Wisdom

I wish someone had told me at my own commencement that the one and only requirement for graduation was that I had to emerge out of the closed, cordoned-off space of my own head. I had to learn to listen.

When a grown man says he wants a cookie, he wants a cookie. The art of doctoring is negotiating with hope.

The whole concept of the self-made man or woman is a myth.

We are more vulnerable than we ever thought, but we are stronger than we ever imagined.

Having a closet full of shoes doesn't fill up your life. Living a life of substance can — substance through your service.

You will get nowhere without a spiritual practice. Not necessarily religion — maybe it's music, or dancing, or just time for yourself to feed and nurture your own spirit.

The universe may seem like a lonely place sometimes, but there are as many you's as there are stars in the sky. Maybe one of them will step up at the right time and tell you what to make of it all.

The trick is to listen to your instinct, grab the opportunity when it presents itself, and then give it your all. Like a hangover, neither triumphs nor disasters last forever. They both pass and a new day arrives.

We cannot expect others to understand our point of view if we don't understand theirs.

Nothing productive rises out of hate.

When you stop looking — or when you see only what you want — as a human being you become a stenographer.

It has always been doubt, not certainty, the constant questioning and testing of cherished assumptions, that has moved us closer to a humane and just world.