Jewel

"She looked u at me through tear-stained cheeks and stammered, "My dad won't give me a Porsche when I come home if I don;t get all A's." I was a bit stunned. IT was my first encounter with real wealth. I remember looking at her and thinking, Holy shit. Being spoiled is worse abuse that being hit. At least I knew that being hit is wrong, But being spoiled ruins you."

Audiences don't care if you sing correctly. They care if they feel something. If they don't, they forget you. Emotional honesty creates loyalty and a lifelong connection above all else.

Meditation helped me to access the same thing my writing did: my intelligence and my instincts beyond the turmoil that inhabited the forefront of my mind.

Hatred is hurt masquerading-it is an energy used to fool someone into thinking they are frightening when in truth they are frightened.

I'd rather see the world from a different angle.

I will gather myself around my faith,
for light does the darkness most fear.

Carrying anger with you is like lighting your own house on fire to get rid of rats. The rats run to safety while you burn yourself down. Forgive. Let go. Heal.

When angered I ask myself, “If I removed my anger or hurt from this situation and acted out of love and unity — if I acted from my highest self — what would I do now?

For me, success was finding the courage to be true to myself, and holding on to a sense of humor along the way while refining my craft.

You can boil down all interactions to two categories: ones that grow love and ones that diminish it. Choose love.

We all need to demand the happiness for ourselves we desire. Fight for it. Wrestle it out of the clenched fist of the world you live in

Unfelt feelings don’t cease to exist; they stay bottled up in our minds and our bodies. They dissipate when given expression. A heart can break only if it is closed — if it remains open there is nothing to break.

Spend time in silence. Take time to get to know yourself and your genius in stillness.

Collect beads of night / Fill your / skin with the dark weight of the / wet sky. Let boldness live in your heart / and I will recognize you / amongst the many / and claim you as my own

The truth is that no one can keep you captive. No one can keep you unhappy. No one can keep you abused. Our lives rise to the level we accept. I do believe we can rise from the screaming blood of our losses, of extreme pain, physically debilitating emotion, psychological neglect, and apathy, and not merely survive, but thrive. We do not need to let our histories or our losses define us except in the way we choose. We can use them as fuel to create real depth, beauty, connectedness, and compassion in our lives. Our stories can make us exceptional people, not damaged ones. If we choose to be truthful with ourselves. And if we choose to digest and release the pain rather than try to avoid it. This is how pain accumulates and creates more pain, leading to neurosis, pathology, and brittleness of spirit.