When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us.

When a man no longer confuses himself with the definition of himself that others have given him, he is at once universal and unique.

It seems to be the special peculiarity of human beings that they reflect: they think about thinking and know that they know. This, like other feedback systems, may lead to vicious circles and confusions if improperly managed, but self-awareness makes human experience resonant. It imparts that simultaneous "echo" to all that we think and feel as the box of a violin reverberates with the sound of the strings. It gives depth and volume to what would otherwise be shallow and flat.

The wake doesn't drive the ship

The secret of the enjoyment of pleasure is to know when to stop. Man doesn't learn this secret easily, but to shun pleasure altogether is cowardly avoidance of a difficult job. For we have to learn the art of enjoying things BECAUSE they are impermanent.

So many people of wealth understand much more about making and saving money than about using and enjoying it. They fail to live because they are always preparing to live.

The world is filled with love-play, from animal lust to sublime compassion.