Happiness isn’t about talking

And the tree was happy

Nothing is so fundamental to the spiritual life as learning to give thanks.

People need stories...we use stories to teach, to learn, to make sense of the world around us. As long as we need stories, we will need books.

Sacrifice doesn’t mean giving up something for nothing

Everyone has too much of something, whether it’s time, talent or treasure. Everyone does have their own half, you just have to find it.

Celebrate your life now, as it unfolds. Turn away from judgement and negative theories about your worth, your potential, and your destiny. See what you already have.

Freedom comes from taking responsibility

Be selfless like a burning candle

Being wrong opens us up to the possibility of change. Being wrong brings the opportunity for growth.

Birds sing, wolves howl, crickets chirp. But why? Money? Fame? Record contracts? Endorsements? What's it all for? They do it because they're alive. They do it because life is about making things.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko: 'You atheist?'"Kingsley Amis: 'Well, yes, but it's more that I hate him.

We know enough to know that all of this is not quite right. And we know enough to know that settling for what’s not quite right is quite wrong.

We can't be brave without fear.

I'd like to apologise to the British people for the state our politics is in.

In a democratic age, only the behavior of the authorities is subject to public criticism; that of the people themselves, never.

I learned about what I love. Imagination, deep friendship, animals, family, the natural world, ideas and ideals ... and silliness.

I'm told that a couple of my Russian translations are just plain terrible, though, and there may be others.

A society that is not willing to demand a life of somebody who has taken somebody else’s life is simply immoral.

"In France," Marcel said with wintry dignity, "accidents occur in the bedroom, not the kitchen."

Have faith in man, whether he appears to you to be a very learned one or a most ignorant one