In a world where you are constantly asked to be 'committed,' it is liberating to give yourself the license to be a dilettante. Commit to nothing. Try everything.

The terrible thing about the internet and Amazon is that they take the magic and happy chaos out of book shopping. The internet might give you what you want, but it won't give you what you need.

The art of living is the art of bringing dreams and reality together.

When you go for a walk, take seeds with you, poppies, rainbow chard, rocket. Plant them among the weeds in patches of wasteland. See what happens.

There is nothing so perfect as pinball and a pint at 11 a.m.

My idea of childcare at festivals is to sit at a trestle table with an ale while the kids run around and make up their own games.

I count it as a certainty that in paradise, everyone naps.

When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.

Pain will never leave us. Instead of putting energy into destroying pain, we need to put energy into creating pleasure.

Beauty, pleasure, freedom and plenty of sleep: these are the hallmarks of a successful idler's break. Travel should not be hard work.

Guilt is also a way for us to express to others that we are a person of good conscience.

By recalling God’s past provision, we can reassure ourselves that what He has done in the past, He will do again in the future.

The Teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.

Where once I prayed for forgiveness from a father God who held up huge palms and said “Thou shalt not, ” now I find peace with a sister god who takes my open hands in hers and says, “You will.

Unless you know the code, it has no meaning.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

If I'm going to have baked goods in the morning, the rule is that I have to make them myself.

There's definitely a psychology to making you feel important and like you're part of the game. It's a very special quality, especially with a first-time director.

The world’s biggest problem is the unequal distribution of capitalism. If there were capitalism everywhere, you wouldn’t have food shortages.

Growing into your future ... requires a dedication to caring for yourself as if you were rare and precious, which you are, and regarding all life around you as equally so, which it is.

Novels are not about expressing yourself, they're about something beautiful, funny, clever and organic. Self-expression ? Go and ring a bell in a yard if you want to express yourself.