"What's funny is that the idea of popularity - even the use of the word 'popular' - is something that had been mostly absent from my life since junior high. In fact, the hallmark of life after junior high seemed to be the shedding of popularity as a central concern."

"I have no idea how to get in touch with anyone anymore. Everyone, it seems, has a home phone, a cell phone, a regular e-mail account, a Facebook account, a Twitter account, and a Web site. Some of them also have a Google Voice number. There are the sentimental few who still have fax machines."

"When my son was born, and after a day of lying-in I was told that I could leave the hospital and take him home, I burst into tears. It wasn't the emotion of the moment: it was shock and horror."

"Every corny thing that's said about living with nature - being in harmony with the earth, feeling the cycle of the seasons - happens to be true."

"It is a humble truth that the present moment is the only sanctuary where peace truly resides."

"The present moment is the only sanctuary where peace truly resides. Reflect upon this whenever doubt clouds your horizon."

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."

"It is a humble truth that the river of time washes away kings and empires, leaving only virtue intact — an essential principle for the reflective life."