Rumi called his teacher "the friend." And that's what we need. We need friends.

I know that if we allow ourselves into the gridlock of tribalism, we're in trouble.

If you're interested in the door to the heavens opening, start with the door to your own secret self.

What will matter is the good we did, not the good we expected others to do.

Grief is an expression that you loved well.

When you feel yourself breaking down, may you break open instead.

One does not practice meditation to become a great meditator. We meditate to wake up and live, to become skilled at the art of living.

Fear is a sneaky thief, stealing away precious moments of your life.

In the true spirit of the holidays, let the darkness of your moods lead you back up to the light, and when New Year's rolls around, your resolution will be tinged with new authenticity and power.

When we slow down, quiet the mind, and allow ourselves to feel hungry for something that we do not understand, we are dipping into the abundant well of spiritual longing.

I think that life is a friggin' magic carpet ride - it's amazing. Everything about life is mysterious and beautiful and touching and tragic and lovely and mystical.

I'm sorry, " Billy says, "but I felt it was too organized. I like ellipses and teeny jottings and spontaneous poems and particularly all those devices like long lists of melancholy things.

God knows how to turn your weakness to strength

It’s like I’d been walking a tightrope with a big safety net underneath me, but I never really thought about the net until someone took it away. And then every single step scared me to death.

One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others, can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.

They confused beauty with innocence and harmlessness.

I think the first virtue is to restrain the tongue; he approaches nearest to gods who knows how to be silent, even though he is in the right.

In a novel, the author gives the leading character intelligence and distinction. Fate goes to less trouble: mediocrities play a part in great events simply from happening to be there.

The five million people who watch cable news are the political nation, the people who really care.

For me, the glory of the human animal is cognitive activity.

As artists, it's really important to take time to see what other art is happening and to know what's happening in the world.