“Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands. Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and so seem smaller, and we increase our capacity for connection - or compassionate action.”

“My friends tell me that I have a tendency to point out problems without offering solutions, but they never tell me what I should do about it.”

“The priceless lesson in the New Year is that endings birth beginnings and beginnings birth endings. And in this elegantly choreographed dance of life, neither ever find an end in the other.”

“Nobody else will ever be able to save me if I’m not fighting as hard as I can to save myself.”

“Because I don't think God trusts just anybody with so much heartache. The world has not yet seen what God can do with a man who gives both halves of a broken heart to him. And I don't doubt that a man like that can change the world...or at least a little part of it.”

“I wish for the same thing I've hoped for since the beginning. I wish for a life so brave, so unpredictable, so full of unexpected joys and unforgettable love that no box could possibly contain all my memories. Such a life won't be perfect. It'll be something better. It'll be my own paradise.”

“Lips that have tasted the salt of tears always give the sweetest kiss.”

“Those masks we wear not to shield others; but ourselves from who we are.”