Elemental Origins: The Complete Series (Elemental Origins, #1-6; Elemental Universe)

by A.L. Knorr

she didn't care to make polite conversation or build rapport with a colleague just to make a professional relationship more enjoyable.

She fell into bed complaining that men talk too much.

"I still have no idea what I want to do with my life." "You'll figure it out," he said, smiling. "One day at a time."

Why not forgive yourself. Wipe the slate clean, and use this summer to figure yourself out?

"Put the past behind you. Learn from it, and move forward. We all make mistakes. Resolve to be better."

but I didn't want to tattle. I can't bear the sound of whining, especially my own.

We grasp at the tangible when the earth under our spiritual feet shifts unexpectedly.

The magical moment was over so unexpectedly that it left me feeling bereft and wishing I had paid more attention. And isn't that the way the most precious moments of our lives come and go? They're over in a moment leaving us breathless and dizzy, and feeling like yelling 'Wait, don't go!'

You can't really hate someone unless you've loved them first. You might feel revulsion, or anger, or indifference, or any number of negative feelings toward a rude stranger, but hate was reserved for a special circumstance. It was reserved only for those whom we have loved, but who have betrayed our love at the deepest level.

It wasn't that I liked being alone, because in fact I dreamed of having what Beverly had referred to in her old-fashioned way as a 'bosom buddy.' I sometimes found myself watching girls chattering away in a coffee shop, talking and laughing, their heads bent together. It looked lovely from the outside. But in my experience, these kinds of relationships always came to an end, usually painfully. Wasn't it better to avoid that pain altogether? Wasn't that pain worse than being lonely?

“I’m just saying that if you really look—” He squinted to emphasize his words. “If you pay attention and you really watch––” His mossy green eyes bored into mine with an intensity that made it impossible to look away. His voice was low, his words obviously for my ears only. “You’ll see things that others wish to keep hidden. Most people are blind. Don’t be one of them.”

“Nearly all can stand adversity, but if you want to test a (hu)man's character, give [them] power.” Abe Lincoln

“Even the most intelligent people tend to seek out evidence that confirms what they already think, rather than new information that would give them a more robust view of reality.” Think Like a Freak