[True beauty] seeps into you. It doesn't make you forget yourself, but totally the opposite. It connects you with everything and fills you with awe that you share the same space with something that glorious. Like a sunrise or a clear blue day or the most extraordinary piece of glass. And then suddenly...you have this epiphany that there's more to the world than just you and what you want or even who you are.

He knew me in all the ways that truly mattered: the shape of my fears, the contours of my dreams.

When the creative impulse sweeps over you, grab it. You grab it and honor it and use it, because momentum is a rare gift.

But even quashed rebellions leave us different. Because freedom may be a forbidden fruit in tyrannies, but once tasted, it is unforgettable.

What was so miraculous about a relationship that was based more on my gratitude than on mutual self respect?

Maybe getting around in life was nothing but map-reading. A skill that required practice. A key to unlock where you wanted to go. A legend to show where you were.

No power was total, no power permanent, no power absolute.