Trevor Collins

“I should give such advice myself, knowing that a friend may give counsel as to outer things, but that a man must satisfy his inner conscience by his own perceptions of what is right and what is wrong.”
― Anthony Trollope, Complete Works of Anthony Trollope

“People do not see you, / They invent you and accuse you.”
― Hélène Cixous

“She didn’t have to say that it wasn’t our time, that a whole new world had opened up for her in Mexico. She didn’t have to say that she was just beginning her journey, while I was already weary from mine because of all those I’d lost along the way.” — The Sapphire Sea”
― Bobby Underwood, The Sapphire Sea

“The more I reflect on the elder son in me, the more I realize how deeply rooted this form of lostness really is and how hard it is to return home from there. Returning home from a lustful escapade seems so much easier than returning home from a cold anger that has rooted itself in the deepest corners of my being. My resentment is not something that can be easily distinguished and dealt with rationally. It is far more pernicious: something that has attached itself to the underside of my virtue. Isn’t it good to be obedient, dutiful, law-abiding, hardworking, and self-sacrificing? And still it seems that my resentments and complaints are mysteriously tied to such praiseworthy attitudes. This connection often makes me despair. At the very moment I want to speak or act out of my most generous self, I get caught in anger or resentment. And it seems that just as I want to be most selfless, I find myself obsessed about being loved. Just when I do my utmost to accomplish a task well, I find myself questioning why others do not give themselves as I do. Just when I think I am capable of overcoming my temptations, I feel envy toward those who gave in to theirs. It seems that wherever my virtuous self is, there also is the resentful complainer.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming