He realized that he was the first human being she'd ever seen. He was touched in a way that he hadn't imagined he could be.

In some basic way, it is our imperfections and even our pain that draws others close to us.

It's a human relationship, not a relationship between an expert and a problem.

To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgment, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of who we are and of our true value. Approval cannot be trusted. It can be withdrawn at any time no matter what our track record has been. It is as nourishing of real growth as cotton candy. Yet many of us spend our lives pursuing it.

What if? What if things were different than the way you have seen them in the past?

Those who dont love themselves as they are rarely love life either.

I was certainly not trained to be a fellow human being.

I did this because the person I loved wanted it.

Most people have come to prefer certain of lifes experiences and deny and reject others, unaware of the value of the hidden things that may come wrapped in plain and even ugly paper. In avoiding all pain and seeking comfort at all costs, we may be left without intimacy or compassion; in rejecting change and risk we often cheat ourselves of the quest; in denying our suffering we may never know our strength or our greatness.

Everybody is a story. When I was a child, people sat around kitchen tables and told their stories. We don't do that so much anymore. Sitting around the table telling stories is not just a way of passing time. It is the way the wisdom gets passed along. The stuff that helps us to live a life worth remembering.