Care is a state in which something does matter; care is the opposite of apathy. Care is the necessary source of eros, the source of human tenderness.

A dynamic struggle goes on within a person between what he or she consciously thinks on the one hand and, on the other, some insight, some perspective that is struggling to be born.

Recall how often in human history the saint and the rebel have be the same person. (p. 35)

Real freedom is the ability to pause between stimulus and response, and in that pause, choose.

Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously.

Creativity is neither the product of neurosis nor simple talent, but an intense courageous encounter with the Gods.

The acorn becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary. The kitten similarly becomes a cat on the basis of instinct. Nature and being are identical in creatures like them. But a man or woman becomes fully human only by his or her choices and his or her commitment to them. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day by day. These decisions require courage.