Graduation

The first steps toward non-violence, which is surely an absolute obligation we all bear, is to begin to think carefully and to ask others to do the same.

It betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do.

Nobody cares how tough your upbringing was. Nobody cares if you suffered some discrimination. And moreover, you have to remember that whatever you've gone through, it pales in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured — and they overcame them.

I know that when I am on my deathbed someday, I will not be thinking about any particular legislation I passed; I will not be thinking about a policy I promoted; I will not be thinking about the Nobel Prize I received. I will be thinking about that walk I took with my daughters.

Whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I have held have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs, and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy.

Each moment is a procession from the future into the past and the sweet spot is always the present. Live in that sweet spot. Be present.

This is not preparation for life. This is life.

Though there is much of life that you must face alone, you cannot make it out here in this world by yourself. Don't leave your support system when you are in distress.

Being in nature gave me an unbelievable confidence in myself. I found a beauty, strength, and an inner peace that I never knew was present.

Life is a struggle with uncertain outcomes. Nonetheless, the natural world remains the substrate on which we must build our existence.

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded... sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.