“The unendurable is the beginning of the curve of joy.”

“...he is not like other children, not cruel, or savage. For this very reason he is called 'strange.' A child who is mature, in the sense that the heart is mature, is always, I have observed, called...”

“I have been loved," she said, "by something strange, and it has forgotten me.”

“He knew at the same time that this stricture of acceptance (by which what we must love is made into what we can love) would eventually be a part of himself”

“To think is to be sick...”

“None of us suffers as much as we should, or loves as much as we say. Love is the first lie; wisdom the last.”

“He had never believed that spirituality had to be anemic or aesthetic.”

“Nothing's perfect, the world's not perfect. But it's there for us, trying the best it can; that's what makes it so damn beautiful.”

“The goal of all principled people is to recognize truth. Simple or complex thoughts and feelings standing alone rarely express any universal truths. Thoughts and feelings combine to create profound...”

“To create art with all the passion in one's soul is to live art with all the beauty in one's heart.”

“art is risk made visible”

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”

“The best time for you to hold your tongue is the time you feel you must say something or bust.”