Coherence

Coherence seems a rare thing, and the human mind is sometimes quite careless about insisting on it. In the long run, however, I think our lack of coherence eats at us, undermines the sureness with which we know our own minds, and thus blocks us from knowing our souls.
--Suzanne Clothier

Texts

Writing extended texts for publication is a major cognitive challenge, even for professionals who compose for a living.
--Ronald Kellogg

Euphoria

Everybody seeks happiness! Not me, though! That's the difference between me and the rest of the world. Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!
--Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)

Looking At That Day

If you were falling in love and you could go back in time and relive a day and see the banal things you did that you'd forgotten about, you'd weep, looking at that day. Somewhat dramatic things happen, and you don't even always notice them--that's what life is.
--Alexander Payne

Our Link

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.
--Milan Kundera

Levelers

You can't always make your way in the world by moving up. Or down, for that matter. Boats move laterally on water, which levels everything. It is one of the two great levelers.
--Roger Rosenblatt

Church and State

We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate.
--Ronald Reagan (1984)

Eternity

What we do not know--the destiny of the soul, the nature of eternity--is the knowledge that matters most, and only when we recognize this truth can we live with the humility required in the face of eternity.
--Dean Koontz

Know

And what you do not know is the only thing you know.
--T.S. Eliot

Wars

Wars are always, in Lincoln's perfectly chosen word, astounding. They produce results that we can hardly imagine when they start. It is not that wars are always wrong. It is that wars are always wars, good for destroying things that must be destroyed...but useless for doing anything more.
--Adam Gopnik

Conservative

Though innately conservative, rural people do understand that if you skimp on fertilizer in April, you'll have a poor hay crop come September and a hard time getting your livestock through the winter.
--Gene Lyons

The Future

Oh, my god, the future is preparing to leave without me...again.
--Grant McCracken

What You Shall Do

This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone who asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown.
--Walt Whitman

Enormous

On me your voice falls as they say love should,
Like an enormous yes.
--Philip Larkin

Here and Now

Love is most nearly itself
When here and now cease to matter.
--T.S. Eliot (East Coker)

Bravery

You can say shocking, scandalous things about Muslims, and opinion makers do, then push out their chins as if they've been brave.
--China Miéville

Kind

Consider it: every person you have ever met, every person you will pass on the street today, is going to die. Living long enough, each will suffer the loss of his friends and family. All are going to lose everything we love in this world. Why would one want to be anything but kind to them in the meantime?
--Sam Harris

Extreme Weather

Scientists know that the increasing load of greenhouse gases we're pumping into the atmosphere doesn't "cause" extreme weather. But it does raise the odds, just as a diet of triple bacon cheeseburgers raises the odds of heart disease.
--Michael D. Lemonick

Humor

Calvin: Isn't it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humor? When you think about it, it's weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it's funny. Don't you think it's odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us?

Hobbes: I suppose if we couldn't laugh at things that don't make sense, we couldn't react to a lot of life.

Calvin: (after a long pause) I can't tell if that's funny or really scary.
--Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)