We are who we are, be­cause of those we choose to love and be­cause of those who love us.

- Kate Mosse, The Winter Ghosts

The clearing is often only happening for us, and those who love us most cannot see or believe in our nascent visions.

- Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life

We flatter those we scarcely know We please the fleeting guest And deal full many a thoughtless blow To those who love us best.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Do we all repeat the same words in our heads in the days after experiencing abuse at the hands of those who love us? "From this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part."Maybe those vows weren't meant to be taken as literally as some spouses take them. For better, for worse?Fuck. That. Shit.

- Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us

To love those who love us and are good to us is easy. To love those who are indifferent to us is workable, but to love those who have harmed us, intentionally or not, is true growth and realization.

- Patsie Smith, Awaken Our Spirit Within: A Journey of Self-Realization and Transformation

We must be willing to accept the bitter truth that, in the end, we may have to become a burden to those who love us. But it is necessary that we face this also. The full acceptance of our abjection and uselessness is the virtue that can make us and others rich in the grace of God. It takes heroic charity and humility to let others sustain us when we are absolutely incapable of sustaining ourselves. We cannot suffer well unless we see Christ everywhere, both in suffering and in the charity of those who come to the aid of our affliction.

- Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

We flatter those we scarcely know,We please the fleeting guest;And deal full many a thoughtless blow,To those who love us best.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.

- Cassandra Clare, City of Heavenly Fire

There is a twilight zone in our hearts that we ourselves cannot see. Even when we know quite a lot about ourselves-our gifts and weaknesses, our ambitions and aspirations, our motives and our drives-large parts of ourselves remain in the shadow of consciousness. This is a very good thing. We will always remain partially hidden to ourselves. Other people, especially those who love us, can often see our twilight zones better than we ourselves can. The way we are seen and understood by others is different from the way we see and understand ourselves. We will never fully know the significance of our presence in the lives of our friends. That's a grace, a grace that calls us not only to humility, but to a deep trust in those who love us. It is the twilight zones of our hearts where true friendships are born.

- Henri J.M. Nouwen

Attempts to wake before our time are often punished, especially by those who love us most. Because they, bless them, are asleep. They think anyone who wakes up, or who, still asleep, realizes that what is taken to be real is a ‘dream’ is going crazy.

- R.D. Laing