I need a spiritual connection - I can make changes, but I can't make miracles - and I need people around me who'll support me and believe in me and tell me the truth and not let me deceive myself into avoiding the what's scary and hard and necessary.

Evolution happens in nature and in individuals. I want to participate actively in its happening within me.

The strongest animals on earth are plant eaters. Every creature we've enlisted to do the work we couldn't handle - the horse, donkey, elephant, camel, water buffalo, ox, yak - is an herbivore... whose huge muscles were built from plant protein, and whose strong bones got that way, and stayed that way, from grazing on grass and eating other vegetables.

The idea that everything is purposeful really changes the way you live. To think that everything that you do has a ripple effect, that every word that you speak, every action that you make affects other people and the planet.

Follow the tugs in your heart. I think that everybody gets these gentle urges and should listen to them. Even if they sound absolutely insane, they may be worth going for.

The idea that somebody is going to come in and make your debt go away and all be well for the future is really a fantasy.

Happiness comes from accepting the present situation, whether it is something you wish to savor as long as possible or change as quickly as you can. Neither is possible without acceptance as the starting point, because without acceptance you are living on the periphery of your life. There at the edges, you can't fully enjoy the good stuff or do anything about the rest.