Image: Shane Lin from Seattle, WA, USA, aka 'About Malenkov in Exile' on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.5
32 quotes
Canadian author
“We are random animals. That is who we are, and we have only ourselves, nothing more--there is no greater relationship.”
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn’t biological necessity – it’s envy."
on Life
"..the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man."
on Philosophy
"There are many ways in which life's little candle can be snuffed out. A cold wind pursues us all."
"I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life."
on Fear
"Life and death live and die in exactly the same spot, the body."
"When your own life is threatened, your sense of empathy is blunted by a terrible, selfish hunger for survival."
"In my youth, it was my good luck to have a few good teachers, men and women, who came into my head and lit a match."
on Education
"You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it."
"Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous possessive love that grabs at what it can."
"Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love - but sometimes it was so hard to love."
on Faith
"Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer."
on Love
"There are animals we haven't stopped by. Don't think they're harmless. Life will defend itself no matter how small it is."
"I suppose in the end the whole of life becomes an act of letting go. But what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye."
"I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent."
"The holy word is story, and story is the holy word."
on Writing
"Just as music is noise that makes sense, a painting is color that makes sense, so a story is life that makes sense."
on Art
"To me, religion is about our dignity, not our depravity."
"When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling."
"A plain is what a mountain aims to be: the closest you can come to being in outer space while yet having your feet on this planet."
on Nature
"Why can we throw a question further than we can pull in an answer?"
