“My prayer is an attitude of pure gratitude for having the opportunity to experience life on this earth with all its pain, heartache, worry, and turmoil; coupled with this gratitude is the thankfuln...”

“Making amends is not only saying the words but also being willing to listen to how your behavior caused anothers pain, and then the really hard partchanging behavior.”

“Shame is a powerful feeling. There is a tremendous difference between making a mistake and believing you are a mistake...If I dont see myself as being a mistake then it is I who must take responsib...”

“Others hide from being real by filling the air with words; the more words they throw out, the less actual communication happens and they are left with only an illusion of connection. This is the in...”

“Mature adults gravitate toward new values and understandings, not just rehashing and blind acceptance of past patterns and previous learning. This is an ongoing process and maturity demands lifelon...”

“The more severe the dysfunction you experienced growing up, the more difficult boundaries are for you.”

“You are the gatekeeper to your life and your home. You get to decide who or what comes in and what needs to stay out. If it doesn't contribute to the peaceful home you are now trying to have, then ...”

“Saying yes comes very easily to me and, more often than not, I get into situations that could have been avoided by using the magical two letter word, NO. Then I sit back and regret having said yes ...”

“If you spend your life sparing peoples feelings and feeding their vanity, you get so you cant distinguish what should be respected in them.”

“There are orphanages," he exclaimed to himself, "for children who have lost their parents--oh! why, why, why, are there no harbours of refuge for grown men who have not yet lost them?”

“Its the great surprise of my life that I ended up loving [my father] so much.”

“It pleased Aliena that they were all together: she and Jack and their children, and Jack's mother, and Aliena's brother, and Martha. It was quite like an ordinary family, and Aliena could almost fo...”

“In Ireland we have the phenomenon known as a "Spoiled Priest." Unlike a spoiled child, this does not refer to a Priest throwing a temper tantrum.”