“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
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“The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back.”
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“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.”
― The Cost of Living
― The Cost of Living
Q&A with Alexander McCall Smith
— 475 members
— last activity May 05, 2015 07:39PM
THIS Q&A HAS CONCLUDEDBest-selling author Alexander McCall Smith joined Goodreads fans for a Q&A and group chat May 10-17, 2010. The official Q&A is n ...more
Wendy's Book Club
— 6 members
— last activity Mar 17, 2011 06:49AM
Originally formed from FEMALE, been hanging in there since 1997...named in memory of our dear friend who introduced us to the world of Claire and Jaim ...more
MIT Alumni Book Club
— 873 members
— last activity Jul 26, 2020 12:54PM
Welcome to the MIT alumni book club, a place for alumni to chat with MIT faculty about their favorite books. Each month, faculty will lead a discussio ...more
Barbara’s 2025 Year in Books
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