The first person who ever told me that happiness was work was this manic-depressive artist I knew when I was in my 20s. I was like, 'What are you talking about? Happiness just happens. That's even the root of that word. How could it be work?

I think there are different kinds of happiness. We know when we're happy a lot of the time, but then there are those moments that have more of an afterglow, when the happiness has more depth.

In our cultural history, all emotions have been more culturally acceptable to women.

Settling other people's land is an American tradition.

Everything is freedom and everything is loneliness. Make your choice and let the rest fall away.

When we strike a balance between the challenge of an activity and our skill at performing it, when the rhythm of the work itself feels in sync with our pulse, when we know that what we're doing matters, we can get totally absorbed in our task. That is happiness.

They say change gets more difficult as we get older - each year we're more stuck in our ways, more reluctant to learn something new.