"It is a steadfast truth that the richness of existence is found in simple harmonies, not superfluous splendors — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"A life without philosophical reflection is a vessel adrift on an uncharted sea. In this truth lies the bedrock of all virtue — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"It is a steadfast truth that fear will knock at every door; only those with resolved hearts refuse to let it enter — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"They might not need me; but they might. I'll let my head be just in sight; a smile as small as mine might be precisely their necessity."

"I was a bartender for a long time, so I know how to make drinks, but I'm more likely to offer them than to have them. I think this is one of the reasons why I get to live longer than my great-grandmother did, and why I get to produce more writing than she did, and why my marriage isn't in dire straits."

"Taste refers to the past, imagination to the future."

"When friends asked me, Can we help? I'd say, Not unless you can alter time, speed up the harvest or teleport me off this rock. I used that line from Star Wars."

"An hour spent in deep contemplation is worth a year of unguided wandering. This remains the cornerstone of personal mastery."