“The effects of loss are acute, and unique to each individual. Not everyone mourns in the same way, but everyone mourns.”

“I think in the heart of every human being there burns an ember of hope that warmly entices us to believe everything will eventually come together into one perfect day, and that potentially the hours in this day will stretch on indefinitely. And so we live our lives in hopeful anticipation, dreaming and praying to reach this wondrous day, while in the process we miss out on the anxious affair that life truly is. Life is not perfection; it is everything else. We must taste and experience heartaches and trials in order to feel the genuine joy that comes from enduring them well. We then move on, wiser and more capable of charity—this being pure love and the reason for life’s trials altogether.”

“My favorite words in the world are these: “what” and “if” in conjunction.They question curiosities in simple form and function.“What” is a query of broadest scope.“If” is wonder that fuels all hope.Together they lasso the mind like rope, and spur the wildest deductions!”

“Life can seem like a gloomy wait in the thick of black shadows.And still there are those who smile at the darkness, anticipating the beauty of an eventual sunrise.”

“If throughout your entire life you make no fortune; travel next to nowhere; obtain a meager education; invent nothing new; are a stranger to fame; lack talent, wit, and charm—if these things are true and yet in the heart of every human who crosses your path you plant a seed of happiness, or, at the very least, you coax a smile from the saddest faces, your life will indeed be the greatest success story ever.”

“I never realized how literally we battle demons. Often alone. It is a relentless skirmish with vicious wraith-monsters devouring us from within. We Fight. And resist for a time. Ultimately, desperation forces a cry for help. But where oh where are the valiant knights? When did they die off?”

“Life made me an actor from birth. The world, darling, is not my stage but my audience.”

“A timid act may be more boldthan one would first assume,For whispered truth is braver,than to silently resume.”

“Past and Present I know well; each is a friend and sometimes an enemy to me. But it is the quiet, beckoning Future, an absolute stranger, with whom I have fallen madly in love.”

“No matter how loud the sirens or how numerous the hazard signs, we all touch the flames at least once to prove they’re hot.”

“It is hard not to envy.So dreadfully hard.Within my sight, within my reach, my senses are bathed in what I wish for, coveting the tiniest taste of what I know is not mine.Turn away.Do not be jealous.It is hard not to envy.”

“I made a sorry face in response to such strong insistence, but I couldn’t believe him. Fantasies were exactly that..…..fantasies. Whimsy. Wishes. Mere castles in the sky without foundation or substance. Dreams didn’t come true. To believe so would be to believe falsely, to surrender to madness, to give in to an unreliable hope that would crush me once again as it always, always did!”

“In a world plagued with commonplace tragedies, only one thing exists that truly has the power to save lives, and that is love.”

“Imagine in vibrant, wonderful detail your heart’s desire—a reality only you can envision, an adventure only you can direct.Then cradle your creation. Caress it. Mold it. Coddle it until it comes to life.And when your precious treasure grows so grand as to steal your breath away, set it free for all the world to experience. For that is how you live your dreams.”

“Don’t simply exist in this world, but grasp life’s potential by the jacket. Dare it to be all it can. Make life historical—a gripping account of accomplishment. Make life a mystery—a challenging, bold adventure. Make life heartfelt—an enduring, poetic romance. Whatever it is you make of your world, live the fairy tale.”