Your entire life only happens in this moment. The present moment is life itself.
Yet, people live as if the opposite were true and treat the present moment as a stepping stone to the next moment – a means to an end
Eckhart Tolle
Fairy tales are about trouble, about getting into it and out of it, and trouble seems to be a necessary stage on the route of becoming.
All the magic and glass mountains and pearls the size of houses and princesses beautiful as the day and talking birds and part-time serpents are distractions from the tough core of most of the stories, the struggle to survive against adversaries, to find your place in your world, and to come into your own.
Difficulty is always a school, though learning is optional.
Rebecca Solnit, The Faraway Nearby