My Commonplace Book

“Love is a passion for life shared with another person. You fall in love with a person who you think is wonderful. It’s your deepest appreciation of the value of that individual, and that individual is a reflection of what you value most in life. Love, for sound reasons, can be one of life’s greatest rewards. You shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed about being in love.” – Terry Goodkind, Chainfire

“We are each the love of someone’s life.” – Andrew Sean Greer, The Confessions of Max Tivoli

“You don’t have an idea what idea really is. You can’t love anyone or anything until you love your own existence, first. Love can grow out of a request for your own life. When you love yourself, your own existence, then you love someone who can enhance your existence, share it with you, make it more pleasurable. When you hate yourself and believe your existence is evil, then you can only hate, you can only experience the shell of love, that longing for something good, but you have nothing to base it in but hatred.” – Terry Goodkind, The Pillars of Creation