All the big words -virtue, justice, truth, ...- are dwarfed by the greatness of kindness

Wisdom is probably the ability to cope. That's why someone who has to walk seven miles every day to get water for their children can be wiser than someone sitting behind a desk in Wall Street.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself and you will be happy.

My life, at least, is divided between writing and performing and mixtures of the two.

But happiness is no respecter of persons.

I shouldn't be saying this, high treason really, but I sometimes wonder if Americans aren't fooled by our accent into detecting a brilliance that may not really be there.

It is the useless things that make life worth living and that make life dangerous too: wine, love, art, beauty. Without them life is safe, but not worth bothering with.