inspiration

"A poet, you see, is a light thing, and winged and holy, and cannot compose before he gets inspiration and loses control of his senses and his reason has deserted him."

"Concerning the popularity of vampire books:I don't get it. I think people should read about bloody, heart-singing, mind-searing spirituality. Live your heart’s song, not its drippings."

"We must assume every event has significance and contains a message that pertains to our questions...this especially applies to what we used to call bad things...the challenge is to find the silver lining in every event, no matter how negative."

"The mind travels faster than the pen; consequently, writing becomes a question of learning to make occasional wing shots, bringing down the bird of thought as it flashes by. A writer is a gunner, sometimes waiting in the blind for something to come in, sometimes roaming the countryside hoping to scare something up."

"When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness."

"Soon is not as good as now."

"Scars are not injuries, Tanner Sack. A scar is a healing. After injury, a scar is what makes you whole."

"Whatever you see you gotta keep a sense of humor; you gotta be able to smile through all the bullshit."

"Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood."

"One who has reached a goal no longer travels the road"(Pauline Christianity, p. 111)"

"I love inspirational R&B, like Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson. I want to do that. That kind of music stays with you."

"Things will get easier, people's minds will change, and you should be alive to see it."

"You can't go home again"

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."

"To say that a being who is sentient has no interest in continuing to live is like saying that a being with eyes has no interest in continuing to see. Death—however “humane”—is a harm for humans and nonhumans alike."

"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was."

"I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life."

"Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It's about knowing and accepting who you are."

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'"

"When love dies, the heart's ashes do not leave on the wind—they rest on the mantelpiece of the soul, darkening the sunrise we once saw to be beautiful."