"we face the extraordinary possibility of fashioning a [health care] system that emphasizes life instead of death, and unity and oneness instead of fragmentation, darkness, and isolation."     (quoted from Dossey's book, Space, Time and Medicine)

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Here is my wish for you and every other child, woman, and man on the face of the earth: Spend one week saying only kind, caring things to yourself.  Say thank you at least ten times an hour, direct five toward yourself and five to the world at large.  Compliment yourself (and others) each time an effort is made.  Notice all the wonderful qualities and characteristics about yourself and those around you.  One week.  You will never go back.  And your whole life will be a glorious meditation.

One can always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.  

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

"Sometimes the completely open heart and mind of bhodichitta is called the soft spot, a place as vulnerable and tender as an open wound. It is equated, in part, with our ability to love. [...]

Sometimes this broken heart gives birth to anxiety and panic, sometimes to anger, resentment, and blame. But under the hardness of that armor there is the tenderness of genuine sadness. This is our link with all those who have ever loved. This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion. It can humble us when we're arrogant and soften us when we are unkind. It awakens us when we prefer to sleep and pierces through our indifference. This continual ache of the heart is a blessing that when accepted fully can be shared with all."

"We share half our genes with the banana."

There's a common misunderstanding among all the human beings who have ever been born on the earth that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain and just try to get comfortable. You can see this even in insects and animals and birds. All of us are the same.

A much more interesting, kind, adventurous, and joyful approach to life is to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our inquisitiveness is bitter or sweet.  To lead a life that goes beyond pettiness and prejudice and always wanting to make sure that everything turns out on our own terms, to lead a more passionate, full, and delightful life than that, we must realize that we can endure a lot of pain and pleasure for the sake of finding out who we are and what this world is, how we tick and how our world ticks, how the whole thing just is.