"I scared a little porcupineand caught a quill in my behind.It hurt so badly in my tail,but tugging on it made me yell.The porcupine was still around,so I complained. He simply frownedand said, "Stop whining! Look and seehow many quills are stuck on me!"

"If I expect nothing of you, it will be far easier to forgive your offenses than if I place my whole world in your hands."

"We forget that the sweetest joys are found in the simplest acts: hugs, laughter, quiet observation, basic movements, holding hands, pleasant music, shared stories, a listening ear, an unhurried visit, and selfless service. It is sad we forget a truth so elementary."

"Beauty may catch the eye, but a jolly laugh will lasso the heart."

"I dream of defeating tyrants and ogres as well as circumstances and consequences that I cannot conquer in life. I dream of a love as sweet and addictive as chocolate-coated rose petals yet as tenacious as a thirsty vampire and as enduring as immortality. I dream of things improbable and boldly insane."

"Reality and fantasy are not two separate spheres but one whole. They are like a world's atmosphere-reality behaving as a low front, fantasy a high front. Each remains somewhat distinguishable and yet they swirl and join, affecting and manipulating the other. One cannot perceive where reality ends and fantasy begins, but life would grow stagnant and die without the influence of both."

"Imagined happiness is still happiness."

"Moisture falls from the sky, cleansing the world and sustaining precious life. But it's the gloom-the cold, dark air-that receives notice. We fail to see the miracle of raindrops through our own tears."

"They say to never look back.But sometimes I do. It's gratifying to see how far I've come."

"Lift up your eyes and see the good in the world, for we are people with an amazing capacity to do great good. And if only the minority choose to exercise this capacity to the smallest degree, oh how wondrous and sweet the deeds performed at but a few hands!"

"Mad fearlessness is not courage. The only requirement for courage is a good heart."

"The rarest, truest beauty is visible only to the heart."

"Severing our young and fragile friendship was a sad ordeal, but sadder still was the fact that this friend found it so difficult to respond to my immediate need, unlike a dreamed boy who always afforded me easy comfort. I couldn't understand what was so hard about reaching out to hug someone. But judging by Gregory's uncomfortable conduct I had to assume it was an honest trial."

"To actively improve the worldand change your life as well,speak all the good you know,and all the bad refuse to tell."

"You tell me that yes, I can do it. I know. And I may do it, if I so choose.You tell me that no, I cannot. I say, Oh? I shall do it, since you refuse!"

"I laugh for sheer medicinal purposes, because I feel I might die otherwise."

"I prefer to solve the world's problems. They never seem as complicated as my own."

"Problems don't actually exist. They're just the hallucinogenic effects of people being weirded out on what they think life is supposed to be."

"As a writer, you must truly possess a love for words.""Yes, that's right," I agreed."I've noticed that some authors favor particular words, making frequent use of them. Do you have a favorite?"I nodded assuredly and shared my answer. "BECAUSE."My interviewer looked surprised, as though he'd expected an impressive adjective or some rare verb. "That's your favorite word? Why?"I tried not to smirk. "Because."

"The place where you continually return for love and acceptance-that's home."

"One of the most effective things you will ever do in life, whether you care to or not, is set an example."

"So you want to improve the world? Then do it. To the next person who crosses your path, say something kind, do something generous, perform a simple act of service. By doing this on a regular basis, you will indeed improve the world."

"Life is a book that someone else is reading-and you, a key character-hence the need for continual conflict and resolution. We can't have any boring books."

"Tomorrow is an illusion suggesting that another chance always exists. It is a dangerously false illusion."

"Conundrum: A fun word to repeat over and over again when no one's listening. Actual meaning is as puzzling as the need to chant the word."

"Live today facing forward-with your back on yesterday, your eyes on tomorrow, and your head and heart in the moment."

"I'm going on a diet. (Crud, I know)I am going to be cranky. I am going to be irritable.I am going to be moody and sad and mean. And, yes, I am going to be hungry. Please don't feed me, even if I try to bite you. Please don't tease me, I may hurt you.Please don't try to encourage me, I may growl and snap at you. Please don't help me, I may blame you for everything aggravating in the known universe. Please don't be offended by my scowl, I cannot smile. But most importantly, please keep your distance until this trial is over to prevent any unnecessary casualties. Thank you for your understanding."

"Be sure to wear greenon March seventeen,or else Irish leprechauns pinch your bones clean!"

"Your problem is in thinking the sky's the limit. Why set limits?"

"Look down the road I'm traveling and you will see my goal, it's there on the path. Probably closer than it appears. Life tends to roll that way."

"Let the giggles fill your mouth because nothing tastes as sweet as laughter."

"I hate you, Edgar. I hate you with all my heart."

"Life is learning to take God's hand.....and hold on."

"The secret to happiness is elusive because it is a paradoxical truth. To gain happiness, you must first cease pursuing it. Things perceived to provide happiness are like shiny, pretty bubbles that lure us this way and that way, chasing after their glossy buoyancy. But once they are handled, they "pop-empty-vanishing along with the hope that happiness could ever be captured. Happiness cannot be caught or won or purchased or even handled. Happiness simply forms like a rainbow in the kindest and most grateful hearts."

"The world is full of opinions. But I am not searching for opinions, I'm searching for truths."

"Some parts of life are lived in the shadows where the only sunlight you feel is the light you pray for."

"If you love something, you find a way to have it in your life. Opposers may take away your means and tools, but you simply turn to crude replacements, fashioning them from scraps if necessary. Threats only make you steal moments of secrecy to satisfy your love. And if it means but a morsel here and there, you accept each crumb gladly because nothing else can even begin to satisfy your hunger."

"Time is a power of its own, and it may be the only power by which some miracles come to pass."

"There are times you find yourself standing by the wayside, watching as someone struggles to dig a well with a spoon, and you wish with all your heart you had arms and a shovel."

"Life is a test. Without problems to solve, it wouldn't be much of a test."

"My goals may seem impossibly far-fetched when really they're not. Break them down into steps and see how I accomplish great things. I can easily reach from A to B. I can manage from B to C. I can then make it from C to D. And so eventually, I will find my way from A to Z."

"True love takes time. It's an earned comfort that tells you she'll be right there beside you no matter what you do, not necessarily happy with your every action, but faithful to you just the same."

"Who cares who's right or wrong when the last word is a kind apology?"

"If you dream your problems at night and live your problems by day, you are suffering the effects of paralyzing toxins delivered by the sting of worry, stress, and fear. You must detach yourself from these leeches if you do not wish to be irreversibly poisoned."

"A gentleman willNever allow a ladyTo feel less than grand."

"There are many pitfalls in life, one is dwelling on blame. It's pointless. Move on."

"Having this, we want that.Owning some, we want more.Standing here, we wish to be there.If it's impossible, we struggle to make it happen.Why are we like this? Why not be content with some, here, and now? Why is enough not enough? Because humans are ambitious creatures not meant to be idle or fruitless. We strive to learn, to grow, to achieve, to amass; therefore, we will never be content."

"Habits grow like dragons if you feed them."

"I wonder at times if we're not all blind. It just seems there are an abundance of books unread, paint strokes not admired, and performances unattended. So much attention painstakingly sought and not given."

"Trying to change old habits is like fighting a war in your head-a draining and exhausting skirmish that makes you wonder at your chance of survival."