“He’s a shy man. Life has taught him not to show off what is most precious to him.”

I know zoos are no longer in people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.

To lose your father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports its branches. To lose your mother, well, that is like losing the sun above you. It is like losing–I’m sorry, I would rather not go on.

Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.

I can’t live for more than four years outside of Canada. I’m Canadian, so ultimately that is my reference point.

I felt I was beating a rainbow to death

I am not a particularly natural writer. I am not a person who can write in paragraphs the way some writers do. For me, it’s sentence by sentence, sometimes word-by-word. And I revise constantly. It’s a very laborious process, but I love doing it.

You may not believe in life, but I don’t believe in death. Move on!

I would like to add a third, to wit, the rapid and direct approch of a known killer

Misery loves company, and madness calls it forth.

At moments of wonder, it is easy to avoid small thinking, to entertain thoughts that span the universe, that capture both thunder and tinkle, thick and thin, the near and the far.

I am reminded of a story of Lord Krishna when he was a cowherd. Every night he invites the milkmaids to dance with him in the forest. They come and they dance. The night is dark, the fire in their midst roars and crackles, the beat of the music gets ever faster.

Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love – but sometimes it was so hard to love.

I chose the name Pi because it’s an irrational number (one with no discernable pattern). Yet scientists use this irrational number to come to a “rational” understanding of the universe. To me, religion is a bit like that, “irrational” yet with it we come together we come to a sound understanding of the universe.

I go to mass every Sunday, but love going to mosques too. Muslims pray in a beautiful way.

To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures who people the tree of your life and give it new branches.

Religion is just an alternate way of reading reality – you read material reality, and then you add on an extra layer of religiosity that deepens that understanding of reality. Some countries have lost that capacity, or dismissed it or marginalized it.

Your smile is watching a flower bloom in love. Shy at first, then your brightness unfolds and you magically decorate the world with your flashy hues.

Don’t be shy to be yourself, be the way you want to be.

I’m a little more shy and not comfortable dancing in front of a large crowd.

I was always really shy so I’d never try to get a guy’s attention.

People want to shy away from the truth and keep sweeping it under the rug.

I’m shy, paranoid, whatever word you want to use. I hate fame. I’ve done everything I can to avoid it.

Shyness is a condition foreign to the heart – a category, a dimension which leads to loneliness.

I’m shy, but when the time comes to be wild, I’m fun-loving, adventurous, and mysterious.