“A person’s got to think, otherwise that person’s no better than a trained seal balancing a ball on his nose. If only that seal could think, he’d know he was making a thousand children laugh.”

Experiencing life through a book can help you learn without all the pain of going through the experiences first hand.

And marking off time struck me as something like counting empty spaces-spaces you know can’t ever be filled.

Even if you forget everything else I want you to always remember that you are a person of value, and you have a friend who loved you enough to give you his most valued possession.

When people’s emotions are involved they don’t want to listen.

I love Arkansas but I think Arkansas has its share of unlit minds.

The world is not a rational place.

Like the Bible tells us, when a man will lay down his life for a friend, well, then there ain’t no greater love in this here world than that.

Look inside yourself and you’ll find a world of things (a world of your own experiences)worth writing about.

It seems to me that a man who is incapable of humor is capable of cruelty.

I believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.

Maybe…in a way, this coffee reminds me of something. Maybe…maybe only a philosopher or a mad man would make this connection, but it’s a little like life. I mean it’s powerful going down and that doesn’t even take into account the aftertaste, which really takes getting used to.

Keep in mind that life produces no maestros, only students of varying shades of ineptitude.

What is genius, anyway, if it isn’t the ability to give an adequate response to a great challenge?

I was hooked on writing. I mean, where else can you get paid for sticking your nose into somebody else’s business?

What do you know about sooner or later? Is a moment only a moment when you’re in pain?

Why is it I’m always so quick to believe that people are thinking…believing the worst about me?

True concentration is an unbroken thread of awareness.

Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life.

It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.

It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.

When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake.

Charlie Christian showed me a lot, and was a great help, but even then, I realised that if I was going to make it, it was no use copying Charlie

You go through big chunks of time where you’re just thinking, ‘this is impossible – oh,this is impossible’. And then you just keep going and keep going, and you sort of do the impossible.

Do not aim low, you will miss the mark. Aim high and you will be on a threshold of bliss.