I was born black and female.

A woman who is willing to be herself and pursue her own potential runs not so much the risk of loneliness, as the challenge of exposure to more interesting men - and people in general.

Though it be a thrilling and marvellous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so - doubly dynamic - to be young, gifted and black.

One cannot live with sighted eyes and feeling heart and not know and read of the miseries which affect the world.

The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely.

There is always something left to love. And if you haven't learned that, you ain't learned nothing.

Never be afraid to sit a while and think.

I care. I care about it all. It takes too much energy not to care.

Do I remain a revolutionary? Intellectually -- without a doubt. But am I prepared to give my body to the struggle or even my comforts? This is what I puzzle about.

This is one of the glories of man, the inventiveness of the human mind and the human spirit: whenever life doesn't seem to give an answer, we create one.

The grim possibility is that she who 'hides her brains' will, more than likely, end up with a mate who is only equal to a woman with 'hidden brains' or none at all.

Use every opportunity of humbling yourself before your fellow-men as a help to abide humble before God.

Everything is important. To the smallest insect, even the mouldering tree, the deepest stone in the drift.

Only nurture a broken heart that recognizes it, and is willing to put in the work of minding.

You cannot trust yourself, ’ she agreed, bed-rock calm. ‘Therefore, let go. Seize life and place trust in me.

You don't have to go looking for love when it's where you come from.

I've been in silly movies and romantic movies and historic movies.

A man who examines each subject from a philosophical standpoint cannot neglect them: he has to omit nothing, and state the truth about each topic.

Respect only has meaning as respect for those with whom I do not agree.

When I appear onstage, that's my departure from Momhood - and I transform into Natalie MacMaster: the entertainer, the fiddler, the performer.

My sense of designing is a mix of intuition and intellectual control.