L.R. Knost Quotes

Healing is not a straight and narrow road
that leads from darkness to light.
There's no sudden epiphany to take
us from despair to serenity, no orchestrated
steps to move us from hurting to healed.
Healing is a winding mountain road with steep
climbs and sudden descents, breathtaking views
and breath-stealing drop-offs, dark tunnels
and blinding exposures, dead ends and
endless backtracks, rest stops and break downs,
sheer rock walls and panoramic vistas.
Healing is a journey with no destination,
because healing is the journey of every lifetime.

No matter the problem, kindness is always the right response.

Wars are waged by people
who were parented by someone.
Crimes are committed by people
who were parented by someone.
Brutality is inflicted by people
who were parented by someone.
Nations are led by people
who were parented by someone.
Hope, help, and healing are all
shared by people who were
parented by someone.
We, the parents of today, are
that someone for our children,
and our children will one day be
that someone for their children.
We may not be able to eliminate
all war, end all crime, or stop all
brutality, but sowing peace,
kindness, compassion, and
empathy into our children
is the single most powerful
way we can each be someone who
changes the world for the better.

Listen instead of lecture. Communicate instead of command. Relate instead of retaliate. Be flexible instead of being fixated on getting your own way. Seek to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. In short, behave the way you want your children to learn to behave.

It's okay to slow down,
to turn your face to the sun,
to breathe deeply under the stars,
to rest in a warm embrace.
It’s okay to live in the moment
when the moment is worth living in,
to cry tears of joy or pain or both
when life feels too big or too hard,
to twirl with arms wide open
when you want to feel young
and free and invincible again
despite age and time and circumstance.
It’s okay to feel, to fail, to try, to win,
to laugh, to cry, to live, to die,
all on your own terms.
It’s okay to be wholly and imperfectly you.
It’s okay to be human.

Until our world decides that every human matters, that everyone has a right to food and safety and freedom and healthcare and equality, it is the obligation of those privileged to have food and safety and freedom and healthcare and equality to fight tirelessly for those who do not.

Saying someone can't be sad because someone else may have it worse is like saying someone can't be happy because someone else may have it better. ~Unknown

Children are compassionate by nature. Engaging their compassion with communication and connection instead of igniting their self-preservation with threats and punishments is not only more effecting in guiding their behavior, it's also more effective in growing their humanity.

Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.

"When you're lying in bed at night and regrets from the day come to steal your sleep...
"I should have"
"If only I'd"
"I wish I'd"
...grab one of them and turn it into an "I will" and sleep peacefully knowing tomorrow will be a better day."

Daydreamer, dream on. Never forget that you are a one-of-a-kind, never-before-seen, gift-to-the-world, and you've got a special purpose for being here. Raising children is beautiful and chaotic and wonder-filled, but you'll have a lot of life to live once your children are out of the early stages of intense need for your time and attention. So dream your dreams, and journal your thoughts and ideas, and don't be afraid to embrace the present, secure in the knowledge that your time will come.

I'm just a human
standing in front of other humans
reminding them that we're all human.

Beauty is not found in uniformity,
nor value in conformity. It is in our
colors and quirks and flaws and scars
that true beauty and value unfold,
because that is where our stories are told.

She is fragile as the morning dew
melting in the warmth of a child's smile;
stirring at the lonely, lovely waft
of a butterfly's wings;
tender as the curve
of a wildflower petal.
She is fierce as a summer storm
now raging against the fiery sky;
now raining tears to soothe
the sun-scorched earth.
She is soft as a midnight breeze
swaying to the sound of waves breaking
on distant shores;
whispering comfort to a world
steeped in the dark night of inhumanity.
She is brilliant as the rising Phoenix
lifting the suffering from the ashes;
her own suffering woven into wings of fire
in the long watches of the night.
She is serene and turbulent as the silvered water
hiding currents unknown beneath the gentle gaze
of a human who has walked a thousand miles and still has more to go.

If life is what we make it, let's make it beautiful.