Janvier Chouteu-Chando Quotes

Hope is soothing, but it can become deceptive if we cling to it as the last resort against reality.

The writer is the cursed artist of the soul. The expression of his art is a reflection of his quest to understand man by unraveling the mysteries that have been haunting humankind from time immemorial. In the end of his journey to understand man, the writer becomes more human even though his soul ends up finding less peace.

...True classical dropouts in society are those who avoid difficult challenges and cling to the first opportunity that comes their way. They never test their talents. These latent talents will only help to produce the next cycle of dropouts...

Man craves joy far more than anything else in life, but there is nothing as madly intoxicating as the feeling of joy that comes from the soul.

Love and hate when stretched to their extremes blind reasoning.

... People who are the spices of this world are the natural souls with instincts and impulses that have not been pruned by evolution and civilization.

Most people live lives that are full of mysteries, lives whose ultimate purpose we may never really understand. But for the sake of serenity, we must believe in life's nobleness.

Evil is something you need to fight until it ceases trying to control you.

No true...father would be unconcerned about discord in his family that may cause it to disintegrate in his absence...

...There is no worse way to abuse a man's patriotism than to estrange him from his homeland, be it his ancestral or adopted land...

What is the purpose of achieving your dream if the people you had dreamed your achievements for are no longer there to reap the benefits?

...No man is foolish when his friend betrays him because a man's world is most serene when he has people to trust and call friends. After all, is it not often said that a friend is another self?

Even with all its positive attributes, capitalism in its imperialistic form is the most treacherous system mankind ever devised. It is driven by a selfishness that has an almost religious underlining to it.

Sometimes, our pride compels us to engage in costly wars when a true commitment to a compromising peace would have been the best course to pursue.

Take a stand that reflects the widest horizons of your soul if you don't want to be a slave to external powers.

Feelings, rationale and values are the top qualities that make a person exceedingly human.

The selfish and self-centered have a hard time being kind, even though you and I know that kindness is a source of relief to the soul.

Huh! Mankind always comes up with ideas to make up for the follies of the status quo. But what happens if those ideas are inflexible and fail to respond to the changing times. They end up betraying the people who believed in them.

...History is the key to the unity of a people. Its nostalgia pulls them together. Its gloom separates them further. Its successes make them stronger.

A yesterday missed can never be found even in a fine tomorrow.

True heroes and ideas never fall in the final sense of the word. They can only encounter temporary setbacks in their difficult journey to progress and success,

A woman's love is all a man should expect from his wife. That love could be translated into so many positive things, especially if it is reciprocated.

A true businessperson should also be a true humanist who understands that he stands to gain the most in a world that is stable for those he deals with, even if they do not fare as well as he does.

Love has no color, love has no language and love has no religion.

...We are truly human when we live for a purpose far above ourselves; but most people prefer to identify with an entity for the sake of belonging; thereby subjecting themselves to the spirit of collective selfishness that is only found in groups...

Obsessive love wears down both its target and the obsessor.

...The people's hero does not only have to be someone in possession of the scepter of power. It can be anyone capable of giving unity, prosperity, security, peace and a sense of worthiness to his people. Such a figure gets elevated to the status of a revered hero with the human touch if he imparts a sense of oneness on a multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-religious group; especially a diverse people who have been fighting one another for years and centuries...

...Past joys and achievements give us the outlines of how to get to a state of happiness again. That memory is a treasure that can never be taken away. At least we know where we were, what we have lost, what we miss and what more to add to our experiences.

It is better for a realist to bend his will and ethics to accommodate a true friend than it is for him to stick to his principles that may turn the friend into an adversary.

Life is a mighty joke that is not meant to be funny.

...At the end of the day, what matters is our faith in humanity...

The true leaders of our time, the legends of this world or the movers of the movers are the towering figures that are blessed with beautiful minds, receptive ears and directing voices. They are the ones we should emulate in life.

Writers understand the world better, but they lack the strength to change it. Perhaps that is so because they understand their limitations more than others.

Writers are the most pathetic souls when it comes to expressing their personal feelings. Their personalities are as complex as the characters they have weaved. And in a curious way, without them really knowing it, writers are the sum total of the characters they created in their heads or in their writings. Yes, My Dear Tania; writers are capable of reflecting their characters, even though most of them are determined to be just like your ordinary guy next door.

The Cameroonian soul is genuine. It is noble, and it embodies humanism.

...A legendary leader distinguishes himself as someone who gets ahead of his people from an impasse and futile general consensus, and then finds new grounds that constitute the base from which a unique course of his people's destiny is charted...

What is there in this big wide world for a man to talk about with certainty besides his homeland, home and family?

Human ties are the greatest distorters of reality because they tend to conceal man's worst selfish instincts.

Never go for someone that represents something that is more of a fantasy than reality in this crazy world of lonely people, unless it is for the shortest time possible, and unless you have clearly figured out an exit strategy.

Unsettling emotions are capable of messing up the most beautiful minds in this world.

Perhaps fate has a way of turning things around and making something good out of the action of someone who failed humanity without meaning to.

Men have the blood of their fathers and the passions of their mothers, in the same sense that women have the blood of their mothers and the passions of their fathers. We often find ourselves trapped in life when we fail to balance the two. The most unusual of men are those who are haunted by the warped blood of their fathers and the untamed passions of their mothers. They become either the legends of the legends that mankind remembers for generations or they end up as the fools of their time,

...only the dreamers of a dream are capable of translating their dreams into worthy practical endeavors that are devoid of haunting errors. After all, they are the ones who carefully observed the link between their dreams and reality; they are the ones who worked consciously to blend them into one.

A grandmother's love is selfless all the way to the bones.

In the world of today, human desires far supersede human needs. Waste, as you can see, is the result of all of those contradictions. That is how we ended up complicating our world.

Why do we complicate life, when it was meant to be very simple?

...Never opt for war, no matter how simple it may seem, especially when you know that peace is achievable, even if achieving that peace entails going through a complicated and protracted process,

Avoid people who hurt from an impulse. I mean people who have this tendency to relish their capacity to hurt the good souls of this world, and who after hurting, wake up the next day without a trace of despondent brooding, and then move on with life never thinking that they should show some remorse or try to repent.

We, humans, have come up with so many superficialities that are completely unnecessary for our existence and happiness on earth.

Singers, actors or artists who touch on sorrow are trying to give comfort to aggrieved souls by giving some meaning to their sorrows.

At what point is normal natural?

Never give up the freeness of your soul. Live your duty to mankind, nurture creatures of this world as a true mother of the earth, but never shut your imagination off from those desires that distinguish you from the ordinary. Never allow yourself to be sapped of that extraordinary energy that is the necessary ingredient for creating something new and progressive.

...There is no greater dividing force in this world than self-interest....

Writers are the most tormented of all the different categories of artists that are out there in the world.

Isn't materialism the cause of much that is evil in the land of mortal souls?

With true love, you can move mountains, make unusual sacrifices, live a life of deprivations and still be happy.

...political realism is the way forward for any system that is genuinely for humanity or for the interest and advancement of the people of this world.

It is not something we often find out; but most of the specially-gifted have a deep desire to be ordinary.

In dealing with others, man is inherently a slave to his preconceptions, to the stereotypes he became familiar with that made life easier for him to comprehend.

You know you are getting old when yesterday turns out to be a fading memory you have difficulties recollecting, when today becomes a challenge that is hard to grasp and when tomorrow promises an uncertainty that you dread encountering.

True heroes don't fall. They only encounter temporary setbacks as they forge ahead towards progress.

Some people live their memorable years fighting against their basic instincts only to succumb in the end to what was actually good for them.

Judgments based on preconceptions make life simple for us to deal with since that means we safely shield ourselves behind barriers of preconception that helped us feel safe in whatever views or assumptions we are having.

You can't say you love man as an individual if you have not dealt with the person's complex personality, his or her unfamiliar habits, disturbing impulses and biological makeup.

A man can't talk of true happiness if he has never known true love - the trusting, selfless and unconditional love that I took for granted.

The vicissitude of life teaches us about our limitations in a world with no guarantees and permanence.

I think preconceived ideas or prejudgments are meant to give us an edge whenever we are dealing with others we don't know or haven't made the effort to understand.

A writer needs a partner who can act as fuel to his artistic mind, yet has the great ability to sober him up and help him be in sync with the non-artistic part of his soul.

A revolutionary who is out to defeat his enemies could use their weapons, but not their rules.

When we tend to be too hard on those we love, we erode the softness of our souls in the process, taking out the humanity within us that is the nucleus of our goodness, even if our actions are for their own sake.

Lies and partial truths complicate life.

The masses often let themselves down and even those at the forefront who are hoisting the flag of the cause that is intended to alleviate their miseries.

Most of the truly kind people of this world show some measure of discomfort when offered kindness. Their gratitude stems not only from their understanding of the depth of the force of kindness, but also from their conviction that kindness should not be taken for granted.

Son, it is bad for a man to be condemned by his children, more so by the sons he cherishes.

Where else can we find happiness for a day other than from something that can offer momentary relief, something like the booze?

So, you see; you have the soul of a missionary, the heart of a revolutionary and the mind of a reformer. But what are you to yourself and the family and friends who will always be there for you?

Some honest people think it is better to know the ways of the devil without being evil.

There is no bigger gratification than the realization of the things you believe in after overcoming all the odds.

A nationalist will blindly follow his country to his death out of love for it. A patriot will stand up for and even against his country to his death out of love for it.

Most people have this tendency to make judgments on others based on preconceptions, especially when they are dealing with them for the first time.

Survivors and prevailers are those who love themselves above failure and everything else except the abstract and mysterious.

...A canonical leader is someone whose exemplary rule might have appeared to be for the alleviation of the pains and miseries of a particular group, but which in reality is for the advancement of humanism...

There are people who bring joy to our lives, but who fail to make us happy. They are the people for the moment. Never rely on their love because it is not sustainable. Their love is alike a comet that illuminates the sky, but then fades away because it lacks the sustainable energy of the sun.

...No reformer is worthy of the name if he fails to be the ultimate pacesetter in his own reform drive...

Societies and people that come close to being happy are those that do well in narrowing the disparity between their desires and their needs, especially the material things of life.

Sons, any man who is considered a success in life owes a lot to society. We have been very blessed, my dear sons. We have to show our appreciation to our society for making that possible. A time will come when you will meet other Kamerunians who share the same vision for this land. I am advising you to make them partners in our common goals when that time comes. We shouldn't shy away from playing a formidable role in financing that political force that shall emerge. We must use our influence to ensure that it succeeds.

A man's true world should be the space and people that enrich his soul,

A man who does not honor the company of his true friends will never see the light of true love.

Always strive to get what you want, what you need, especially if your intentions are good and nobody gets hurt in the process.

Life is so sweet even though it is full of lies and half truths...

Having a deep sense of understanding is a huge burden for a mind that can't directly influence things.

Isn't reality based on the prevailing culture, the trend that people want to identify with?

...Bad leaders are known to destroy one, more or even all of the foundations of their people's way of life...

We love out of compassion, passion or a sense of commitment.

In today's world, human desires far supersede human needs. Waste, as you can see, is the result of that disparity.

Only a fool would find happiness from an achievement that is detrimental to those he loves.

Expose human ties for what they really are and you are most likely to find the worst forms of betrayal staring back at you.

Life is a rare fantasy that can be made a reality by being objective.