My dear girl, you must cultivate a taste for the finer things. Civilized pleasures give meaning to life.

Even the most powerful woman needs a place to unwind.

We are each the authors of our own lives, Emma. We live in what we have created. There is no way to shift the blame and no one else to accept the accolades.

Priceless things matter not for their value, but because they offer us an enduring reminder of stability and permanence.

A person with taste is merely one who can recognize the greatest beauty in the simplest things.

Life always gets harder towards the summit - the cold increases, responsibility increases

The past was always there, lived inside of you, and it helped to make you who you were. But it had to be placed in perspective. The past could not dominate the future.

Life was life. It happened. You never knew what was going to come at you. Or how you could defend yourself.

I work eight hours a day, but I'm not writing all that time. I'm thinking, editing, looking something up. Thinking is what I do a lot of.

Never let stress shape your strategy. Most women think better after a brisk walk, a light meal, a massage and a nap.

He who ascends to mountaintops, shall find The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow; He who surpasses or subdues mankind Must look down on the hate of those below

But they were not friends. They were here to keep each other from spinning off alone into the dark matter of the universe.

What pillow can one have like a good conscience?

The greatness of our destination will be lost without the memory of our beginning.

My favorite, and I repeat it often while swimming is from a well known coach around here

Difficulties come not to obstruct, but to instruct. Within every setback or obstacle lie seeds of an equal or greater benefit or opportunity.

I don't know any form of art or entertainment that can affect people the way movies can. I know it sounds ridiculous, but they can change your world. They can change your views.

How can I tell," said the man, "that the past isn't a fiction designed to account for the discrepancy between my immediate physical sensations and my state of mind?

On Darjeeling, I was on set every day and I acted as the second unit director and a producer on that film. I was there throughout the whole process. On Moonrise Kingdom, I showed up for one day.

I don't ever want to be comfortable with anything I'm doing.

If you've read something brilliant, it's good. It's good to look out the window and see what's going on in the world.