“Never say never, dear.You might be surprised at what you can do, should circumstances dictate”

“HOW do you define a word without concrete meaning? To each his own, the saying goes, soWHYpush to attain an ideal state of being that no two random people will agree isWHERE you want to be? Faultless. Finished. Incomparable. People can never be these, and anyway,WHENdid creating a flawless facade become a more vital goal than learning to love the personWHOlives inside your skin? The outside belongs to others. Only you should decide for you -WHATis perfect.”

“You can turn your back but you can never really walk away.”

“Perfect?How do you define a word withoutconcrete meaning? To each his own, the saying goes, sowhy push to attain an ideal state of being that no two random people will agree iswhereyou want to be? Faultless.Finished. Incomparable. Peoplecan never be these, and anyway,whendid creating a flawless facadebecome a more vital goalthan learning to love the person wholives inside your skin?The outside belongs to others.Only you should decide for you---whatis perfect”

“DisappointmentCan do a couple things.It can drop you into a giantsucking sinkhole ofdepression,a place you have to fightto climb out of. Or itcan trigger an epicmaniato overcome the oddsand transform failureinto success. Say youswingas high as the chains willtake you because you seekthe thrill of flight, and on theup-kick, you lose your seat.Injury is likely. But if youworry about fallingdown,and never chance "up,"the sky will remainforever out of reach.”

“Spilling a Secret What its size, will have varying consequences. It’s not possible to predict what will happen if you open the gunnysack, let the cat escape. A liberated feline might purr on your lap, or it might scratch your eyes out. You can’t tell until you loosen the knot. Do you chance losing a friendship, if that friend’s well-being will only be preserved by betraying sworn-to silence trust? Once the seam is ripped, can it be mended again? And if that proves impossible, will you be okay when it all falls to pieces?”

“I've never known him as a civilian. Never known him as just a regular guy, something I'm not sure he--or any warrior--can ever be again.”