Friends, there are many areas in which I need encouragement, but worrying is not one of them. I worry the way Renée Fleming sings high Cs: Effortlessly. Loudly. At length.

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.

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

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.

When someone has been mean to you, why would you want to be good to them?' 'You wouldn't want to. That's what makes it hard. You do it anyway. Being good is hard. Much harder than being bad.

Good does not exist without the evil and right does not hold weight without knowing the wrong.

Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.

Everything sacred, nothing sacred.

The terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, changed the way we think about security.

The American people - Republican voters especially - are fed up with the status quo.

It matters little who first arrives at an idea, rather what is significant is how far that idea can go

Like a ghostly roll of drums remorselessly beat the measure of life.

The wind is not helpless for any man's need, Nor falleth the rain but for thistle and weed.