We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are. And what we are is largely what we have consented to become, through the daily, unremarked choices that accumulate into a character — and finally a fate.

Anaïs Nin — Seduction of the Minotaur

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perceptionself-deceptionidentity

The thing is to be able to outlast the defeats. And I've had defeats. I've been licked. But I'm still here — and I think that's the secret. You must do the thing you think you cannot do, but more than that, you must endure the thing that undoes you, and then begin again without the benefit of having been undone.

Lillian Smith — The Journey

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resilienceperseveranceadversity

It still beats, doesn't it, still trembles at the sight of fog flowing through the forest like a slow dance song. It was only dislocated, lost its locus for a while, popped out of the socket of good sense. There is no one to pick up the pieces because there are no pieces.

Maria Popova

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resiliencegriefemotional-recovery