“Guilt and rage, hatred and fear were pathways to weakness and clumsy choices.”

“But sometimes shame is a more powerful engine than rage. Like rage, it burns hot; and like rage it tends to consume its own furnace.”

“Sometimes shame is a more powerful engine than rage.”

“Rage was sometimes a useful ally in the heat of a fight, but it was a trickster. It made everything seem possible.”

“No matter what choice you make, it doesn't define you. Not forever. People can make bad choices and change their minds and hearts and do good things later; just as people can make good choices and then turn around and walk a bad path. No choice we make lasts our whole life. If there's ever a choice you've made that you no longer agree with, you can make another choice.”

“So is that it? Will I have to live the rest of my life like this? Not doing the right thing? Not saying the right words?""That's your choice. You can't change the past. Ah, but the future. . .you own the future." The Greenman smiled. "So, you tell me. . .what choice do you want to make now?”

“I don't ever want to live in a world where something like mercy...or maybe it's compassion...is the wrong choice.”