Charles had once remarked that holding onto a resentment was like eating rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.

Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.

Dogs are the closest we come to knowing the divine love of God on this side of eternity.

... the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. [pp. 65-66]

Sometimes I think that Jesus watches my neurotic struggles, and shakes his head and grips his forehead and starts tossing back mojitos.

Nothing heals us like letting people know our scariest parts: When people listen to you cry and lament, and look at you with love, it's like they are holding the baby of you.

Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.

I thought the secret of life was obvious: be here now, love as if your whole life depended on it, find your life's work, and try to get hold of a giant panda.

Human lives are hard, even those of health and privilege, and don't make much sense. This is the message of the Book of Job: Any snappy explanation of suffering you come up with will be horseshit.

It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.

Life belongs to optimists. Pessimists are just viewers. Making it real, starts with our attitude.

War paralyzes your courage and deadens the spirit of true manhood.

The guitar was my weapon, my shield to hide behind.

Property isn't theft: it's nothing.

What is the value of any political freedom, but as a means to moral freedom?

The more composed scenes are like elevator music compared to some of the more dynamic styles of music. One is not better than the other. They both deserve their spots in the world.

No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize.

Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest.

I became Patti's [Smith] messenger, basically, and the film is my view of how I learned about Patti.