“Falling silent should be cultivated, the way the woods fall silent in the snow. Messages you can’t send any other way can be heard.”

“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.”

“I can feel my heart growing daily, which has its uncomfortable aspects, as if it could fall with the weight of love and break.”

“During this week, Ragan has experience a bit of insecurity with me, the result of my being quieter than usual, which he interprets as being a withdrawal from him. “No,” I countered, “it is a withdrawal into myself.” I do not think the same need exists in him. Quiet can be the two of us reading silently. But he prefers that I be nearby. I need regular time without anybody else around in order to feel restored.”

“Writing is not only a reflection of what one thinks and feels but a rope one weaves with words that can lower you below or hoist you above the surface of your life, enabling you to go deeper or higher than you would otherwise go. What excites me about his metaphor is that is makes writing much more than a lifesaving venture.”

“Everything we are given or learn or possess in any real sense - - the ability to play Beethoven sonata, write books, understand the principles of physics – is intended for one thing: to draw us closer to our selves.”

“Writing is a deeply spiritual act that can have a profound effect upon the practitioner.”