"The murderous din of our materialism cannot be allowed to silence the independent voices which will never cease to speak: whether they be the voices of Christian Saints, or the voices of Oriental sages like Lao-Tse or the Zen masters, or the voices of men like Thoreau or Martin Buber, or Max Picard." - Thomas Mertin, Thoughts in Solitude, 12

"There seems no plan because it is all plan; there seems no center because it is all center." - C. S. Lewis

The first part of this quote strikes particularly well with me right now. I graduated college almost four months ago, and for the first time in my life, I have no plan. These weeks have been a constant struggle. What do I want? What career should I head towards? I feel I have no time. I dislike my job. I am stressed.

"There seems no plan because it is all plan." I must remind myself that not having a plan right now is all part of the process that will lead me toward reaching my dreams. Everything I experience now is part of a much larger plan, whether I can see the upcoming steps or not. I am meant to be here, now. Instead of worrying about where I will be, I should slow down, explore myself, take advantage of this opportunity to choose my path of happiness. I may never again have the time or independence I have now.

"It is fine to want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, doing well is simply not enough." - Anna Quindlen, Loud and Clear, 215

Listen to your heart-whispers. - Sri Chinmoy. This was on a sugar-packet I picked up from a local restaurant in Roscoe Village

"She used to tell me it wasn't up to us to question the circumstances of our lives. It was our job, instead, to live them as best we could, to trust that God had a plan for each of us, to know that something that looked like a curse could just as easily be a blessing." - Lee Martin, in Molly McQuade's One Word, 41.

"A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship." - The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, 48.

"Wisdom begins when you discover the difference between 'That doesn't make sense' and 'I don't understand." - Mary Doria Russell, Children of God

We must never seek to establish a rule so rigid as to leave no room for exception. - Children of God, Mary Doria Russell. Quote by St. Ignatius

Simple Advice

I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. - Anna Quindlen

"Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work." - Anna Quindlen