It is how we choose what we do, and how we approach it, that will determine whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art.

Those who seek consolation in existing churches often pay for their peace of mind with a tacit agreement to ignore a great deal of what is known about the way the world works.

Few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it. "He who desires but acts not," wrote Blake with his accustomed vigor, "Breeds pestilence.

But shortcuts are dangerous; we cannot delude ourselves that our knowledge is further along than it actually is.

Attention is psychic energy, and like physical energy, unless we allocate some part of it to the task at hand, no work gets done.

It is as if evolution has built a safety device in our nervous system that allows us to experience full happiness only when we are living at 100%-when we are fully using the physical and mental equipment we have been given.

It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly.