Fear is the great enemy of intimacy. Fear makes us run away from each other or cling to each other but does not create true intimacy.

A friend is more than a therapist or confessor, even though a friend can sometimes heal us and offer us God's forgiveness. A friend is that other person with whom we can share our solitude, our silence, and our prayer. A friend is that other person with whom we can look at a tree and say, "Isn't that beautiful," or sit on the beach and silently watch the sun disappear under the horizon. With a friend we don't have to say or do something special. With a friend we can be still and know that God is there with both of us.

That's the temptation of the devil: "Turn stones into bread! Be relevant!"

Mysticism is for all, not just for a few special people.

Life is not entertainment. Life is not distraction.

Those who keep speaking about the sun while walking under a cloudy sky are messengers of hope, the true saints of our day.

The third discipline is community. Whom do you choose as your companions? Whom do you choose to be friends with, to live with? Are they people who love you, and care for you, and nurture you?