Over the years, random quotes have come to me through articles, letters or madly copied notes at conferences. I kept them because when I’ve read them or heard them, I felt that marvelous confluence between my heart and mind. Kind of like an ‘Aha.’ But also like an ‘MmmmHmmm, oh yes.’ What it feels like is my heart gets more open and softer, and my brain catches on fire with recognition and insight. Confluence. Heart and Mind. Art and Science. As far as I know, this confluence occurs only in humans. The result reminds us of our humanity.

“Trust is built in the small moments.”

“We write to fill the holes in our hearts, to discover the truth, to be brave.”

“When a heart is empty, it is blind to the struggles of others.”

“Loneliness is the space between what we have and what we want.”

“Captivity is an inside job.”

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.”

“Death is very likely the best invention of life.”

“Love consists in this: that two solitudes protect & touch & greet each other.”

“Anger is the guardian to fear.”

“I hope I never become so used to the world that it no longer seems wonderful.”

“Where there is a will, there is a won’t.”

“The unexamined life is not worth living; The overexamined life cannot be lived.”

“Something is worth only how much it cost you.”

“Once you confront the truth, you can allow yourself to be with it.”

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

“I take pleasure in a job well done, a word fitly spoken, kind gestures made or received.”

“When telling the truth, tail wagging explanations are not needed. In fact, they are kind of distracting.”

(I have not ascribed authors to these quotes. Sorry. If they are famous (and some are), you can look them up. I don’t claim any as mine but each has meant something to me at different times.)