The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
—Samuel Johnson
It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better… while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.
—Woody Allen
If you haven't already, you will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and you never completely get over the loss of a deeply beloved person. But this is also good news. The person lives forever, in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through, and you learn to dance with the banged-up heart.
—Anne Lamott in Plan B
I believe in the inherent good of people. I believe that someone can make a mistake and live to redeem themselves another day.
—Carsen Taite in Beyond Innocence
Sometimes the risk of what bad things could happen keeps us from experiencing all the good things life has to offer.
—Vi Keeland in Rebel Heir
I can't seem to be a pessimist long enough to overlook the possibility of things being overwhelmingly good.
—John Corey Whaley in Where Things Come Back
Because life is like that, isn't it? If you thought of all the tiny things that divert your path one way or another, some good, some bad, you'd never do anything ever again. And some people don't. Some people go through life not really deciding to do much, not wanting to, always too fearful of the consequences to try something new. Of course, that in itself is also a decision.
—Jenny Colgan in The Bookshop on the Corner
The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy—I mean that if you are happy you will be good.
—Bertrand Russell