In terms of technology and science, tomorrow does know more than yesterday; but when it comes to emotions, living with uncertainty, terror, I'm not sure we know any more than Shakespeare did, or the Buddha. And the power of new things - the iPhone or Facebook - is so strong and intoxicating that we sometimes forget that none of them can fundamentally change our relation to ourselves and to what matters.

To step away from the world isn't to draw back; it's actually a way to tune in.

We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.

Travel is an act of humility

I remember many years ago, I asked [Dalai Lama] about exile and he said: "Well, exile is good because it's brought me and my people closer to reality," and reality is almost a shrine before which he sits. Exile brings us up against the wall and forces us to rise to the challenge of the moment.

American dreams are strongest in the hearts of those who have seen America only in their dreams.

Technology, in short, cannot teach me how to do without technology.