“and then there was that time you sucked down your fear, breathed into it, faced it with a courage that moves mountains, and you stepped right into that thing, that situation, that experience moments and forever before had crippled and controlled you, and had you believing you could never rise up to meet it. but you did, because you could. and you will again, because you can. yes, you can.”
— Scott Stabile
“She felt wild and unruly, determined and free.”
— Scott Stabile
“Who are you not to be yourself?”
— Scott Stabile
“If people aren’t able to see your magnificence that’s their loss, not yours.”
— Scott Stabile
“Today is the perfect day to do something daring. Like just be yourself, for instance.”
— Scott Stabile
“Here’s the thing about meditation, as I try once again to make it a habit… Even when I close my eyes to meditate for five minutes, body fidgeting, mind racing and worrying and busying itself with everything but the present moment, I still feel quieter, more relaxed when I open my eyes. Maybe it’s just the simple act of giving myself five dedicated minutes of attention (no matter how they play out) to the calm, knowing soul that smiles from within at all of my mental nonsense. We are beings of peace after all. And of love. So much goodness, so much understanding and compassion lives inside each of us, like wide-eyed children, always ready to come out and play.”
— Scott Stabile
“Be free, my friend.Cry, scream, rage, collapse.Your pain is not too much for us.And though it’s hard to believe right now,your pain is not too much for you, either.Fall apart into a thousand frightened pieces,question everything you’ve always trusted,grieve however you need to grieve.We’ll still be here. So will you.Yes, you will survive this.Changed but stronger.Wounded but alive.Seen, and loved. So very loved.”
— Scott Stabile
“Everywhere I look I see people doing their best to make sense of this overwhelming reality, and to be kind, authentic human beings despite the many invitations we all receive to be phony, unkind assholes. Sometimes their best doesn’t look like much to me, and I remind myself that my best doesn’t look like much a lot of the time, too. I empathize. We’re all human, and we’re all struggling. Every single one of us, every single day. It’s not my job to police the paths of others, not when it takes so much effort to light my own.”
— Scott Stabile
“I can’t tell you anything about yourself you don’t already know…WAIT…unless you don’t know you’re an incredibly freaking amazing person with boundless gifts to share…then I can tell you that.”
— Scott Stabile
“I’m super fucking sensitive. I love this about myself only slightly more than I can’t stand it. Sometimes I wish I were an unfeeling stone who didn’t take everything so personally and didn’t need so much space all the time. Feeling can get exhausting fast. Mostly, though, I know my sensitivity is a superpower, perhaps my greatest, and it’s the thing that keeps me loving our world in a profound way, when I’m not too busy hiding from it, that is.”
— Scott Stabile
“I was still water, held by my surroundings.I am now a river, carving my own path.”
— Scott Stabile
“Making someone responsible for your misery also makes them responsible for your happiness. Why give that power to anyone but yourself?”
— Scott Stabile
“You change our world for the better by changing our world for the better.”
— Scott Stabile
“I stayed, to love you.I left, to love myself.”
— Scott Stabile
“Friends…we can paralyze ourselves with the need to have all the details in order, with the desire to know all of the hows, with the reasons why we’re not quite ready, and whatever other story we tell ourselves to keep from diving into the changes/dreams/goals we know we need to go after in our lives. At some point, though, we have to dive in. You’ll never have all the details worked out, and they’ll change along the way. You’ll never know all the hows, and you don’t need to. Nobody does. There will always be reasons you’re not ready enough, and always fears that will beg you not to do a thing. Sometimes the only way we can overcome all of these obstacles is by starting, wherever we are, with whatever we have to offer in the moment. Really, just begin.”
— Scott Stabile
“When we open ourselves up to feeling, we can’t only open ourselves up to feeling certain things. The same is true when we shut ourselves down. The walls that guard against sadness also guard against happiness.”
— Scott Stabile
“We decide how much we want our past to be a part of our present.I stopped inviting the past into my life.It took the hint and stopped showing up.”
— Scott Stabile
“We are powerful beyond measure,and we must stand powerfully in the face of injustice and hate.United.”
— Scott Stabile
“How much longer until we finally figure out how to be with one another?How many times do we have to play out this pain?I’m ready for something different.Aren’t you.”
— Scott Stabile
“If you believe in God,then you’re a child of God.As such, you’re as worthy of loveas anyone who has ever lived. If you don’t believe in God,then you’re a child of Nature.As such, you’re as worthy of loveas anyone who has ever lived.Nothing you can do will make youany more or any less worthy of lovethan you already are, and always have been.You’re as worthy as they come, my friend.Please try not to forget that.”
— Scott Stabile
“As much as I love to see the sun setting behind a city skyline,and to feel the pure majesty of a wild river or soaring mountain,and to fade, then disappear into a transcendent book, song or film,I am always most astounded, moved and transported by the warmthand kindness of a loving person. Always.”
— Scott Stabile
“Today, I choose not to take my life for granted. I choose not to look upon the fact that I am healthy, have food in my refrigerator and have clean water to drink as givens. They are not givens for so many people in our world. The fact that I am safe and (relatively) sane are not givens. That I was born into a family who loves me and into a country not ravaged by war are not givens. It is impossible to name all of the circumstances in my life I’ve taken for granted. All of the basic needs I’ve had met, all of the friendships and job opportunities and financial blessings and the list, truly, goes on and on. The fact that I am breathing is a miracle, one I too rarely stop to appreciate. I’m stopping, right now, to be grateful for everything I am and everything I’ve been given. I’m stopping, right now, to be grateful for every pleasure and every pain that has contributed to the me who sits here and writes these words. I am thankful for my life. This moment is a blessing. Each breath a gift. That I’ve been able to take so much for granted is a gift, too. But it’s not how I want to live—not when gratitude is an option, now when wonder and awe are choices. I choose gratitude. I choose wonder. I choose awe. I choose everything that suggest I’m opening myself to the miraculous reality of simply being alive for one moment more.”
— Scott Stabile
“Be a person who gives a shit about other people.”
— Scott Stabile
“If only I could spend all my days surrounded by people brave enough to open their hearts for real.”
— Scott Stabile
“To all the friends out there struggling while so many are celebrating right now, please know that you are not alone, and you are so loved. I hold you in my heart and send you extra support and love these days, and all the light I know how to muster. I love you.”
— Scott Stabile
“One of the most empowering things about being human is the fact that a single choice can change the entire direction of our lives. What are you choosing for yourself?”
— Scott Stabile
“Aren’t you tired of shutting up? Aren’t you sick of choking down your truth?Aren’t you over nodding yes when you mean no?Then stop—shutting and choking and nodding.You have not come this far to stay silent.You have not endured so much to give up now.You have not awakened just to go back to sleep.Right now is the time to announce yourself. Who are you? What do we need to know?Only you make claim to who you are.Only you decide what’s right, and not, for you.Only you choose how you want to shine.You—only you—get to create your singular life.”
— Scott Stabile
“I can’t control my feelings, but I’m learning to have a say in how much my feelings control me.”
— Scott Stabile
“Your commitment to your happiness and well-being serves our entire world in powerful ways. Stay committed.You change our world for the better by changing your world for the better.”
— Scott Stabile
“Rather than seek happiness living my life to please the will of others, I will seek happiness where I know it can be found – living my life to please the will of my heart.”
— Scott Stabile