Rather than saying 'I hate mess', it might draw more compassion to say, 'mess terrifies me as a harbinger of catastrophe'.

What should worry us is not the number of people that oppose us, but how good their reasons are for doing so.

A simple problem of arithmetic: there are far more ambitions than there are grand destinies available.

People who hold important positions in society are commonly labelled "somebodies," and their inverse "nobodies"-both of which are, of course, nonsensical descriptors, for we are all, by necessity, individuals with distinct identities and comparable claims on existence. Such words are nevertheless an apt vehicle for conveying the disparate treatment accorded to different groups. Those without status are all but invisible: they are treated brusquely by others, their complexities trampled upon and their singularities ignored.

Literature deserves its prestige for one reason above all others - because it's a tool to help us live and die with a little bit more wisdom, goodness, and sanity.

Pegging your contentment to the overall state of the world rather than of your own life: the basis of morality, or a sort of madness?

Happiness is impossible for longer than 15 minutes. We are the descendants of creatures who, above all else, worried.