Parting Thoughts
“Our great human adventure is the evolution of consciousness. We are in this life to enlarge the soul, liberate the spirit, and light up the brain.”
? Wild Ducks Flying Backward
“Our individuality is all, all, that we have. There are those who barter it for security, those who repress it for what they believe is the betterment of the whole society, but blessed in the twinkle of the morning star is the one who nurtures it and rides it in, in grace and love and wit, from peculiar station to peculiar station along life's bittersweet route.”
? Jitterbug Perfume
"The romance of new love, the romance of solitude, the romance of objecthood, the romance of ancient pyramids and distant stars are means of making contact with the mystery. When it comes to perpetuating it, however, I got no advice. But I can and will remind you of two of the most important facts I know:
1. Everything is part of it.
2. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.”
? Still Life with Woodpecker
“Just because you're naked
doesn't mean you're sexy,
Just because you're cynical
Doesn't mean you're cool.
You may tell the greatest lies
And wear a brilliant digsuise
But you can't escape the eyes
of the one who sees right through you. In the end what will prevail
Is your passion not your tale.
For love is the Holy Grail,
Even in Cognito.
So better listen to me, sister,
and pay close attention, mister:
It's very good to play the game,
Amuse the gods, avoid the pain,
But don't trust fortune, don't trust fame,
Your real self doesn't know your name And in that we're all the same:
We're all incognito.”
? Villa Incognito
“Hard times and funky living can season the soul, true enough, but joy is the yeast that makes it rise.”
? Villa Incognito
“Fear limits love”
"This is not an autobiography. God forbid! Autobiography is fueled by ego and I could make a long list of persons whose belly buttons I'd rather be contemplating than my own. Anyway, only authors who are household names should write autobiographies, and not only is my name infrequently tumbled in the lapidary public consciousness, but those rare homes in which I've spoken with any regularity are likely under police surveillance. I've even made an effort to avoid the autobiographical in my novels, wishing neither to shortchange imagination nor use up my life in literature."
-- "Preface," Tibetan Peach Pie