my mother said it was simple to keep a man, you must be a maid in the living room, a cook in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom • i said I'd hire the other two and take care of the bedroom bit.

the only disability in life is a bad attitude.

we are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.

every time I turn on the water tap, i practice mindfulness and i see that the water that flows through my fingers is a miracle.

my task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within myself that i have built against it • love waits on welcome, not on time.

a photographer went to a socialite party in new york • as he entered the front door, the host said 'i love your pictures - they're wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera." he said nothing until dinner was finished, then: 'that was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.

there are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it, like the bible with the locusts • and other people who stand around and watch them eat it.

for attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
for lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
for a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
for poise, walk with the knowledge you never walk alone.
if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one
at the end of each of your arms.

he that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.

babies are such a nice way to start people.

riches and power are but gifts of blind fate, whereas goodness is the result of one's own merits.

mankind will not perish for want of information, but only for want of appreciation.

prayer may not save us, but prayer makes us worth saving.

i was photographing the d-day landings when a voice said, 'if you take one more step back, you'll blow us both to smithereens • there's a mine behind you!' it's so easy to forget reality when you are holding a camera to your eye • the rest of the world doesn't seem to exist.

when you get caught by the rain,
when you get caught in the rain,
when you realize
there's no hope
of reaching the car,
you just surrender
as the rain drenches you.
you surrender
as it soaks you to your core.
you relish the feeling
of the deep surprise,
of the dim sense of
seeds breaking open
somewhere in the dark.
you feel like dancing in the rain
with the thirsty earth.

eventually you have to reach the car
and dry off,
but oh,
the wet laughter
of the meantime!

give your sorrow all the space and shelter in yourself that is due, for if everyone bears his grief honestly and courageously, the sorrow that now fills the world will abate • and if you have given sorrow the space its gentle origins demand, then you may truly say: life is beautiful and so rich • so beautiful and rich...

anyone who imagines that bliss is normal in life is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed • the fact that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise • life is like an old-time rail journey - delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally with beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed • the trick is to thank god for letting you have the ride.

he who cannot dance claims the floor is uneven.

character is what you do when nobody is looking.

i am reminded of the story of the teacher who tears to shreds a map of the world and, thinking it an impossible task, gives it to a recalcitrant student to put together • whitin ten minutes the boy is back, the task completed • astounded, the teacher asks him how he did it • the boy replies • "when I turned the pieces over, I found a torn-up man • i put him back together, and when I looked at the other side, the world was whole again.

the gift of choice

i came into the world without being asked,
and when the time for dying comes
i shall not be consulted;

but between the boundaries of birth and death
lies the dominion of choice:

to be a doer or a dreamer,
to be a lifter or a leaner,
to speak out or remain silent,
to extend a hand in friendship
or to look the other way;
to feel the sufferings of others
or to be callous and insensitive.

these are the choices;
it is in the choosing
that my measure as a person
Is determined.

now is the time, and we are the ones we have been waiting for.