Although beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, the feeling of being beautiful exists solely in the mind of the beheld.

Basic human contact - the meeting of eyes, the exchanging of words - is to the psyche what oxygen is to the brain. If you're feeling abandoned by the world, interact with anyone you can.

Given the eclectic and constantly shifting nature of my metaphysical inclinations, I will probably never feel certain exactly what an angel is.

At times in my life, I have been utterly lonely. At other times, I've had disgusting infectious diseases. Try admitting these things in our culture.

If you're feeling abandoned by the world, interact with anyone you can.

Instead of fretting about getting everything done, why not simply accept that being alive means having things to do? Then drop into full engagement with whatever you're doing, and let the worry go.

Don't expect the future to look like the past. Clear away expectations, and let yourself picture a wild, grand new world.

Whether you've seen angels floating around your bedroom or just found a ray of hope at a lonely moment, choosing to believe that something unseen is caring for you can be a life-shifting exercise.

Standards of beauty are arbitrary. Body shame exists only to the extent that our physiques don't match our own beliefs about how we should look.

Every day brings new choices.

Caring for your inner child has a powerful and surprisingly quick result: Do it and the child heals.

Songs live longer than kingdoms.

Instead of drifting away from God, you'll be firmly anchored, able to swim against the tide, offering living water to all you meet.

Sound had always been my portal to poetry, but in the beginning, sound was imagined through the eye.

What birds can have their bills more peculiarly formed than the ibis, the spoonbill, and the heron?

I grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood.

I can well conceive a man without hands, feet, head. But I cannot conceive man without thought; he would be a stone or a brute.

Behind each piece, animating every attempt, is the echo of a precarious faith, that we are more intimately bound to one another by our kindred doubts than our brave conclusions.

Purity is innocence, the innocence of lack of self. Desire is innocent unless it's connected with self.

Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.

Be at peace with yourself first and then you will be able to bring peace to others.