Jody Starks Quotes

Memories are like a still life painted by ten different student artists: some will be blue-based; others red; some will be as stark as Picasso and others as rich as Rembrandt; some will be foreshortened and others distant. Recollections are in the eye of the beholder; no two held up side by side will ever quite match.

Living in the starkness of the Middle Ages had taught her there was something special about needing others and being needed in return. She'd learned it took courage to open her heart and allow people in.

Being thrown behind bars with no bail made clear how alone she was. The sheriff’s offer of a phone call starkly reminded her: there was no one to call. The only phone number she knew in the world was Jodie’s, and how could she call her brother and say she was in jail accused of murder? After all those years, how could she bother him with her troubles? And maybe shame played a part.

Elevated gratitude for life. Many people who’ve faced a brush with death report a heightened appreciation for the life they’re still fortunate to have. Mortality is the splash of cold water in our face to help assign greater value to life. A stark reminder of how ephemeral we are—that is, teetering on the edge of life—can act as the provocation to live more consciously. The opposite of being grateful for life is taking it for granted. When was the last time you felt thankful to have a heartbeat, to have legs strong enough to walk up and down the grocery store aisles, to have the gift of Being Here?