Petra

“Broadly speaking, religion fulfills two main functions in human life. In the first place, it’s meant to foster religious experience, to enable the individual soul to commune with the divine. In the second place, it serves to cement the structure of society, upholding values and ideals that preserve the common good. The word religion derives from the Latin religare, meaning “to bind back” or “bind together.” Religion’s function is to bind individuals both to God and to one another.”
― Richard Smoley, Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of Gnosticism

“For every snake, there is a ladder; for every ladder,a snake”
― Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children

“Paradoxically, the ability to be alone is the condition for the ability to love.”
― Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving

“Infantile love follows the principle: "I love because I am loved."
Mature love follows the principle: "I am loved because I love."
Immature love says: "I love you because I need you."
Mature love says: "I need you because I love you.”
― Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving