Fear is an aid to the warrior. It is a small fire burning. It heats the muscles, making us stronger. Panic comes when the fire is out of control, consuming all courage and pride.

Our lives are spent sailing in the mist, hoping for a burst of sunlight that can make sense of who we are.

Danger lies in the extreme. A man who is always cruel is evil, a man who is always compassionate will be taken advantage of. It is more a question of balance, or harmony, if you will.

Be lucky, Xander, and be brave. You will find that bravery and luck are often bedfellows.

Weep. Forgive but don’t forget. Allow your tears to lay the path to your future happiness.

Maybe that was the answer to good parenting—pretending the first child was the second.

Not all developing countries are the same.

I saw Sonora before me, so otherworldly, so desolate, some cast-out mistress on the pale blue planet, and longed suddenly to stay.

Serenity of mind produces an expanding awareness that fosters creative selflessness, which in turn enables us to experience unabashed harmony communing in rhythmical bliss with nature.

The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all that he has learned about poetry, is only a partial assurance.

Design is about the betterment of our lives poetically, aesthetically, experientially, sensorially, and emotionally.

We are not abandoning our convictions, our philosophy or traditions, nor do we urge anyone to abandon theirs.

I'm a novelist, not a social scientist or a commentator.

There are very few humorists who have written first-rate humor after they've become elderly.