life itself is always pulling you away from the understanding of life.

We tend not to choose the unknown, which might be a shock or a disappointment or simply a little difficult to cope with. An yet it is the unknown with all its disappointments and surprises that is the most enriching.

Who is not afraid of pure space - that breathtaking empty space of an open door?

Duration is not a test of truth or falsehood.

Can one make the future a substitute for the present? And what guarantee have we that the future will be any better if we neglect the present?

Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip? Once you're off, that's all right, but the last moments are earthquake and convulsion, and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock.

I am beginning to respect the apathetic days. Perhaps they're a necessary pause: better to give in to them than to fight them at your desk hopelessly; then you lose both the day and your self-respect. Treat them as physical phenomena -- casually -- and obey them.