Standing up for what you believe in comes at a price but backing down exacts a toll that your soul never stops paying

Happiness is an illusion, Natalie. It doesn't actually exist." "Of course it does," I said. "It's what you feel when you're not sad." "That's unconsciousness. And I'm pretty sure that I'm miserable when I am unconscious, too.

Standing up for what you believe in comes at a price but backing down exacts a toll that your soul never stops paying

So there you have it: Nature is a rotten mess. But that's only the beginning. If you take your eyes off it for one second, it will kill you. Thorns, insects, fungus, worms, birds, reptiles, wild animals, raging rivers, bottomless ravines, dry deserts, snow, quicksand, tumbleweeds, sap, and mud. Rot, poison and death. That's Nature.It's a wonder you even step outside of your cabin, I said.My bravery exceeds my good sense, he said.

Guilt and fear are a kind of rot. It spreads unless it's cleaned. And there's only one way to do that.