How shall the mind keep warm
save at spectral fires—how thrive
but by the light of paradox?
~ Robert Hayden from “Stars" in COLLECTED POEMS
I had found a kind of serenity, a new maturity. I didn't feel better or stronger than anyone else but it seemed no longer important whether everyone loved me or not--more important now was for me to love them. Feeling that way turns your whole life around; living becomes the act of giving.