Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.

Our lives are at once ordinary and mythical. At the same instant we have these magnificent hearts that pump through all sorrow and all winters we are alive on the earth.

Watch yourself. Every minute we change. It is a great opportunity. At any point, we can step out of our frozen selves and our ideas and begin fresh.

First, consider the pen you write with. It should be a fast-writing pen because your thoughts are always much faster than your hand. You don't want to slow up your hand even more with a slow pen. A ballpoint, a pencil, a felt tip, for sure, are slow. Go to a stationery store and see what feels good to you. Try out different kinds. Don't get too fancy and expensive. I mostly use a cheap Sheaffer fountain pen, about $1.95.... You want to be able to feel the connection and texture of the pen on paper.

While I had cancer, I wrote these twenty-two personal essays about how I lived my life backed by Zen and writing.

I think book publishing is fun, but I also know I've been very lucky.

I think talent is like a water table under the earth—you tap it with your effort and it comes through you.