And when you sense a faint potentiality for happiness after such dark times you must grab onto the ankles of that happiness and not let go until it drags you face-first out of the dirt - this is not selfishness, but obligation. You were given life; it is your duty to find something beautiful within life no matter how slight.

It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainment.

Marriage is not a game for the young.

Men go into marriage with virtually no expectations whatsoever. Ten years later, the men are delightfully surprised to find out that it's actually kind of nice, and the women have sort of had to take a nose dive from what they thought it was going to be.

Kalos Kai Agathos, the singular balance of the good and the beautiful.

To show a longing for anything that one cannot have, for instance, is not a clever position.

Do I really deserve this pleasure? This is American, too-the insecurity about whether we have earned our happiness.