Christine Mclaughlin

“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

“We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and—in spite of True Romance magazines—we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely—at least, not all the time—but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
― Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy

“To break the polarization, we need to avoid distancing when we feel smothered and avoid pursuing when we feel abandoned. Change takes tremendous strength and courage and requires us to be aware of our fears and the defenses we use to avoid closeness, shame, and emptiness. When pursuers refrain from making demands and tire of pursuing, and distancers stop defending and running, they each experience their fears and emptiness.17 When we finally stop and face these uncomfortable feelings, we can accept them for what they are. This acceptance reduces our anxiety and helps us redirect our energy toward becoming whole. Eventually, we’ll know that if the relationship doesn’t work out, we’ll be fine.”
― Darlene Lancer, Conquering Shame and Codependency: 8 Steps to Freeing the True You