Another of the things I started to do during this time was what Buddhists normally call "meditation" or, in Christian terms, "contemplative prayer". It began to supersede deipnosophy as my favorite hobby.

We think we are unique, special and deserving of happiness, but we are terrified of being alone.

My father taught me to be independent and cocky and free thinking, but he could not stand it if I disagreed with him.

Another of the things I started to do during this time was what Buddhists normally call "meditation" or, in Christian terms, "contemplative prayer". It began to supersede deipnosophy as my favorite hobby.

Gardening gave me a way to work with silence; not "in silence" but "with silence" - it was a silent creativity.

It is not simply that we share with each other a common humanity, but that individually we have no humanity without each other.

Art forms render ideas accessible to readers who could not receive those insights in any other format.