Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground - you can still discover new treasures under all those piles, clean things up, edit things out, fix things, get a grip. Tidiness suggests that something is as good as it's going to get. Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation, while writing needs to breathe and move.

I can tell you that what you're looking for is already inside you.

He got me a cup of tea with honey, toast with honey, yogurt with honey, like I was John the Baptist with the flu.

I think that is why we stay close to our families, no matter how neurotic the members, how deeply annoying or dull- because when people have seen you at your worst, you don’t have to put on the mask as much.

I don't have very sophisticated taste in music. I listen to a lot of folk music. I like reggae.

When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens.

I was raised with no religious training or influence. Except the influence was to be a moral and ethical person at the secular level. And to be a peace marcher, an activist for civil rights, peace and justice.