1. Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics. You are all stardust.

2. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

3. Maybe you don’t see people looking at you because you aren’t looking at them. Maybe you don’t hear all the good things people say about you because you’re too focused on the bad. Maybe you’re a lot more wonderful, beautiful, and special than you ever give yourself credit for.

4. Sometimes, I wonder why things happen the way they do.

                                   (Johnny Cash’s love letter to his wife) 

5. To those who stay put, the world is but an imaginary place. But to the movers, the makers, and the shakers, the world is all around them, an endless invitation.

6. Don’t ask for guarantees. And don’t look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed to shore.

7. The ball is suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the new year, to stop and reflect on the year that has gone by. To remember both our triumphs and our missteps, our promises made and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures or closed ourselves down for fear of getting hurt, ‘cause that’s what New Year’s is all about- getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about “what if?” and start embracing what would be. So when that ball drops at midnight, let’s remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight, but all year long.

8. I’m starting to believe that society has tried to condition every single one of us to feel as though we must be categorized in order to feel accepted. Peel back the layers of someone’s ethnic background, gender, sex, skin color, opinions and so on. At the end of the day, they’re nothing less than human. And every human is born with the need to laugh, the capability to fear, the tendency to love, and the inevitability to die. So why are we wasting our time allowing these convoluted labels and socially constructed notions interfere with the fact that we’re essentially the same? We all know how to feel. Let that be enough.

9. If you want someone to like you, then be yourself. Show them who you really are, and not one ounce less. Because if you want someone to love you, then they should love all of you. Every imperfection, every past mistake, every awkward moment. Everything. And if they don’t stick around because of who you are? Then they really don’t deserve you.

10. You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.

11. Some things don’t last forever, but some things do. Like a good song, or a good book, or a good memory you can take out and unfold in your darkest times, pressing down on the corners and peering in close, hoping you still recognize the person you see there.

12. I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it.

13. Save your heart for someone who loves it.

14. If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light, take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears. 

15. Try not to confuse “attachment” with “love.” Attachment is about fear and dependency, and has more to do with love of self than love of another. Love without attachment is the purest love because it isn’t about what others can give you because you’re empty. It’s about what you can give to others because you’re already full. 

16. Sometimes what you’re looking for comes when you’re not looking at all.

17. For God to teach you how to love people, He must bring unlovely people into your life.

18. Because His death was a proposal, He wanted you no matter the cost. Where some guys propose on their knee, Jesus proposed on a cross.

19. God’s “no” isn’t a rejection- it’s a redirection. 

20. Sometimes, loneliness is God’s cry for friendship time with you.