Gerald May Professions : Psychiatrist Born : June 12, 1940 Died : April 12, 2005 Browse All Authors Top 18 quotes by Gerald May To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace. Gerald May addiction grace life Grief is neither a disorder nor a healing process; it is a sign of health itself, a whole and natural gesture of love. Nor must we see grief as a step toward something better. No matter how much it hurts-and it may be the greatest pain in life-grief can be an end in itself, a pure expression of love. Gerald May pain hurt love Peace is not something you can force on anything or anyone... much less upon one's own mind. It is like trying to quiet the ocean by pressing upon the waves. Sanity lies in somehow opening to the chaos, allowing anxiety, moving deeply into the tumult, diving into the waves, where underneath, within, peace simply is. Gerald May ocean peace lying Honesty before God requires the most fundamental risk of faith we can take: the risk that God is good, that God does love us unconditionally. It is in taking this risk that we rediscover our dignity. To bring the truth of ourselves, just as we are, to God, just as God is, is the most dignified thing we can do in this life. Gerald May risk honesty doe We have this idea that everyone should be totally independent, totally whole, totally together spiritually, totally fulfilled. That is a myth. In reality, our lack of fulfillment is the most precious gift we have. It is the source of our passion, our creativity, our search for God. All the best of life comes out of our human yearning, our not being satisfied. Gerald May creativity independent passion I would prefer a thousand mistakes in extravagance of love to any paralysis in wariness of fear. Gerald May extravagance thousand mistake When the desire is too much to bear, we often bury it beneath frenzied thoughts and activities or escape it by dulling our immediate consciousness of living. It is possible to run away from the desire for years, even decades, at a time, but we cannot eradicate it entirely. It keeps touching us in little glimpses and hints in our dreams, our hopes, our unguarded moments. Gerald May dream running years Seek the truth, not what is comfortable. Seek the real, not the easy. Gerald May telling-the-truth silence real Willfulness must give way to willingness and surrender. Mastery must yield to mystery. Gerald May mastery yield giving Blessings sometimes come through brokenness that could never come in any other way. Gerald May blessing sometimes way In every feeling, look deeply. Explore without ceasing. At bottom, love is. Gerald May feelings love-is looks True growth is a process which one allows to happen rather than causes to happen. Gerald May growth causes process Mysterious as it may be, there is something wonderful at the heart of our existence, and it is about nothing other than love; love for God, love for one another, love for creation, love for life itself. Gerald May love-life heart may Addiction is not something we can simply take care of by applying the proper remedy. For it is in the very nature of addiction to feed on our attempts to master it. Gerald May addiction care masters The difference between work and play is only a matter of attitude. Work, fully done, is play. Gerald May play work attitude To experience a little hunger now and then can be a beautiful reminder of the deeper hunger of our souls. Gerald May soul littles beautiful But love's true nature remains forever beyond the grasp of all our faculties. It is far greater than any feeling or emotion and completely surpasses any act of human kindness. It is the one sheer gift of contemplation, completely unattainable by autonomous human effort. The realization of this love always remains mysterious. Gerald May kindness forever love Zen is not about eliminating thoughts but illuminating them. Gerald May eliminating illuminating may Similar Authors Bruce D. Perry psychiatrist Arthur Kleinman psychiatrist Anthony Storr psychiatrist Allen Frances psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard psychiatrist Darold Treffert psychiatrist All Authors
