“It taught him how to listen -- how to listen with a quiet heart and a waiting soul, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment, without opinion.”

“Hewas taught by the river. Incessantly, he learned from it. Most of all,he learned from it to listen, to pay close attention with a quiet heart,with a waiting, opened soul, without passion, without a wish, withoutjudgement, without an opinion.”

“You are young. So you know everything. You leap into the boat and begin rowing. But, listen to me. Without fanfare, without embarrassment, without doubt,I talk directly to your soul. Listen to me.”

“Listen to me. They may control what you do, but no one can pee on your soul without your permission.”

“And she understood, all by herself, without reading it in a novel or hearing it on a radio program, that falling passionately in love with someone, without reservation or holding back, was good for the heart. For its valves and its arteries and that invisible shadow of the heart called the soul. Falling in love was good for the soul.”

“Live without pretending, Love without depending, Listen without defending, Speak without offending.”