all walks of life. Drawing on her own experiences of displacement, discrimination, and abuse, Najwa uses her words to encourage others to build a home within themselves; to live, love, and create fearlessly. May her quotes inspire you to be the best that you can possibly be so that you may live your dreams.
1. “For them to see you shine, you must stay far away, for you are just like the sun, when you are too close, you light makes them blind. And when you are too far, they seek you. So let them seek you. “Najwa Zebian
2. “Life is about giving and taking. You cannot expect to give bad and receive good. You cannot expect to give good and receive bad. Does it happen? Yes, but don’t make that an excuse for you to keep doing what you know is wrong. ” Najwa Zebian
3. “Being a leader is about leading your own mind’s logic and leading your heart’s reason. Be cognizant of the decisions that your mind and heart make, and your life will be much more meaningful and rewarding.” Najwa Zebian
4. “Don’t blame life for what you do. That is so selfish and ignorant on your behalf.” Najwa Zebian
5. “Never wish them pain. That’s not who you are. If they caused you pain, they must have pain inside. Wish them healing. That’s what they need.”Najwa Zebian
6. “Letting go does not mean that you are giving up or that you are weak. It could just mean that you are no longer allowing what hurts you to control you.” Najwa Zebian
7. “If you love someone, you love them. You don’t allow your pride to stop you from expressing your love to them.” Najwa Zebian
8. “You don’t need to explain why you’re protecting your soul from harm. You really don’t.” Najwa Zebian
9. “Do you know what it feels like to be wounded and told that you caused the wound to yourself by choosing to be where the harm landed?” Najwa Zebian
10. “These mountains you were carrying, you were only supposed to climb.” Najwa Zebian
11. “Stop dwelling in the past. No, you could not have known better. No, you would not do things differently if you went back. No, they would not have treated you differently if you had acted, looked, or cared differently. They are who they are regardless of who you are.” Najwa Zebian
12. “Your opinion of me does not equal my self-worth.” Najwa Zebian
13. “You can draw a path for your life and have all of your goals set. You can change yourself as much as possible and change things around you just to reach those goals.” Najwa Zebian
14. “The reality you live in is partially up to you. The fantasy you live in is entirely up to you.” Najwa Zebian
15. “You may be a disaster for a day, a month, or a year. Just don’t be a disaster forever.” Najwa Zebian
16. “Life is not fair, but we can choose to be fair humans even if life or other humans choose to be unfair to us.” Najwa Zebian
17. “If you gave them once the love that they did not deserve, they will come back for more.” Najwa Zebian
18. “We base our happiness on events that may happen in the future: If this happens, I will be truly happy. What about now? What about all of the things happening in your life now? Are they really not good? Or just not good enough? Reflect, reflect, reflect. Don’t be quick to judge how regretful or amazing your past was, how good or bad your present is, or how great your future will be. Be content with now. Anticipate a better, rather than anticipating a good.” Najwa Zebian
19. “To the heart in you, don’t be afraid to feel. To the sun in you, don’t be afraid to shine. To the love in you, don’t be afraid to heal. To the ocean in you, don’t be afraid to rage. To the silence in you, don’t be afraid to break.” Najwa Zebian
20. “We don’t make ourselves compassionate; we are born compassionate.”Najwa Zebian
21. “Never underestimate the power of fate. It can knock down the highest of goals that seem guaranteed in your life.” Najwa Zebian
22. “Be good to people because you are investing in goodness, consideration, honesty, generosity, and compassion, because those qualities have never failed to be rewarding. Treat people righteously because you are investing in the righteousness of yourself, and, trust me, you will get something in return. You will be happy. You will be content. You will be truly free.” Najwa Zebian
23. “It is your choice to either stay halfway through or to continue your journey once you start it, to reach that destination of the person you know you can be.” Najwa Zebian
24. “If they don’t appreciate your presence, they may never recognize your absence.” Najwa Zebian
25. “Broken wings are a sign of struggle and strength.” Najwa Zebian
26. “I am not better than you because of my religion, color, culture, education, status, wealth, etc. I am not, and neither are you, I must accept, and so should you, that there are differences between us that we were born into.” Najwa Zebian
27. “Take responsibility for the choices you could have made but restrained yourself from making.” Najwa Zebian
28. “We all dream profusely every night, yet by morning we’ve forgotten ninety percent of what went on. That’s why poets are such important members of society. Poets remember our dreams for us.” Najwa Zebian
29. “You turn your back on yourself when you allow every closed door to stop you from moving on to the next one.” Najwa Zebian
30. “Don’t see the worst in a person and expect them to see the best in you.” Najwa Zebian
31. “Just because people don’t complain to you doesn’t mean that they don’t have problems. It means that they’ve learned to accept their problems and deal with them without wanting you to worry. They think of how to keep you happy while you wonder how they could be so happy.” Najwa Zebian
32. “If you cannot appreciate what you don’t have before you have it, you will not appreciate it after you have it.” Najwa Zebian
33. “This is when you realize that sometimes, just sometimes, you need to close your door so others can knock on it. Sometimes you need to stop shining so others can notice your existence. Sometimes you need to stop answering unasked questions so others can start wondering.” Najwa Zebian
34. “Reflecting is essential, but regret should not ground you in the past. It should make you grateful that you have a conscious mind that realized right from wrong. It should give you strength to wisely use your present to make your future better.” Najwa Zebian
35. “May your heart always be kind even though the world out there could shatter you for being kind. It is kindness that makes you brave.” Najwa Zebian
Check out Najwa Zebian’s Keynote at The Summit Of Greatness:
https://youtu.be/vzQ0l9B5_5k
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