“George looked at her for a long moment. Finally he replied, "And why do you find it so hard to think someone might like you and want to do things for you?”

“Why is it so hard to do a thing Now, at the moment when one thinks of it.”

“What was that teacher trying to do?
That teacher was trying to break her spirit.
But why would school do that? So you could become someone like her parents and believe in the things they believe in. So you won’t believe in the things they don’t believe in. And believe you’re a happy person whose life has meaning. So you will go to your job and do whatever gross thing someone tells you to do and get drunk on Friday and Saturday nights and pay taxes and bills. That’s why.”

““You’re sure you want to look into these cognates? You might see things you wouldn’t like.”
“So long as I know the truth, I don’t care whether I like it or not.””

“Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so just because you might not like what you find.”

“There are a million things one might do with a block of wood. But what do you think might happen if someone, just once, believed in it?”

“It's always good to squat over the mirror and take a good, hard look at your own ideology sometimes. 'Cause if you don't do the thinking someone else will do the thinking for you.”

“When someone has been mean to you, why would you want to be good to them?' 'You wouldn't want to. That's what makes it hard. You do it anyway. Being good is hard. Much harder than being bad.”

“If you want someone to tell you what to think…"

"You will never be short of people willing to do so.”

“Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.”