It's less a matter of looking the other way than of closing our eyes to what we can't stop from happening.

We none of us find as much kindness in this world as we should.

Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are.

Can't you see? Every step I have taken, since I was that child on the bridge, has been to bring myself closer to you.

Anyone can have a good day. The question is what do you do on a bad day. That's when you're being tested. In a very tangible sense, a bad day shows your innermost essence more than a good day.

My feelings of disgust had been so loud within me, they’d nearly drowned out everything else.

It was what we Japanese called the onion life, peeling away a layer at a time and crying all the while.