We have to live within the framework of our limitations and the mistakes we make. Argue with Destiny, but never try to wrestle it into submission. If you do, you’ll end up losing.

I don’t enjoy surprises that compel me to renegotiate my relationship with the past.

Stop trying to be a magician. The past won’t come back. It likes its safety in memory.

I suspect each of us uses the past to prop up the bruised present. It’s a clumsy try for the comfort of normality.

If manifestations of her love are overwhelming and sometimes seem imprudent, it’s because the intensity of such caring doesn’t exist in other areas of life. Ma does not love from behind a protective shield. I’m incapable of opening up to people in the way she does. Ma isn’t afraid of being vulnerable and doesn’t measure relationships in terms of what she can gain. If her feelings are hurt, she doesn’t hide the pain or seek revenge. She stumbles over the setback as though it’s one of life’s quirky tests of fortitude and moves on without storing any resentment.

I wish I had the gift of religious faith. Sometimes I long to believe in a structured universe designed purposefully for mankind.