“Everything that ever happened to me that was important happened in the desert.”

“Nothing in my life ever happened that was as important to me as learning to read.”

“Almost nothing important that ever happens to you happens because you engineer it.”

“Is Death important? No. Everything that happens before death is what counts.”

“Everything that ever happened is just stories now, Earl. But it was all very real to people while it was happening. Wasn't it?”

“Does it ever happen to you," Natasha said to her brother, when they had settled in the sitting room, "does it ever happen to you that you feel there's nothing more - nothing; that everything good has already happened? And it's not really boring, but sad?""As if it doesn't!" he said. "It's happened to me that everything's fine, everybody's merry, and it suddenly comes into my head that it's all tiresome and we all ought to die....”