“Expression and communication are essential; without these, civilization ends.”

“Hundreds of butterflies flitted in and out of sight like short-lived punctuation marks in a stream of consciousness without beginning or end.”

“In most cases learning something essential in life requires physical pain.”

“Of what value is a civilization that can't toast a piece of bread as ordered?”

“Jean-Jacques Rousseau defined civilization as when people build fences. A very perceptive observation. And it’s true—all civilization is the product of a fenced-in lack of freedom. The Australian Aborigines are the exception, though. They managed to maintain a fenceless civilization until the seventeenth century. They’re dyed-in-the-wool free. They go where they want, when they want, doing what they want. Their lives are a literal journey. Walkabout is a perfect metaphor for their lives. When the English came and built fences to pen in their cattle, the Aborigines couldn’t fathom it. And, ignorant to the end of the principle at work, they were classified as dangerous and antisocial and were driven away, to the outback. So I want you to be careful. The people who build high, strong fences are the ones who survive the best. You deny that reality only at the risk of being driven into the wilderness yourself.”

“There's an essential order you have to follow in everything. It's a way of showing respect, following everything in the correct order.”

“Whether or not the person I think of as me undergoes any essential changes, the earth never stops circling the sun at it's old speed.”