This was not my moment to be seeking romance and (as day follows night) to further complicate my already knotty life. This was my moment to look for the kind of healing and peace that can only come from solitude.

We gallop through our lives like circus performers balancing on two speeding side-by-side horses--one foot is on the horse called "fate," the other on the horse called "free will." And the question you have to ask every day is--which horse is which? Which horse do I need to stop worrying about because it's not under my control, and which do I need to steer with concentrated effort?

Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You must fight for it, strive for it, and insist upon it.

Mostly you meet friends when traveling by accident, like by sitting next to them on the train, or in a restaurant, or in a holding cell.

My life's accomplishments? Sanity, and you.

to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.

And then, in that regal silence, finally - I began to meditate on (and with) God.