Helen

“Even having identified Lust as a ‘defect’, a negative and problematic trait, we don’t automatically discard it. ‘Lust is natural, I’m entitled to lust, if she had sex more I wouldn’t look at porn’, all these justifications are obstacles to change. In justifying our misery we recommit to it.”
― Russell Brand, Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions

“And when people stop focusing on their dreams they become lost in the maze of their minds, wandering around in endlessly repeating circles. Then the colours of life start to dull, and excitement starts to die. Until you’re trapped in a prison of your own making, looking out at life instead of living it.”
― Menna van Praag, Men, Money, and Chocolate

“Ned, the thing about seeking forgiveness from someone you’ve hurt is that you’re hurting them again by asking for something else from them. If you’re sorry, say you’re sorry, apologise, let them know you’ve realised the enormity of what you’ve done and won’t do it again, but leave it there. Don’t expect anything else from them. Don’t require them to say they forgive you so you can feel better. Or expect them to move on according to your timetable. Or to even give the whole thing any kind of headspace. Apologise and then leave it. Sit with how you feel about not being forgiven despite how sorry you are. Don’t make it worse.”
― Dorothy Koomson, Tell Me Your Secret

“But I’ve come to believe we create our own curses and carry them through life because we’ve been told it’s our lot. We’re taught to relive our mothers’ heartaches, to accept their sufferings as our own, and pass them on to the next generation, again and again, until one of us at long last says no, and the curse is finally broken.”
― Barbara Davis, The Keeper of Happy Endings