“Yet understanding one’s own nature is often a first step to personal growth. All this psychological crap was making me irritable.”

“Self-awareness of one’s faults, far from being the first step to growth, is very often the second foot in the mud.”

“The first step to solving any problem is to accept one’s own accountability for creating it.”

“Steps can be special and mysterious, taking on a metaphorical quality as they become a powerful way to define the truth. The concept of “taking one’s first step” is often overrated. Aftertaking a first step, no one ever stops cold. It is the succession of steps moving forward with a purpose that has true meaning in our lives.”

“Everyone has quirks of behavior and personality that at times irritate us. Yet in most cases the problem isn't that they are bad; its simply that their responses and thought patterns are different from ours.Every person is different. Yet often, those differences are not understood or valued by others. Trying to change one's personality to match yours is as pointless and as futile as trying to change one's physical features to make him or her look like you. The key to reducing frustration over one's quirks of behavior and to communicate with him or her is to understand and accommodate their unique personality style.”

“No culture has yet solved the dilemma each has faced with the growth of a conscious mind: how to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in all life, when one finds darkness not only in one’s own culture but within oneself.”