“How does knowing things could be worse than what I already deem awful make me feel any better? You mean I could sink even lower? Oh joy!”
“What were good and evil, really, but stupid categories? Stupid categories that restricted people and punished or rewarded them based on how they responded to their own natures, natures they really didn t have any way to control.”
“The most difficult challenge an honest man will ever face is having to choose between duty and love. One creates a man of honorable character
“It s okay to be absurd, ridiculous, and downright irrational at times; silliness is sweet syrup that helps us swallow the bitter pills of life.”
“Kiss a frog with your eyes wide open. If he turns into a prince you won t miss the transformation, but if he doesn t, you won t be fooled by some wishful illusion in your head.”
“Relax; the world s not watching that closely. It s too busy contemplating itself in the mirror.”
“Live today facing forward—with your back on yesterday, your eyes on tomorrow, and your head and heart in the moment.”
“Be loved for who you are, for everything that constitutes you. Be loved for your core beliefs, your strengths and weaknesses, your admirable traits and troublesome baggage. Be loved for you, because anything less is not love at all.”
“Your opponent s wrong doesn t automatically make you right. Most fights aren t about who s right; they are contention over degrees of wrongness.”
“I hate it when storm clouds roll in, heralded by dazzling claps of thunder and lightning that boast an ocean of tears. This majestic performance of bad temper manages to overshadow my pathetic attempts at pouting. No one broods like Mother Nature, hence she steals all the attention I was sulking after.”
“Vengeance is a monster of appetite, forever bloodthirsty and never filled.”
“When you begin to care too much about what everyone else says, your confidence shrinks and you start to feel like insignificant, little Jack in a strange land of intimidating giants. But when you come to realize that opinions are as diverse and plentiful as dried beans, you might reach the conclusion that your own is of the greatest worth. That s when your confidence grows, and soon you find yourself striding like Gandalf the wondrous wizard among common hobbits in the shire. Respecting your own opinion is the magic that transforms both you and your world.”
“Face it
“Two powerful, little words I ve learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts—so what?”
“Beauty that pleases the eye is a frail, fleeting illusion. But that beauty capable of pleasing the heart can endure endlessly.”
“Teach me to sing and recite, To whistle and jingle and strum. Teach me to color and paint, To sculpt and weave and create. Teach me to sway and dance, To tap and leap and twirl. Teach me to laugh and giggle, To tickle and play and pretend. Teach me that life is beautiful.”
“Never judge another knight without first knowing the strength and cunning of the dragons he fights.”