Integrity Is Never Painless.

I Have Learned Nothing In Twenty Years That Would Suggest That Evil People Can Be Rapidly Influenced By Any Means Other Than Raw Power. They Do Not Respond, At Least In The Short Run, To Either Gentle Kindness Or Any Form Of Spiritual Persuasion With Which I Am Familiar.

But For The First Time, I Had A Religious Identity. I Had Come Home. And So I Called Myself A Zen Buddhist At The Age Of 18.

What People Get Admired And Appreciated For In Community Are Their Soft Skills: Their Sense Of Humor And Timing, Their Ability To Listen, Their Courage And Honesty, Their Capacity For Empathy.

How Strange That We Should Ordinarily Feel Compelled To Hide Our Wounds When We Are All Wounded! Community Requires The Ability To Expose Our Wounds And Weaknesses To Our Fellow Creatures. It Also Requires The Ability To Be Affected By The Wounds Of Others... But Even More Important Is The Love That Arises Among Us When We Share, Both Ways, Our Woundedness.

God Wants Us To Become Himself Or Herself Or Itself. We Are Growing Toward Godhood. God Is The Goal Of Evolution.