“Happiness is pure kitsch; we come into the world to suffer and learn.”

“Before we are forgotten, we will be turned into kitsch. Kitsch is the stopover between being and oblivion.”

“All the happiness there is in this world comes from thinking about others, and all the suffering comes from preoccupation with yourself.”

“We have two lives... the life we learn with and the life we live after that. Suffering is what brings us towards happiness.”

“Anxiety and anticipation, I was to learn, are the essential ingredients in suffering from pain, as opposed to feeling pain pure and simple.”

“I think that it is a part of growing up, learning to control our suffering. I think that when we grow up, and learn that happiness is rare, and passes quickly, we become disillusioned and hurt. And how much we suffer is a mark of how much we have been hurt by this realisation. Suffering, you see, is a kind of anger. We rage against the unfairness, the injustice of our sad and sorry lot.”