“For, what is order without common sense, but Bedlam's front parlor? What is imagination without common sense, but the aspiration to out-dandy Beau Brummell with nothing but a bit of faded muslin and a limp cravat? What is Creation without common sense, but a scandalous thing without form or function, like a matron with half a dozen unattached daughters? And God looked upon the Creation in all its delightful multiplicity, and saw that, all in all, it was quite Amiable.” FormOrderBitsImaginationCommonHalfSawsFrontsCreationDaughterFunctionCommon SenseAspirationDozenDelightfulFadedMultiplicityAmiableParlorScandalousDandy Author:Vera Nazarian
“Once upon a time, began the story of you.Many perilous, wonderful, harrowing, brilliant, delightful, profound things happened.And yet—the most exciting twists and best turns are yet to come. And it absolutely does not matter how old or young you are.Like a bright carpet of wonders, enjoy the unrolling of your story.” DoeMatterStoriesYoungTurnsEnjoyWonderWonderfulHappenedExcitingProfoundBrilliantThings HappenDelightfulTwistsCarpetOnce Upon A Time Author:Vera Nazarian
“Thoughts are slippery fish in a cold shallow stream.If you are intent on capturing a worthwhile one, you need to stand very still, focus very hard on somewhere outside yourself, and then simply ignore it until it gets so close that it tickles your ankles.Then, pounce.” IfsNeedsStillsHardFocusColdFishesStreamsWorthwhileShallowSlipperyAnkles Author:Vera Nazarian
“The compass rose is nothing but a star with an infinite number of rays pointing in all directions.It is the one true and perfect symbol of the universe.And it is the one most accurate symbol of you.Spread your arms in an embrace, throw your head back, and prepare to receive and send coordinates of being. For, at last you know—you are the navigator, the captain, and the ship.” KnowsLastsUniverseStarsPerfectNumbersArmsInfiniteEmbraceRoseSpreadShipsSymbolsRaysAccurateCaptainsPointingCompassCoordinatesNavigators Author:Vera Nazarian
“It is life that fights and struggles and rages; life, that tears at you in its last agonizing throes to hold on, even if but for one futile instant longer... Whereas I, I come softly when it is all done. Pain and death are an ordered sequence, not a parallel pair. So easy to confuse the correlations, not realizing that one does not bring the other.” IfsDoeDonePainLastsFightingEasyRealizingStruggleTearsRageInstantPairsSequenceParallelsCorrelationAgonizing Author:Vera Nazarian
“It does not take a great supernatural heroine or magical hero to save the world.We all save it every day, and we all destroy it -- in our own small ways -- by every choice we make and every tiniest action resulting from that choice.The next time you feel useless and impotent, remember what you are in fact doing in this very moment. And then observe your tiny, seemingly meaningless acts and choices coalesce and cascade together into a powerful positive whole.The world -- if it could -- will thank you for it.And if it does not... well, a true heroine or hero does not require it.” IfsWorldWayFeelsWellsDoeWholeMomentsFactsActionTogetherRememberChoicesNextPowerfulHeroTinyUselessMeaninglessNext TimeSave The WorldHeroinesPowerlessnessCascadeTrue Hero Author:Vera Nazarian
“Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and constant aspects of truth that can be perceived by human means. And I don't mean the kind of surface beauty that fades with age, or the sort of shallow wisdom that gets lost in platitudes. True beauty grips your gut and squeezes your lungs, and makes you see with utmost clarity exactly what is before you. True wisdom then steps in, to interpret, illuminate, and form a life-altering insight.” HumansKindMeanRealAgeFormLostStepsWiseFairsAspectConstantInsightSurfaceClarityGutsTemporaryFadesShallowLungsTrue BeautyPlatitudesTrue WisdomLife Altering Author:Vera Nazarian
“Relief is a great feeling.It's the emotional and physical reward we receive from our bodies upon alleviation of pain, pressure and struggle. A time to bask in the lack of the negative.And yet, think about it—relief is really the status quo, a negation of the suffering, a nothing in itself. It is the way things were before the pressure and struggle began.So, is it a step back? A regression?Or is it an opportunity to regroup, start over, and move in a different direction?Use your moment of relief well.” ThinkingWayWellsDifferentMomentsUseFeelingsBodyPainMovingSufferingOpportunityStepsStruggleEmotionalNegativePressureRewardsReliefStatus QuoStarting OverYour MomDifferent DirectionsNegationGreat FeelingsRegressionPain Relief Author:Vera Nazarian
“I believe in serendipity, but I also believe there are times when you have to be the one who lines up everything so it can fall into place.” BelieveFallI BelieveLinesI Believe InSerendipityFall Into Place Author:Susan Stroman
“About twenty pages into Luke B. Goebel's Fourteen Stories, None of Them Are Yours, I realized I was reading with one hand holding my forehead and one balled at my waist, kind of clenched, and gazing down into the paper like a man soon to be converged upon. Goebel's testimony comes on like that: engrossing, fanatical, full of private grief, and yet, at the same time, charismatic, tender, and intrepid, aglow with more spirit than most Americans have the right to wield.” MenKindStoriesHandsSpiritReadingGriefPaperPagesTwentiesI RealizedTestimonyForeheadsFourteenLukeGazingCharismaticHand Holding Author:Blake Butler