“I feel great gratitude for being here, for being, rather, for there is no need to tie oneself to the snow mountains in order to feel free. I am not here to seek the ‘crazy wisdom’; if I am, I shall never find it. I am here to be here, like these rocks and sky and snow, like this hail that is falling down out of the sun.â€â€“Peter Mathiessen, The Snow Leopard
Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off,
and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.
But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly,
except to people who don't understand.
- Margery Williams The Velveteen Rabbit
Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions,
grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to.
- Alfred A. Montapert
It is a matter to gain the affection of a cat. He is a philosophical animal,
tenacious of his own habits, fond of order and neatness, and disinclined to extravagant sentiment.
He will be your friend, if he finds you worthy of friendship, but not your slave.
- Theophile Gautier
