Jean Smith

“Badger hates Society, and invitations, and dinner, and all that sort of thing.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

“It is not easy for us, busy people, to truly receive a blessing. Perhaps the fact that few people offer a real blessing is the sad result of the absence of people who are willing and able to receive such a blessing. It has become extremely difficult for us to stop, listen, pay attention, and receive gracefully what is offered to us.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

“The archaeology of grief is not ordered. It is more like earth under a spade, turning up things you had forgotten. Surprising things come to light: not simply memories, but states of mind, emotions, older ways of seeing the world.”
― Helen Macdonald, H is for Hawk

“No animal, according to the rules of animal-etiquette, is ever expected to do anything strenuous, or heroic, or even moderately active during the off-season of winter.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows