The sisters and brothers that you meet give you the materials which your character uses to build itself. It is said that some people are born great, others achieve it, some have it thrust upon them. In truth, the ways in which your character is built have to do with all three of those. Those around you, those you choose, and those who choose you.

A Conceit Give me your hand Make room for me to lead and follow you beyond this rage of poetry. Let others have the privacy of touching words and love of loss of love. For me Give me your hand.

Glasses clinked and voices rubbed each other.

Human beings are like some plants. If we pause a few seconds in our journey, we begin setting down roots, tendrils that entangle other people as we ourselves are entangled.

If we are unhappy without a relationship, we'll probably be unhappy with one as well. A relationship doesn't begin our life; a relationship doesn't become our life. A relationship is a continuation of life.

When we don't get close to people, at least we know what to expect: nothing.

I also praise the cooperative efforts in our pediatric intensive care unit. In fact, this togetherness permeates every aspect of our program here, including our office staff. We're friends, we work well together, we're dedicated to alleviating pain, and we're interested in each other's problems, too. We're a team, and Ben Carson is only part of that team.

True happiness results less from money than from our relationships—with ourselves, with other people, and with God.

Ownership of an idea makes cooperation with its tenets much more likely.

We long to find someone who has been where we've been, who shares our fragile places, who sees our sunsets with the same shades of blue. Soul mates. They somehow validate the depth of our experiences.

Satan loves isolation. He wants to draw the believer out of healthy relationships into isolated relationships and out of healthy practices into secretive, unhealthy practices. He purposely woos us away from those who might openly recognize the seduction and call his hand on it. Let's beware of anything that separates us from godly people.

Thank You, Lord, for giving me the right kind of companions.