But now that I was finally here, standing on the summit of Mount Everest, I just couldn't summon the energy to care.

I love being outdoors, being in the mountains and the desert, and my wife enjoys that too. That's one of the things that sustain our relationship.

And if I remain in the dark about our purpose here, and the meaning of eternity, I have nevertheless arrived at an understanding of a few more modest truths: Most of us fear death. Most of us yearn to comprehend how we got here, and why-- which is to say, most of us ache to know the love of our creator. And we will no doubt feel that ache, most of us, for as long as we happen to be alive.

Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.

You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.

I'm intrigued by fanatics - people who are seduced by the promise, or the illusion, of the absolute.

Once you believe that God is speaking directly to you, there is no discussion.