After you have wept and grieved for your physical losses, cherish the functions and the life you have left.

I believe in being fully present. That means you should be with the person you’re with.

Be compassionate, and take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much a better place.

Acceptance is not a talent you either have or don't have. It's a learned response. My meditation teacher made a great point about the difference between a reaction and a response: You may not have control over your initial reaction to something, but you can decide what your response will be. You don't have to be at the mercy of your emotions, and acceptance can be your first step toward empowerment . . . For me, acceptance has been the cornerstone to my having an emotionally healthy response to my illness.

One hundred and ten years from now no one who is here now will be alive.

Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward.

Now that I'm suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer more than I ever did before. The other night, on TV, I saw people in Bosnia running across the street, getting fired upon, killed, innocent victims....and I just started to cry. I feel their anguish as if it were my own. I don't know any of these people. But - how can I put this? I'm almost......drawn to them.