“It's all really very simple. You don't have to choose between being kind to yourself and others. It's one and the same.”

“If kindness has falseness at its base, it is no longer kindness. It is labored courtesy.”

“How often – even before we began – have we declared a task “impossible”? And how often have we construed a picture of ourselves as being inadequate? . . . A great deal depends upon the thought patterns we choose and on the persistence with which we affirm them.”

“Eliminate something superfluous from your life.Break a habit.Do something that makes you feel insecure.Carry out an action with complete attention and intensity, as if it were your last.”

“Generosity is, by definition, disinterested.” (p.157)”

“Since we came to this world we only heard lies. But it's the lies that make it interesting. The truth would devastate us”

“Why are...poor people more ready to share their goods than rich people? The answer is easy: The poor have little to lose; the rich have more to lose and they are more attached to their possessions. Poverty provides a deeper motivation for understanding your neighbors, welcoming others and attending to those who are suffering. I would go so far as to say that poverty helps you understand what happiness is, what serenity is in life.”