My first instincts are often the right ones. It’s only when we stop and question that we lose sight of our feelings and our feelings generally don’t lie.

You can learn to look closely, to read people, but be careful that it’s objective. It’s so easy to slap our own interpretation on things when we don’t honestly know another person’s soul. And we certainly can’t know what’s best for someone else.

Slovenly habits quite often indicate a slovenly mind.

A man’s face doesn’t lie. If the lines of sorrow are etched deep, he’s probably a sad person even if he tries to tell you he’s happy. Listen to the heart, not the words. You know sorrow when you see it.

Make yourself happy. You can’t make anyone else happy if you’re tormented inside.

So I guess this is what I’ve been thinking about today. It seemed a bit of a long drive to head down to Santa Clara for a one hour interiew, but it turned out to be worth it. I learned something and learned to look at things in a slightly different way and that’s always a valuable experience.

It’s all made me think about the way I’ve ignored my instincts for so long. I don’t think I realized until recently how screwed up I’ve gotten over the years, how much I’ve allowed myself to be defined by the outside rather than the inside. How much I questioned my own heart and subverted my values.

I can see how this process of finding the way back to myself began back when I first went to China. That was the first time I began to live in a world of my choice in surroundings I created.

It’s a dangerous thing for a woman to experience freedom. She may love too well the wind under her wings. She may fly far. She may discover joy and is no longer willing to settle for less.