Anyone who really loves you wants you to be authentic. And anyone who doesn't want you to be authentic doesn't really love you.

Romantic love can be terrifying. We experience another human being as enormously important to us. So there is surrender -not a surrender to the other person so much as to our feeling for the other person. What is the obstacle? The possibility of loss.

There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will be to treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity.

The first love affair you must consummate is the love affair with yourself. Only then are you ready for a romantic relationship.

Taking on responsibilities that properly belong to someone else means behaving irresponsibly toward yourself. You need to know where you end and someone else begins. You need to understand boundaries. You need to know what is and is not up to you, what is and is not in your control, what is and is not your responsibility.

For "I" to become "we" and yet remain "I," is one of the great challenges of marriage.

Most of the time, I regard the judgment of people as a waste of time. I regard the judgment of behavior as imperative.