Worth Repeating

Before doing my Week in Review, I wanted to share some of the quotes that I've collected over the years. They're random, and come from different novels, plays and tv shows. The last I stole from Nicole, who had it on her blog this week, and I thought it was beautiful.

"America is an either/or country," she says. "We're a black or white, pro-life or pro-choice, Democrat or Republican. There's all this splitting that we do, and we lose the wisdom of both worlds. We lose the wisdom of being able to be women at our best—blessing the journey of someone who has found their way and not trying to make it your way." Dr. Robin Smith on Oprah

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." Carrie on Sex and the City

From An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde:
Lord Goring: You see, Phipps, Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear.
Phipps: Yes, my lord.
Lord Goring: Just as vulgarity is simply the conduct of other people.
Phipps: Yes, my lord.
Lord Goring: Other people are quite dreadful. The only possible society is oneself.
Phipps: Yes, my lord.
Lord Goring: To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance, Phipps.
Phipps: Yes, my lord.

"Now that I look back, it seems to me that in all that deep darkness a miracle was preparing. So I am right to remember it as a blessed time, and myself as waiting in confidence, even if I had no idea what I was waiting for." Marilynne Robinson, Gilead.

Now that I reread these, maybe there is a theme: Embrace our difference (even though other people are quite dreadful), embrace ourselves, and embrace our challenges. Miracles really can grow out of dark times.