Brian Howard

“Painful desire involves greed, grasping, inadequacy, and longing. Skillful desire is born of this same Will to Do but directed by love, vitality, compassion, creativity, and wisdom.”
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life

“For all we know This may only be a dream An old Nina Simone song.”
― Dan Chaon, Sleepwalk

“Because sadness is the truest emotion,” Greta says. “Happiness isn’t to be trusted. It’s a bald-faced liar. But the truth of your sadness enriches every other thing inside you, especially your joy. You shouldn’t be afraid to go to the place that makes you sad, Molly Hook. The more you go to that dark place inside you, the lighter it gets. You go there enough times, you realize that dark place is actually your sacred place. That place is all of you and the tears you take from that place are just the darkness leaking out, precious drop by precious drop. You following me?”
― Trent Dalton, All Our Shimmering Skies

“I can’t tolerate cell phones,” I say. “For health reasons.” “Yech,” he grunts. “Those things ruined the country. I don’t know how, but they convinced the people that they should spend their whole lives inside a screen the size of a playing card. I’d take a jail cell over that bullshit any time.”
― Dan Chaon, Sleepwalk