“What is life if you don’t feel the eagerness to live it with contentment? No life, I would say”

“An experience is only cherished when it is not a moment of regret, but an experience is only memorable when it is real, passionate and no regrets at all”

“Love is not a formality or an obligation to fullfill to be in good books, but a sheer appreciation without expectations”

“[on the secret to a happy, content life]Do you want to know what my secret is? I don’t mind what happens.”

“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning. If you knew when you began a book what you would say at the end, do you think that you would have the courage to write it?What is true for writing and for love relationships is true also for life. The game is worthwhile insofar as we don’t know where it will end.”

“haven’t you figured out yet that happy is a momentary emotion? If you spend your life trying to be happy, you’ll always come up short. Contentment is an emotion that will withstand the storms around you. Focus on that, and you won’t feel like you’ve failed at the end of your life.”“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t focus on happiness,” “Enjoy it when it comes, but don’t measure your life against it.”

“I want so to live that I work with my hands and my feeling and my brain. I want a garden, a small house, grass, animals, books, pictures, music. And out of this, the expression of this, I want to be writing (Though I may write about cabmen. That’s no matter.) But warm, eager, living life — to be rooted in life — to learn, to desire, to feel, to think, to act. This is what I want. And nothing less. That is what I must try for.”