Surrounded by Smart People

These are definitely insightful and worth the read:
"I'm re-reading "Everything Belongs" by Richard Rohr at the moment (an absolutely incredible book which I highly recommend). In it he makes the comment 'All Spiritual Disciplines have one purpose: to get rid of illusions so we can be present'. Spiritual Disciplines are about Construction - a tearing down of false walls that separate us from our true selves. This construction seems a distraction from the presence of God, but it is in the very place of construction that we find the Divine. This Construction; which for most of us is mainly Destruction, is not a distraction from the Spiritual Life. It is the Spiritual Life"
-from "Under Construction," The Warp and The Weft (P-ta)

"I know, in some vague and distant way, exactly how my life should go. There will be a job involved, some kind of higher education (though this is actually surplus to my personal requirement and mostly an appeasement to everyone else), and submissions of things that I actually invest myself in. Beyond that, I have nothing else to say. I have a strong belief about how my life works (I'll let everyone else worry about their own lives). I don't know how to properly explain it. When I try it sounds like that stupid "Everything happens for a reason" line. It's not fate or the intervention of a invisible pink unicorn. It's just a flow. A natural order of my personality and the world around me interacting to produce the only possible outcome. "
-from "The Unholy Word Trio," Muther Wuther (Amira)

"It's amazing who has to take their dog to the groomers right after school when someone tries to call in a favor. That's what I love about the adult world... we've figured out catch phrases that will get us out of situations. We don't really have to be true to our word. We don't really mean what we say and say what we mean any more. I'm reminded of Jim Carrey's character in Liar, Liar (as he's forced to tell the truth) responding to his son who says "Real beauty is on the inside" and he responds with,"That's just something ugly people say."
-from "How can you tell if you're having an annurism?," Who was that guy? (Brooke)