As to the Seven Deadly Sins, I deplore Pride, Wrath, Lust, Envy and Greed. Gluttony and Sloth I pretty much plan my day around.

We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.

Why try to be someone you're not? Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required.

Alexandros of Antioch took a block of marble and chiseled away from it everything that was not his masterpiece, the Venus de Milo. If you will chisel away one fault from your character every day, you may discover - a) that you're actually a statue of Margaret Thatcher. b) that you're still just a block of marble. c) that there are pigeon droppings on your shoes. d) that you, too, are a hidden masterpiece.

Occasionally ask, "What is the connection between what I want most in life and anything I plan to do today?

There is in art the notion of less is more, which is to say, you don't torture a painting that has already confessed.

God left so many fingerprints at the scene of Creation that you wonder — does He want to be found, or does He want to be stopped?