Never give up, never escape, take everything in, and perhaps suffer, that's not too awful either, but never, never give up.

Sometimes I try my hand at turning out small profundities and uncertain short stories, but I always end up with just one single word: God.

Become simple and live simply, not only within yourself but also in your everyday dealings. Don’t make ripples all around you, don’t try to be interesting, keep your distance, be honest, fight the desire to be thought fascinating by the outside world.

Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid in academic studies, but you can't think your way out of emotional difficulties. That takes something altogether different. You have to make yourself passive then, and just listen. Re-establish contact with a slice of eternity.

Never give up, never escape, take everything in, and perhaps suffer, that's not too awful either, but never, never give up.

Life is good, after all...and that's what stays with me, even now, even when I'm about to be packed off to Poland.

Sometimes I feel that every word spoken and every gesture made merely serve to exacerbate misunderstandings. Then what I would really like is to escape into a great silence and impose that silence on everyone else.