I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity. In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes ... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give. For it isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work for it. A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think. When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die. We women are callow fledglings as compared with the wise old birds who manipulate the political machinery, and we still hesitate to believe that a woman can fill certain positions in public life as competently and adequately as a man. It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. I believe we will have better government when men and women discuss public issues together and make their decisions on the basis of their differing areas of concern for the welfare of their families and their world. Too often the great decisions are originated and given form in bodies made up wholly of men or so completely dominated by them that whatever of special value women have to offer is shunted aside without expression. | 
