Scott Stabile

"I looked at my life and for the first time felt like I could hold it all. That I didn’t need to let go of anything in order to be whole. That even those things I’d been clinging to had a place in my freedom. That every single thing played its role."

"It’s easy to rebuke each other’s opinions, but can we honor each other’s pain? Can we make the effort to see beyond the portraits we’ve painted of one another, and to connect to the humanity that thrives beneath our own assumptions? Can we be relentless in our desire to tear down walls, and to build bridges? Can we be brave and stay committed to the conversations that need to be had?The only thing I know about these questions is that I need to replace the we with I, and begin to answer them from there. One thing I know for sure: I want to become the example I wish to see in others. That's a good place to start. Another thing I know for sure: I love you. You're beautiful. You rock."

"One of the most empowering things about being human is the fact that a single choice can change the entire direction of our lives. What are you choosing for yourself?"

"To all the friends out there struggling while so many are celebrating right now, please know that you are not alone, and you are so loved. I hold you in my heart and send you extra support and love these days, and all the light I know how to muster. I love you."

"Aren’t you tired of shutting up? Aren’t you sick of choking down your truth?Aren’t you over nodding yes when you mean no?Then stop—shutting and choking and nodding. You have not come this far to stay silent. You have not endured so much to give up now. You have not awakened just to go back to sleep. Right now is the time to announce yourself. Who are you? What do we need to know?Only you make claim to who you are. Only you decide what’s right, and not, for you. Only you choose how you want to shine. You—only you—get to create your singular life."

"I was still water, held by my surroundings. I am now a river, carving my own path."

"Making someone responsible for your misery also makes them responsible for your happiness. Why give that power to anyone but yourself?"

"Friends...we can paralyze ourselves with the need to have all the details in order, with the desire to know all of the hows, with the reasons why we're not quite ready, and whatever other story we tell ourselves to keep from diving into the changes/dreams/goals we know we need to go after in our lives. At some point, though, we have to dive in. You'll never have all the details worked out, and they'll change along the way. You'll never know all the hows, and you don't need to. Nobody does. There will always be reasons you're not ready enough, and always fears that will beg you not to do a thing. Sometimes the only way we can overcome all of these obstacles is by starting, wherever we are, with whatever we have to offer in the moment. Really, just begin."

"We decide how much we want our past to be a part of our present. I stopped inviting the past into my life. It took the hint and stopped showing up."

"I stayed, to love you. I left, to love myself."

"When we open ourselves up to feeling, we can't only open ourselves up to feeling certain things. The same is true when we shut ourselves down. The walls that guard against sadness also guard against happiness."

"We are powerful beyond measure,and we must stand powerfully in the face of injustice and hate. United."

"How much longer until we finally figure out how to be with one another?How many times do we have to play out this pain?I’m ready for something different. Aren’t you."

"If you believe in God,then you’re a child of God. As such, you’re as worthy of loveas anyone who has ever lived. If you don’t believe in God,then you’re a child of Nature. As such, you’re as worthy of loveas anyone who has ever lived. Nothing you can do will make youany more or any less worthy of lovethan you already are, and always have been. You’re as worthy as they come, my friend. Please try not to forget that."

"As much as I love to see the sun setting behind a city skyline,and to feel the pure majesty of a wild river or soaring mountain,and to fade, then disappear into a transcendent book, song or film,I am always most astounded, moved and transported by the warmthand kindness of a loving person. Always."

"Today, I choose not to take my life for granted. I choose not to look upon the fact that I am healthy, have food in my refrigerator and have clean water to drink as givens. They are not givens for so many people in our world. The fact that I am safe and (relatively) sane are not givens. That I was born into a family who loves me and into a country not ravaged by war are not givens. It is impossible to name all of the circumstances in my life I’ve taken for granted. All of the basic needs I’ve had met, all of the friendships and job opportunities and financial blessings and the list, truly, goes on and on. The fact that I am breathing is a miracle, one I too rarely stop to appreciate. I’m stopping, right now, to be grateful for everything I am and everything I’ve been given. I’m stopping, right now, to be grateful for every pleasure and every pain that has contributed to the me who sits here and writes these words. I am thankful for my life. This moment is a blessing. Each breath a gift. That I’ve been able to take so much for granted is a gift, too. But it’s not how I want to live—not when gratitude is an option, now when wonder and awe are choices. I choose gratitude. I choose wonder. I choose awe. I choose everything that suggest I’m opening myself to the miraculous reality of simply being alive for one moment more."

"You change our world for the better by changing our world for the better."

"If only I could spend all my days surrounded by people brave enough to open their hearts for real."

"Be a person who gives a shit about other people."

"I’m super fucking sensitive. I love this about myself only slightly more than I can’t stand it. Sometimes I wish I were an unfeeling stone who didn’t take everything so personally and didn’t need so much space all the time. Feeling can get exhausting fast. Mostly, though, I know my sensitivity is a superpower, perhaps my greatest, and it’s the thing that keeps me loving our world in a profound way, when I’m not too busy hiding from it, that is."