happiness • joy • love

“The best thing about the bedroom was the bed. I liked to stay in bed for hours, even during the day with covers pulled up to my chin. It was good in there, nothing ever occurred in there, no people, nothing.”

“When you can’t change the direction of the wind- adjust your sails.”

“You plant your own garden instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. In other words, take responsibility for your own needs and your own happiness.”

“Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. Let this be a sign that you’ve got a big heart and aren’t afraid to let others see it. Showing your emotions is a sign of strength.”

“If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize.”

““Someone once asked me what happiness was to me,” she said as I sat next to her on the couch with a bag of chips in my hand, “and I honestly didn’t know what to answer back then.” “What about now?” I asked as I opened and offered the bag of chips to her. She gave me a funny look while dipping her hand in it. “Now I do.” “Well what is it then?” “This.” She showed me the chip and ate it. I let out a laugh and gently shook my head in disbelief. “And of course,” she added, eating another chip, “a good shoulder to lean on every once in a while.” “But not just any shoulder,” I felt the weight of her head on my shoulder as she proceeded to finish her sentence, “It has to be the shoulder of the one I truly care about.””

“I owe myself the biggest apology for putting up with what I didn’t deserve.”

“Age is irrelevant. Ask me how many sunsets I’ve seen, hearts I’ve loved, trips I’ve taken, or concerts I’ve been to. That’s how old I am.”

“Love is a ladder. It starts with one person, it ends with the totality. Love is the beginning, God is the end. To be afraid of love, to be afraid of the growing pains of love, is to remain enclosed in a dark cell. Modern man is living in a dark cell. It is narcissistic – narcissism is the greatest obsession of the modern mind. And then there are problems, which are meaningless. There are problems that are creative because they lead you to higher awareness. There are problems that lead you nowhere; they simply keep you tethered, they simply keep you in your old mess. Love creates problems. You can avoid those problems by avoiding love – but those are very essential problems! They have to be faced, encountered; they have to be lived and gone through and gone beyond. And to go beyond, the way is through. Love is the only real thing worth doing. All else is secondary. If it helps love, it is good. All else is just a means, love is the end. So whatsover the pain, go into love.”