Ember

“Trust is built in very small moments, which I call 'sliding door' moments. In any interaction, there is a possibility of connecting with your partner or turning away from your partner. One such moment is not important, but if you're always choosing to turn away, then trust erodes in a relationship- very gradually, very slowly.”
― John Gottman

“Our gridlocked conflicts contain the potential for great intimacy between us. But we have to feel safe enough to pull our dreams out of the closet. When we wear them, our partner may glimpse how beautiful we are—fragile but shimmering. Then, with understanding, our partners may join us in being dream catchers, rather than dream shredders.”
― John M. Gottman, And Baby Makes Three: The Six-Step Plan for Preserving Marital Intimacy and Rekindling Romance After Baby Arrives

“taking responsibility—even for a small part of the problem in communication—presents the opportunity for great repair.”
― John M. Gottman, Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love

“Danger rarely wore a monstrous face and wielded a pitchfork. No, danger came most often in the form of people like Edward, the nice people whose niceness only went so deep, who believed they were more deserving of power and respect than anyone who was a little bit different. And she would never know how many other nice, ordinary people out there were as ugly as Edward underneath.”
― Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches