I wonder if children don't begin to reject both poetry and religion for similar reasons, because the way both are taught takes the life out of them.

Friendship is an art, and very few persons are born with a natural gift for it.

Laundry, liturgy and women's work all serve to ground us in the world, and they need not grind us down. Our daily tasks, whether we perceive them as drudgery or essential, life-supporting work, do not define who we are as women or as human beings.

A short-lived fascination with another person may be exciting-I think we've all seen people aglow, in a state of being "in love with love"-but such an attraction is not sustainable over the long run. Paradoxically, human love is sanctified not in the height of attraction and enthusiasm, but in the everyday struggles of living with another person. It is not in romance but in routine that the possibilities for transformation are made manifest. And that requires commitment.

Peace - that was the other name for home.

The ordinary activities I find most compatible with contemplation are walking, baking bread, and doing laundry.

I was taught that I had to 'master' subjects. But who can 'master' beauty, or peace, or joy?