“And when our baby stirs and struggles to be born it compels humility: what we began is now its own.”

If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.

WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.

I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings.

Children not only have to learn what their parents learned in school, but also have to learn how to learn. This has to be recognized as a new problem which is only partly solved.

Earth Day is the first holy day…and is devoted to the harmony of nature… The celebration offends no historical calendar, yet it transcends them all.

I learned the value of hard work by working hard.

For the human species to evolve, the conversation must deepen.

There is no more creative force in the world than the menopausal woman with zest.

We have nowhere else to go, this is all we have.

We – mankind – stand at the center of an evolutionary crisis, with a new evolutionary device – our consciousness of the crisis – as our unique contribution.

Never ever depend on governments or institutions to solve any major problems. All social change comes from the passion of individuals.

With the exception of the few cases to be discussed in the next chapter, adolescence represented no period of crisis or stress, but was instead an orderly developing of a set of slowly maturing interests and activities.

We are at a point in history where a proper attention to space, and especially near space, may be absolutely crucial in bringing the world together.

There is no greater insight into the future than recognizing when we save our children, we save ourselves

Our humanity rests upon a series of learned behaviors, woven together into patterns that are infinitely fragile and never directly inherited.

As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own.

Americans chose a free enterprise system designed to provide a quality of opportunity, not compel a quality of results. And that is why this is only place in the world where you can open up a business in the spare bedroom of your home.

It compels wide tolerance not only for their expression but also for the organization of people and forces to bring about the acceptance of the dissenter’s claim.

It also contains a humbling light of recognition that compels many to do whatever they can to help reinforce the efforts of those who might be ‘at risk’ of not just giving up on their dreams, but of giving up on their continued existence.

If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.