Ellen

“I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

“Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine.”
― Kathleen Norris

“I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

“In the end, I wonder if the true movement of the world might not be a voice raised in song.”
― Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog