“When daddies want to be left in peace, they don't pay too much attention to what you do”

“If you want to make people pay attention to what you're saying, you don't raise your voice but lower it: this is what really commands attention.”

“Absolutely,' she said. 'The more you pay attention to the body, the less attention you've got left to pay the soul. I really do understand that.”

“But writers experience the world and themselves in a unique way. We look for meaning. We see it even when we are not paying attention, which is seldom because, as writers, paying attention is what we do. We are scribes to the ticking of the days, and we have a job to do. We are not at peace unless we are doing it.”

“And don't worry too much about security. You will eventually have a deep security when you begin to do what you want.”

“You don't dare to think ahead too much, for you don't want this melted under the heat of your attention, don't want it gone from your life.”