That's what heaven is. You get to make sense of your yesterdays

Being unheard is the ground floor of giving up.

The second death. To think that you died and no one would remember you. I wondered if this was why we tried so hard to make our mark in America. To be known. Think of how important celebrity has become. We sing to get famous; expose our worst secrets to get famous; lose weight, eat bugs, even commit murder to get famous. Our young people post their deepest thoughts on public web sites. They run cameras from their bedrooms. It’s as if we are screaming Notice Me! Remember Me! Yet the notoriety barely lasts. Names quickly blur and in time are forgotten.

I used to be a classic workaholic, and after seeing how little work and career really mean when you reach the end of your life, I put a new emphasis on things I believe count more. These things include: family, friends, being part of a community, and appreciating the little joys of the average day.

A man who can take anything will find most things unsatisfying. And a man without memories is just a shell.

You need to keep people close. You need to give them access to your heart.

A child embarrassed by his mother,” she said, “is just a child who hasn’t lived long enough.