Stephanie > Recent Status Updates

“…here is a way to evaluate existence. Measure its success by the extent to which you have loved and been loved.”

“And maybe that’s it: You do things in the moment for the person you hope you might be in two years from now.”

“But I’ve realized lately that letting the past define your life is like tying yourself to a version of the world that doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Want is a kind of thief. It’s a door in your heart, and once you know it’s there, you’ll spend your life longing for whatever’s behind it.”

“Even when something beautiful breaks, the making of it still matters.”

“Love means constantly saying you’re sorry, and then doing better.”

On fighting…”There doesn’t need to be a winner and a loser. You just have to care how the other person feels. You have to care more about them than you do about being right.”

“…but it appears that nature can right her wrongs quicker than man.”

Maybe everyone ached for something that didn’t exist, and that was what we searched for in each other, and everywhere we went.

“Men are what they are because of what they do. Not what they say.”

A lower-arm amputee with cataracts could have backed this trailer more accurately than you.

You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.

If not for heart and imagination, the world of fiction would be a very seedy place. It might not even exist at all.

When you write, you want to get rid of the world, do you not? Of course you do. When you’re writing, you’re creating your own worlds.

I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.

Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don’t have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough.

“When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.”

I think my purpose is to give to others, to help in whatever way I can. And if it adds to their moments and experiences, if it shows someone who doesn’t think they’re worth it that someone thinks they are then maybe it makes one of their moments just a little bit better.

It is we who nourish the soul of the world, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that’s where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.

“It’s not what enters men’s mouths that’s evil,” said the alchemist. “It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day the sun rises.

On spiritual practices and disciplines: I needed to give myself permission not to practice some things for a while because I couldn’t figure out how to do them without thinking I was earning something.

Instead of dismissing people’s words when they sincerely offer a kind word about you, or gratitude for something you’ve done or the person you are, practice listening instead and see if their words might carry a hint to your design…..when she spoke those words that night she colored something in for me, and it was well with my soul.

Choose your absence so that your presence will have more impact.

But He keeps on reminding us that He has made our heart His home, and that’s often the place from which he’ll make His voice heard.

Becoming a soul minimalist does not mean that you should hold on to nothing but rather that nothing should have a hold on you.

Unmade decisions hold power. They pull, they push, they interrupt where they aren’t wanted and poke us at night. They can turn us into strange versions of ourselves.

“It doesn’t matter what people tell you. It doesn’t matter what they might say. Sometimes you have to leave home. Sometimes, running away means you’re headed in the exact right direction.”

“When I’m reading a good book it’s like I’m in the company of smart folks, folks who have something to say and have raked their mind to find ways to say it. I hope I’ll have something to say, one day.”

“When I’m reading a good book it’s like I’m in the company of smart folks, folks who have something to say and have raked their mind to find ways to say it. I hope I’ll have something to say, one day.”