Stranger

“Let all teachers of holiness, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, and all seekers after holiness, whether in the closet or the convention, take warning: There is no pride so dangerous, so subtle and insidious, as the pride of holiness. It is not that a man ever says, or even thinks, “Stay away. I am too sacred for you!” The thought would be considered ludicrous. But unconsciously there can develop a private habit of soul that feels complacency in its attainments and cannot help but see how far it is ahead of others.”
― Andrew Murray, Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness – Classic Devotional Meditations on the Character of Christ

“Nothing truly beautiful ever asks for attention. This quote has stuck with me ever since I heard my coworker speak the words. Nothing truly beautiful ever asks for attention –it just naturally exists, as it is, in confidence and boldness.”
― Bianca Sparacino, Seeds Planted in Concrete

“K H A D I J A S A Y S . . .
In Kashmir when we wake up and say ‘Good Morning’ what we really mean is ‘Good Mourning’.”
― Arundhati Roy, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

“The Greeks had a word, xenia—guest friendship—a command to take care of traveling strangers, to open your door to whoever is out there, because anyone passing by, far from home, might be God. Ovid tells the story of two immortals who came to Earth in disguise to cleanse the sickened world. No one would let them in but one old couple, Baucis and Philemon. And their reward for opening their door to strangers was to live on after death as trees—an oak and a linden—huge and gracious and intertwined. What we care for, we will grow to resemble. And what we resemble will hold us, when we are us no longer. . . .”
― Richard Powers, The Overstory