until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate

104: Do you think everyone is worthy of love? Do you think you are worthy of love? 

love has nothing at all to do with "worthiness" or "deserving" or "should". Love just is, like real laughter and fear and frustration and joy.

105: What brings you down? 

long days at work, under-cooked bacon, and unflattering hairstyles

107: Do you have any self-restraint? 

yeah, obviously

108: What does success mean to you? 

satisfying work, happy relationships, creature comforts, and minimal fear of hardship

109: What does failure mean to you? 

taking shortcuts that hurt someone else, not living up to a promise, or struggling for the basics due to one's own choices

110: Do you think that asking the big questions to a friend that could potentially ruin the friendship is bad, or does it make the friendship better? 

I used to firmly believe in the adage "Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to." That meant I was on the side of feeling that there were issues too big to address. 

    I have, over the last 4+ years, come to realize that "too big" doesn't mean "can't." Big means necessary. Often difficult, sometimes painful - but necessary.

111: What grabs your attention? 

kind eyes, the word 'neutrality', and peaches with raspberries

112: What are some gifts that you will always appreciate?

    • photographs 

    • hugs

    • journals, notebooks, and Crane's stationery (bordered)

    • good-morning texts

    • hot, fresh popcorn

    • small, unexpected kindnesses that are personal to me and the giver

    • certificates to quality shoe purveyors

113: What do you think about when you're by yourself? 

all kinds of things! The state of the world, the crusty bits on the dishes that I'm washing, how much is
enough money to live on, what to read next, the hottest toenail polish color for the season....

114: What is an insensitive thing a person could do to you? 

minimize the value of my contribution

116: What is a sweet thing somebody has done for you? 

sent me a picture of a postcard

117: What is a sweet thing you have done for somebody else? 

read my book quietly - and contentedly - by myself in a hotel room

118: Do you think life is short? Or long? What makes life so quick/slow? 

life gets "shorter" as one ages, because fewer experiences are perceived as "new" and because one's perception of the passage of time - the year since one's last birthday, for instance - is relative to the meaning of 'year' in one's lifetime. A year to a 5-y-o is HUGE, while a year to a 50-y-o is a drop in the bucket.

120: What makes someone a hero? 

sacrificing oneself for someone else

121: What makes someone a villain? 

the wearing of a black hat

122: What makes someone a victim? 

state of mind

123: What constitutes bravery? 

faith in oneself that is greater than the fear

125: Who do you spend most of your free time with? 

I spend the majority of my time by myself

 

[from here, picked-and-chosen; the title quotation is attributed to Carl Jung]