Now, on this road trip, my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not, until now, known it had.
The seasons tell us, everything in organic life tells us, that there is no holding on; still, we try to do just that. Sometimes, though, we learn the kind of wisdom that celebrates the open hand.
I cried until my eyes swelled shut, and then I slept, a black, dreamless sleep from which I awoke amazingly refreshed, at least until I remembered.
People say you should give until it hurts. I say you should give until it stops hurting. Know what I mean?
There is incredible value in being of service to others.
Sometimes serendipity is just intention unmasked.
I hoped we never had to realize all the opportunities we missed in this life.
It feels like some part of me that was curled down and waiting in the dark has risen, and now stands stretching and strong in the sunshine. I knew it.
I felt myself trapped in line for a ride I was not nearly ready for, looking back but moving forward in the only direction I could go.
I turn off the radio, listen to the quiet. Which has its own, rich sound. Which I knew, but had forgotten. And it is good to remember.
There are some things you never say good-bye to.
No one wants to mother more vigilantly than a woman who is childless and wishes she wasn’t.
But it seemed to me that this was the way we all lived: full to the brim with gratitude and joy one day, wrecked on the rocks the next. Finding the balance between the two was the art and the salvation.
Sometimes you know before you know.
Do you think that people ever really do believe they will die, that the world will just go along as always without them? I wonder if we aren’t all a little surprised at the moment of crossover, if we don’t look back over our shoulders saying, Now hold on.
As a writer, you should have a sticky soul; the act of continually taking things in should be as much a part of you as your hair color.
My inside self and my outside self used to match. A compass needle pointed true north. Now the needle spins around and around indicating the sad direction of nowhere.
How important things had become, now that they were gone! I felt a sudden panic that I would soon forget everything.
My mind was in my heart, anchored like a bright kite in a safe place.
One thing I have always been is too short. It’s adorable when you’re in junior high. After that, it’s a pain in the ass for the rest of your life.