Our strongest gifts are usually those we are barely aware of possessing. They are a part of our God-given nature, with us from the moment we drew fir… - Parker Palmer

Reality—including one’s own—is divine, not to be defied but honored.

Over the years I have met people who have made a very human claim on me by making known their need to be loved. For a long time my response was instant and reflexive, born of the "oughts" I had absorbed: "Of course you need to be loved. Everyone does. And I love you." It took me a long time to understand that although everyone needs to be loved, I cannot be the source of that gift for everyone who asks me for it. There are some relationships in which I am capable of love and otters in which I am not. To pretend otherwise, to put out promissory notes I am unable to honor, is to damage my own integrity and that of the person in need, all in the name of love.

In depression, the built-in bunk detector that we all possess is not only turned on but is set on high.