Before every session, I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this man has that I cannot share with him, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I too am human. No matter how deep his wound, he does not need to be ashamed in front of me. I too am vulnerable. And because of this, I am enough. Whatever his story, he no longer needs to be alone with it. This is what will allow his healing to begin. (Carl Rogers)

An unanswered question is a fine traveling companion. It sharpens your eye for the road.

From a good teacher you may learn the secret of listening. You will never learn the secret of life. You will have to listen for yourself

Perhaps we can only truly serve those we are willing to touch, not only with our hands but with our hearts and even our souls. Professionalism has embedded in service a sense of difference, a certain distance. But on the deepest level, service is an experience of belonging, an experience of connection to others and to the word around us. It is this connection that gives us the power to bless the life in others. Without it, the life in them would not respond to us.

Anger is just a demand for change, a passionate wish for things to be different.

Being alive is being aware, being able to be touched and moved and changed, being able to respond rather than to react, being able to see and hear.

It has been said that sometimes we need a story more than food in order to live. p 374