Those who refuse to play second fiddle may wind up playing no fiddle at all.

Pain narrows consciousness; pleasure blurs it.

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.

Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.

As beliefs, energies, and acceptance can change, so can choices. Don’t feel that because you have made a choice, it has to last forever. If it is time to change a choice, change it!

Being joyful is about staying positive when everything else seems to fail.

After eight years as President I have only two regrets: that I have not shot Henry Clay or hanged John C. Calhoun.

The best way to help the poor is to make them uncomfortable in their own poverty.

You can actually be intimate with the universe.

well, it sounds strange, but when i think of God, i think of a soft whirring noise - like a spinning ball of energy - something i can tap into when i need it.

I got really excited about Beyoncé, but it was Beyoncé. I think I was more in awe of how pleasant she is.

The big majority of Americans, who are comparatively well-off, have developed an ability to have enclaves of people living in the greatest misery almost without noticing them.

Looking forward with an eternal perspective gives one hope, a reason to look up and feel gratitude for even the smallest bit of light.