The knowledge that my discriminations are skewed and not always universally desirable doesn't stop me in the least from making them.

I am apt to be harsh in my secret judgments of others, seeing them as defective because they are not enough like me.

A personal essay often includes some or a lot of personal confession. That makes the reader feel less lonely in their confusion and darkness.

Why am I attracted to all these lying quotes all of a sudden? Here’s another one. This one by Phillip Lopate: ‘(Children know it better than adults) that in telling a lie, fidelity is everything.’

It bothers me when I can't, for example, remember a name. I don't know if it's pre-senility or whether there are too many names packed in our brains.

My wife and daughter have accused me of being too silent at breakfast but I don't want to talk when I don't have much to say.

Domesticity has been a challenge for me but painful as it's been, engaging with family has been a school for reducing solipsism and increasing my understanding of people's different reactions to stress.