“Writing is a socially acceptable form of getting naked in public.”

~ Paul Coelho

It’s true. When we write, we are baring some part of ourselves to the world. Or at least whatever part of it – large or small – is reading our work. I think a writer either needs to enjoy being naked in public or, at the very least, learn to tolerate it well, because only those who are willing to put their whole selves into their writing can ever hope to be authentic – and if we’re lucky, great.

Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: “A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others.

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

‎”Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting.”

~ Katharine Hepburn

‎”I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

UPDATE: It has been pointed out by many that this quote was mistakenly attributed to Martin Luther King. It’s still a good quote.

But, in the Sunday New York Times, Maureen Dowd and Jonathan Haidt made compelling arguments for why being happy about the death of Osama Bin Laden does not make one an evil person.