I've come to see conspiracy theories as the refuge of those who have lost their natural curiosity and ability to cope with change.

Acedia is a danger to anyone whose work requires great concentration and discipline yet is considered by many to be of little practical value. The world doesn't care if I write another word, and if I am to care, I have to summon all my interior motivation and strength.

Over and over again mediocrity is promoted because real worth isn't to be found.

The High Plains, the beginning of the desert West, often act as a crucible for those who inhabit them.

You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that, and cling to it through thick and thin.

They are fruit and transport: ripening melons, prairie schooners journeying under full sail.

Not money, or success, or position or travel or love makes happiness,--service is the secret.