“We cannot, after all, judge a biography by its length, by the number of pages in it; we must judge by the richness of the contents…Sometimes the ‘unfinisheds’ are among the most beautiful symphonies.”

It is well known that humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds.

Man’s last freedom is his freedom to choose how he will react in any given situation

It said to me, ‘I am here — I am here — I am life, eternal life.’

The more one forgives himself – by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love – the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.

Man can only find meaning for his existence in something outside himself.

It is this spiritual freedom – which cannot be taken away – that makes life meaningful and purposeful.

Man’s search for meaning is the chief motivation of his life.

View your life from your funeral, looking back at your life experiences, what have you accomplished? What would you have wanted to accomplish but didn’t? What were the happy moments? What were the sad? What would you do again, and what you wouldn’t

The quest for meaning is the key to mental health and human flourishing

It is the pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.

We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life.

Having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind.

Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time.

Each of us carries a unique spark of the divine, and each of us is also an inseparable part of the web of life.

But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.

Our greatest human freedom is that, despite whatever our physical situation is in life, WE ARE ALWAYS FREE TO CHOOSE OUR THOUGHTS!

The music left only this bad hurt in her, and a blankness. She could not remember any of the symphony, not even the last few notes. She tried to remember, but no sound at all came to her. Now that it was over there was only her heart like a rabbit and this terrible hurt.

I think that of my 21 symphonies, each has its own place.

I hear entire symphonies, oratorios, in my head, but I can’t write a note.

We are not yet the beautiful symphony of brotherhood of Dr. King’s dream.

Your laughter sounds like a galactic symphony, your eyes shine magic like Saturn’s rings, and your golden hair flares like the sun. I smile as I rock the universe to sleep and sing of stars that twinkle deep within your dreams.

Listening to the Fifth Symphony of Ralph Vaughan Williams is like staring at a cow for 45 minutes.

A great symphony is a man-made Mississippi down which we irresistibly flow from the instant of our leave-taking to a long forseen destination.

Look for the music on all things, and life will be a symphony of joy. My music is best understood by children and animals.