“Also living is option.”

“At the crossroads, the sacred may dwell. The devout practice a religion, performing its daily rituals. Perhaps we call it practice because we hope to become better. . . . but surely we practice a faith because that faith is our living.”

“We take gingko to sharpen our memories. We could be memorizing song lyrics instead.”

“If you find yourself pulled beyond all practicality toward doing something -- writing poetry, building a business, restoring old cars, planting a secret garden; if at four in the morning the right word comes to you, the perfect flower to plant in that particular spot -- you are playing your invisible instrument.”

“In my box of sound bites there are no jackhammers, no snowmobiles, no Jet Skis, no children wailing. Music but no Muzak.It's my box. Put what you want in yours.”

“This stuff of a past not worthily lived is also medicine.”

“What's so hard about that first sentence is that you're stuck with it. Everything else is going to flow out of that sentence. And by the time you've laid down the first two sentences, your options are all gone.”