A man went to Istanbul, his first visit there. On his way to a business meeting, this man lost his way. He began raging at himself for getting lost, until a realization allowed him to transcend his ire. "How can I be lost? I've never been here before?" pp 104-105

You don't blast a heart open," she said. "You coax and nurture it open, like the sun does to a rose.

Whatever we try to control does have control over us and our life.

We can say what we need to say. We can gently, but assertively, speak our mind. We do not need to be judgmental, tactless, blaming or cruel when we speak our truths.

We learn the magical lesson that making the most of what we have turns it into more.

Real power comes when we stop holding others responsible for our pain, and we take responsibility for all our feelings.

Like it or not, i was already learning that in the worst and darkest time, I would find specks of light, moments of joy. What I didn't want to learn was the other, harsher lesson - that in life's brightest moments there would also be unbearable pain. p 87