Endeavoring to purchase something we think beautiful may in fact be the most unimaginative way of dealing with the longing it excites in us, just as trying to sleep with someone may be the bluntest response to a feeling of love.

Most of us still caged within careers chosen for us by our not entirely worldly 18-22 year old selves.

The largest part of what we call 'personality' is determined by how we've opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness".

Maturity: the confidence to have no opinions on many things.

You need a long hard day's work to reveal the logic of the craving for very bad tv and alcohol.

At the beginning of human history, as we struggled to light fires and to chisel fallen trees into rudimentary canoes, who could have predicted that long after we had managed to send men to the moon and areoplanes to Australasia, we would still have such trouble knowing how to tolerate ourselves, forgive our loved ones, and apologise for our tantrums?

The lesson? To respond to the unexpected and hurtful behavior of others with something more than a wipe of the glasses, to see it as a chance to expand our understanding.