“Haeresis est maxima, opera maleficarum non credere” ~Malleus Maleficarum
(The greatest of all heresies is the disbelief in witchcraft)
“My goal is to always come from a place of love, but sometimes I just have to break it down for a motherfucker.” ~RuPaul
“Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.” ~Jacqueline Bisset
…(although with all due respect to the ever wonderful Ms. Bisset, I’d say the same holds true for men as well ~ Geoffrey)
“Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever towards it;
let nothing stop you or turn you aside.”
~From The Charge of the Goddess by Doreen Valliente
“The emotional health of a village depended upon having a man whom everyone loved to hate, and Heaven had blessed us with two of them.”
— Barry Hughart (Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was)
“Science is a method of talking about the Universe in terms that bind it to a common reality. Magick is a way of speaking to the Universe in words that it cannot ignore.” –Neil Gaiman
“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” — Marilyn Monroe
“Don’t be pushed by your problems…be lead by your dreams” ~ Unknown
“In the Midst of Winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible Summer.” ~ Albert Camus
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
(NOTE: There is, at best, dark irony embodied in this quote given it’s source was a slave-holder. The sentiment remains true however. It is only by confronting the complexity and truths and folly’s and tragic failings of the past that we are able to learn from it move forward from it and appropriately engage with it and with our Ancestors and their legacies.)
“Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted.” ~ Alfred Adler
“There is nothing in which people more betray their character than in what they laugh at.” ~ Goethe
“Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”
-William Ellery Channing
“It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else, is the greatest accomplishment.” – Emerson
Chrysalis 
…there is this insidious idea that we should be happy and comfortable at all times and if we are not there is something wrong with us.. and that we should probably buy something or do something someone else wants us to do in order to get back to “normal”…
Insidious is right! I’m watching a friend run himself ragged over this idea. What’s worse, it’s created an abominable union with his tendencies towards codependency and a healthy serving of magical thinking. The end result, a mentality that says “If I just do more things for other people (family, friends, church), my life will magically turn around and things will be better and I will be happy.” Unfortunately, he’s not ready to hear “it doesn’t work that way.”
I wish you the best during this time of emotional trouble, Pax. I’ll leave it to you and the gods to decide what “the best” looks like at the moment, though. 😉
Thank you for your kind words. It wasn’t really a specific thing or issue causing me to feel fragile the other day… mentally and spiritually brittle really, just a generalized but very deep unsettled feeling…
The joys of the journey and of spiritual practice… whee!
As for your friend, I would say the best thing you can do for him is to be there as a friend to listen, to be supportive, and to speak the truth to him as best you can…. dive into your own spiritual practices and don’t be afraid to ask the Holy Powers for some assistance with/for him… I find that it is especially important to dive into those things that keep us grounded and balanced and spiritually well nourished when those we care about are in a period of suffering or learning or challenge…
Thanks, again for your kindness, and many hugs dear man,
Pax