Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage

Yes, I’m odd, endlessly judgmental, secretly antisocial. Can you love me now?

God has unconditional love for everyone, whereas I tend to fall a bit short in that regard.

I’d like to know if God gives us points for showing up or simply marks us present.

When people know you too well, they eventually see your damage, your weirdness, carelessness, and mean streak. They see how ordinary you are after all, that whatever it was that distinguished you in the beginning is the least of who you actually are.

We are going to save the world by repeatedly busting the dread that looms over us like a blimp, by pushing back our sleeves and distracting it with the next right step and good works.

He said that when you first meet him, you’re meeting his bodyguard. I wrote it down and later taped it to my bathroom mirror, where all truth resides at least briefly. His bodyguard is smart and charming, and keeps people out. Deep inside, his true self is very human, which is to say beautiful and kind of a mess—needy, insecure, judgmental, like mo

She looked and sounded like a lot of fun, which I don’t like in a person.

I was stuck in staying one step ahead, tightly wrapped, fairly successful with hunched shoulders, filled with fears and tears, exhausted but the ultimate good sport, always cheerful or at least conversational.

I am slowly making my way from a hypnotized engine of delusion and self-obsession to being a bit more real, a smidge more alive more often.