The Boy with the Broken Halo

“Like a bird on the wire Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free.”

“All is in a man’s hands and he lets it all slip from cowardice, that’s an axiom. It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they fear most.”

“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.”

“Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.”

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

““So, have we solved the secret of happiness? “I believe so,” he said Are you going to tell me? “Yes. Ready?” Ready. “Be satisfied.” That’s it? “Be grateful.” That’s it? “For what you have.For the love you receive. And for what has been given to you.” That’s it? He looked me in the eye. Then he sighed deeply. “That’s it.”

““I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.””

“I’m sure those are not the right words…”

“Find out what makes you kinder, what opens you up and brings out the most loving, generous, and unafraid version of you―and go after those things as if nothing else matters. Because, actually, nothing does.”

“Sometimes it is a pretty poor showing and sometimes it’s fantastic, so it goes. Sometimes awful things happen to innocent people, so it goes. Sometimes the most beautiful things happen to awful people, so it goes. Sometimes everything works out just the way we want it to, so it goes.”

“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering and I responded… sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.”

“A man rides by me on a bicycle. As he passes, I see there is a little boy of about four or five standing straight up on a small platform right behind him, holding onto Dad’s big body and grinning. Neither of them wear helmets. The kid is ecstatic. But that old protective father instinct in me thinks what the hell is the man doing? If he turns too hard or brakes suddenly, his son will fly off into ten kinds of disaster. But the kid is so obviously happy to be there. But it’s so dangerous. But… Sometimes joy and danger ride so close together that you can’t tell them apart.”

“Be a true representative of the goodness in your heart, and don’t expect it to be easy or even noticed.”

“Now, think of the happiest things. It’s the same as having wings.”