"the secret is...

finding the balance between going out to get what you want and being open to the thing that actually winds up coming your way. What now is not just a panic-stricken question tossed out into a dark unknown. What now can also be our joy. It is a declaration of possibility, of promise, of chance....It takes discipline to remain curious; it takes work to be open to the world - but oh my friends, what noble and glorious work it is....Make up some plans and change them. Identify your heart's truest desire and don't change that for anything. Be proud of yourself for the work you've done. Be grateful to all the people who helped you do it. Write to them and let them know how you are. You are, every one of you, someone's favorite unfolding story. We will all be anxious to see what happens next."

(pages 76-80, Ann Patchett, What Now)

Isn't that last sentence just gloriously sappy and sweet and true all at the same time? Love it, love it, love it.