According to one influential wing of modern secular society there are few more disreputable fates than to end up being 'like everyone else' for 'everyone else' is a category that comprises the mediocre and the conformist, the boring and the suburban. The goal of all right-thinking people should be to mark themselves off from the crowd and 'stand out' in whatever way their talents allow.

According to one influential wing of modern secular society there are few more disreputable fates than to end up being 'like everyone else' for 'everyone else' is a category that comprises the mediocre and the conformist, the boring and the suburban. The goal of all right-thinking people should be to mark themselves off from the crowd and 'stand out' in whatever way their talents allow.

As victims of hurt, we frequently don't bring up what ails us, because so many wounds look absurd in the light of day.

Don't despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don't - surrender to events with hope.

A 'good job' can be both practically attractive while still not good enough to devote your entire life to.

Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains.

Our homes do not have to offer us permanent occupancy or store our clothes to merit the name. To speak of home in relation to a building is simply to recognise its harmony with our own prized internal song. Home can be an airport or a library, a garden or a motorway diner.